Friday 7th June 2013

Day 8- It rained

The next section of the Roman tiled feature has now been fully excavated and has revealed even more floor tiles! Unfortunately the middle of this section is missing some of the tiles but a clear layer of mortar is visible, which can be extremely informative for building techniques. The whole feature is pictured below:

Roman tiled feature, being excavated by students Sophie Avison and Richard Brennan, courtesy of Bournemouth University.

Within the rectangular house platform, excavation of the sections is now hitting the natural bottom. In certain sections, post-holes have been revealed within the natural chalk and so far, at least three of these smaller features have been confirmed post-holes, as pictured below.

Post-holes being excavated by second year BSc Archaeology student Tara Scott, courtesy of Bournemouth University.

Once all of the other sections have been completed, an overall plan of the post-holes can be made in order to see the structure shape, which could possibly aid interpretation of the purpose of the structure. Further excavation elsewhere within the feature by student Shannon Neil revealed a possible quern stone. When all the information is collated, a fascinating picture of what the structure  was and how the population used it may emerge!

Another house platform elsewhere on the site. (2006) excavated by BSc. student, Emily Nickerson revealed a number of interesting pottery fragments at a similar level. These included a portion of a dog bowl, possible flower pot or colander and a possible top fragment of amphora or even another oil dispenser. All three are pictured below within the feature.

Interesting pottery collection from one of the house platforms, recovered by BSc Archaeology student Emily Nickerson, courtesy of Bournemouth University.