Day 7: recording features and conxtexts

Now that a week has past, the excavation of features is advancing; sections of several of the shallow features have been fully excavated. At this point, the excavated features (and their contexts) are recorded in a section drawing (scale 1:20) and in a plan drawing (scale 1:10). Section drawings are vertical records of archaeological features, illustrating both the location and the stratigraphy of the feature in question. If a feature is above ground level an elevation is drawn; this will be unnecessary at this site, where all features are sub-surface. Once this has been completed the section excavated is recorded in a single context record. The context record extracts varying information about the nature of the context, including its lithology, pedology, colour, inclusions, description and a sketch. In the instance of human remains, a separate context record is applied, which takes into consideration the present aspects of the human remains, their state of preservation and whether the nature of the the deposit; cremation, inhumation or excarnation.
In Trench B, a student excavated fragmented horse skull discovered in a sub-circular pit, in the south of the trench. So far it is unclear whether it was a pre-considered deposit, or refuse. To elucidate the matter, Derek Pitman, the director of Trench B, suggested that the student excavated the other half of the feature to the level at which the skull was found. This should reveal whether the horse remains are articulated or disarticulated. This information could inform an understanding of what happened just prior to the deposition. Dis-articulated remains – Especially with incidence of butchery and burning may suggest consumption. However, the horse remains recovered in previous excavation season are fully (or partially articulated), suggesting the horse went into the ground in at least a partially fleshed state. One interpretation is that this behavior was ritually significant for the Durotriges.
The excavation of several pits and a gully continued in Trench A, in one of the pit features, a quantity of metallurgical material has been uncovered, including slag, and fragments of a potential Iron Age triangular crucible. It is currently thought tht the range of material is suggestive of secondary metallurgy; smithing and remelting of iron for reuse.