During the site briefing this morning, conducted mainly by Iain Hewitt, the importance of compliance with health and safety regulations was highlighted as the site is expecting an inspection on the 3rd of July. The main purpose of the health and safety regulations is to ensure the collective collaborations of all those present on site in order to make it a safe working environment.
Firstly, extensive risk assessments are performed detailing any potential risks and the extent of the harm they may cause. This may also include ethical implications of specific finds, such as inhumations, and take into consideration their display.
Secondly, the organisation of students and staff present on site is also crucial to following the health and safety regulations. All must be aware of emergency protocol, which may vary daily, depending upon alternating weather. For example; on days which may entail intermittent heavy rain or more extreme weather types, all those present on site must be ready to leave swiftly, meaning that the way in which one will process loose soil on those days will differ to very sunny, dry days.
Following the briefing, continued excavation of the features progressed at a steady rate. While, in Trench B, the search for other horse bones continued within the feature where the skull had been discovered (in order to determine the state of articulation of the remains), in Trench A, eight loom-weights were found within a semi-circular feature, located in the South-West of the trench. They were discovered deposited within one of the lower contexts of the feature, some with circular incisions. Their location within the stratigraphy of the feature suggested deliberate placement, also consistent with other Iron Age sites. Once the feature had been photographed with the loom-weights in situ, they were then lifted.
As loom-weights were once utilised in association with textile production, their discovery supports the hypothesis that the excavated site was once a settlement area. Moreover, the relatively scarce nature of finds relating to weaving equipment in particular makes the discovery all the more significant.
Trench A also saw the dawn of the discovery of a nearly fully articulated ceramic pot, placed upside-down within the wall of one of the semi-circular features, in the North-East segment of the trench. Three perforations were seen within the base of the pot prior to its lifting and, as it had been discovered close to the end of the day, it was then lifted and prepared for processing the next day.
The processing of the pot will enable the answering of questions such as: was it manufactured locally? What was it used for? How does it relate to the utilisation of the site?