Panoramic view of the site

Today has been filled with planning in area H with finishing touches being made on context and feature forms as well as section drawings and feature plans.  The ‘corn dryer’/lime kiln has been excavated with just one section still left to take out hopefully in the remaining two days; this can be done now as the, rather complicated, section drawing has finally been completed.

Some wonderful finds have been uncovered in Area F, including another complete dog skeleton found at the base of a pit.  This was found by Sandy Lovelock and Selina Moore, two field school participants who are very local to the dig.  They have both excavated on site for the past three years and have completed many archaeological courses between them.  There have been a number of complete dog skeletons from the site.

Dog skeleton excavated by Selina and Sandy

Also uncovered in area F today was a very nice shale core resulting from working shale on a lathe, a rapidly rotating mechanism used for shaping materials.  It is likely that this piece of shale would have been the core for shaping something circular, possibly a ring or a bracelet and can be dated by the shape of the mount hole which changed throughout time.  It is made from Kimmeridge shale which is a local material and is most likely to be late Iron Age however this will be subject to further analysis.  A large amphora handle has also been found in area F along with some worked animal bone with a tiny hole in one end.  It is possible that this could have been used as a weaving shuttle.

Shale core found in Area F

Amphora handle found in Area F

Further investigation of the two housing platforms is currently underway in this area and digging, planning and interpretations are still continuing across the site.