Dig The Third.

Back to Shillington again this weekend for a dig in an orchard of a former farm house, on the outskirts of the village really at  Hanscombe End.
The digging here  was so much easier, we were off the clay and onto a more sandy, gritty soil we were able to sieve it all unlike our previous three digs, though unfortunately no tea or coffee from Mrs Lopsided the owner, but she did have a great little dog  who was always pleased to see us!
 Got cracking with the excavation the usual rules apply of a 1m square test pit. This is also plotted from the edges of the house or any other solid structure to enable anyone for future reference to find exactly where we had dug.
Have to say finds were abit thin on the ground, just afew bits & pieces in the way of pot sherds. Modern (Victorian in this case I think) and Medieval. Hit pay dirt at 0.60cm when I uncovered a large bone, about 30cm long it was probably an ox or cow bone. A large animal and no mistake. It's hard work digging and it was a hot day but I don't mind saying all my aches disappeared when this find started to appear. I trowelled carefully around it, also used finer tools that Kevin had, tidied up the pit and let Derek record ( photo, plan and notes) then I went back in and took the bone out. Part of the condyle facets broke away on lifting but in the main it was intact. An exciting find! Difficult to date though the suggestion would be sometime of the Medieval period  as all the pottery, such as it was, was of this era.
Called it a day then and adjured to the Musgrave Arms for the traditional 'post dig analysis,' the guest beer this time was Nobby's 'Claridges Crystal.' 3.6% a very light coloured beer with that perfect refreshing citrus twang to it. A brilliant pint of loveliness to end a great day's archaeology.
Day two was relatively short as the context beneath the bone find started to show signs of the natural  undisturbed chalk.
Nigel now digging, the deeper it gets the better for him! We're allowed to dig to 1.2m only, you'd need to be shoring up to go deeper though few test pits do.....unless Nigel is digging! Looking more and more like natural  about half of the final context was excavated taking us to about 1m deep. The finds had now completely dried up, the last being small pieces of bone from just below the large bone.
The joy of backfilling then commenced, the most tedious part of the operation in my humble opinion, the ease and relative speed of digging in this soil bit us back as there was alot of dirt to get back into the pit. Old Thumper and Old Thumper II were employed (see 'Dig the Second' blog) to their full. Lunch then Musgrave Arms again ..........just to consolidate what we'd found you understand then homewards. Another great weekend.  

The team get started. Nigel, Kevin, Derek.

Our 'helper!'

Abit of find washing by Kevin.

Where this week's gig was.

The bone.

Bone in situ at 0.6m.

Tools of the trade.

Deepest we got, about 1m showing clearly the natural chalk.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Wrest Park Re enactment.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Wrest Park Re enactment.: Kas & Tara coffee break. German equipment. The Punjab Lancers. Wrest Park had an event going on this weekend that we t...

Wrest Park Re enactment.

Kas & Tara coffee break.

German equipment.

The Punjab Lancers.

Wrest Park had an event going on this weekend that we thought we'd  have a look at. Went there with Tara, Kas, Stan & Kevin, it was a historical reenactment event featuring both world wars. The enactors  were stationed throughout the grounds of course camouflaged  where possible. The German army encampment was interesting although we remarked to one of the re-enactors (he was an MP) that the flag flying over the guardroom although red with a white circle had a German cross rather than a swastika on it. He told us it was so no one could be 'offended' by it!  What nonsense! Everything else there was correct to the period and there was a swastika inside with displays, just a shame if people are going to be touchy about it!
They got out a German 2 pounder anti tank gun & a British howitzer from airborne forces & fired them in the main arena which was fun. Later  the magnificent Punjab Lancers from the Great War era  were tent pegging in the main arena, my Grandad would have known such regiments as the 1st Kings Dragoon Guards were brigaded with the 29th Lancers ( Deccan Horse) and  36th Jacobs Horse during his time in the cavalry.
Another Great War area showed how the medics would have worked and another portraying the Durham Light Infantry told us all about the Vickers Machine Gun and how it was used. All absolutely fascinating! The rain held off and we all decamped back home and we did a BBQ, did get some rain towards the end of my cooking it all, though I put an anorak on I noticed the rain was filling up my red wine glass! Not a flavour I favour but luckily was all but done cooking. A grand day out. ( smiles al la Wallace & Gromit)

DLI Private and Vickers machine Gun.

Medical kit

Great War medic.

Para howitzer.

German 2 pounder anti tank gun. 

Bang!

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Doughboys.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Doughboys.: Nothing to do with Pilsbury and more to do with another excellent lecture by the Herts art War group researching men of Hertfordshire who  ...

Doughboys.

Nothing to do with Pilsbury and more to do with another excellent lecture by the Herts art War group researching men of Hertfordshire who  were killed and organising lectures and exhibitions. They've just got a big lottery grant so these free lectures can continue.Check out http://www.hertsatwar.co.uk/   to find out more.
Tonights was by Mike St Maur Sheil and called 'Fields of Battle - Lands of Peace' about the part the US played in World War One. Not why they joined but the actions they fought once they were involved. Being a photo journalist there was plenty of photos taken from the Western Front to illustrate his story.
The US has been criticised for the length of time it took to field an army once they'd declared war on Germany in April 1917, it was June 1918 before they was a coherent trained and ready for action US Army. Mike Maur Sheil makes an interesting comparison with the British arguing that their first really major offensive wasn't until July 1916 after declaring war in August 1914. On that basis the US were pretty quick. Alot of their equipment was supplied by Britain and France. He tells of many gallant actions such as the US Marine Corps at Belleau Wood and others, many were killed because the tactics used by General Pershing were the old tactics used in the opening of the war of solid ranks charging directly into machine guns. The British & French were beginning to learn that wasn't a good idea but the US learnt the hard way.
As the British soldiers were called Tommies  & the French Poilus so the US soldiers were known as Doughboys. This came form the Mexican Wars of the 1860's when the cavalry riding past the infantry saw they were covered in adobe dust from the countryside they were marching through, calling  them adobe boys which eventually got corrupted to  Doughboy. At least this is the generally accepted  theory according to our lecturer.  He told us of a strange paradox of the last US soldier killed on 11th November 1918. An over zealous officer wanted to take a village before the war ended so the charging troops , even though waved back by the Germans came on and were shot,  the last one being ironically a German immigrant. Many bodies of US troops were repatriated to America so there are only five US cemeteries in France and Flanders. Our lecturer told us that America in general doesn't really seem to know alot about World War One , there is no national memorial to it for instance and because of the repatriation of so many bodies going to all corners of America the high cost of battle was never really understood accept by those who were there of course.
 It was a really interesting lecture.  

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Weekend in London.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Weekend in London.: Flints from Crossrail Remains of a Victorian poe, also from Crossrail. Had a brilliant couple of nights away in London with Tara...

Weekend in London.

Flints from Crossrail

Remains of a Victorian poe, also from Crossrail.

Had a brilliant couple of nights away in London with Tara. Thought we'd travel light as we were going by train so cut back on what we were taking & put it all in a ruck sack.....that seemed to weigh more than any luggage we'd ever taken anywhere before! If I'd have fallen backwards I doubt I'd ever have been stood upright again. Probably a small case on wheels would have been a better bet. You live & learn! Anyway, got to Greenwich & had a coffee then I took our ruck sack to our hotel, a really good hotel booked via Gary  called the Doubletree. Its a chain that come under the Hilton banner so their standard is very high.
Back into Greenwich & we got onto the Cutty Sark. It's undergone some significant restoration over the past few years & made more 'user friendly.' It's got to be like that now I know, but all the original  ships stairways now have proper stairs, there's even a lift. a must for access I know but it took a little something away from the experience. Must admit when we first stepped aboard we both thought we wouldn't be on it for too long but it's actually stacked full of information and artifacts and was a really good couple of hours. The whole ship is suspended over the dry dock it was once in which is now the obligatory café (not complaining mind you), so whilst drinking your coffee you actually have the ship above you.
Retired to the Gipsy Moth pub after than for a couple of pints of Wandle Ale  brewed by Sambrooks Brewery in London. An excellent pint, 3.8% in strength quite light in colour and very quaffable! Tara on the usual Bacardi & Coke. Got back to the hotel & eventually went down for dinner, very nice fish & chips for me & Halloumi salad for Tara followed by Tiramisu for me & ice cream for Tara. Tried an American Pale Ale who's name escapes me but it was very nice.
A sumptuous breakfast in the morning, all buffet style,& plenty of it be it fruit, cereal, traditional cooked Full English there was even a pancake maker that was fun. It set us up for the day!
Went back into Greenwich & had a wonder around the markets. You know about Tara's bizarre dreams? Well the latest, the other night, was all about Scotch Eggs, no honestly! Anyway the first stall we see as we walk into the market sold nothing but Scotch Eggs. Bizarre or what!!
 It was an interesting place, a shame we'd had such a big breaky really as there was lots of food stalls. After that we were back on the Docklands Light Railway and off to the Docklands Museum. Unfortunately so busy were we talking and looking out  at the buildings we forgot to get off at the right stop & had to go round the houses abit to get back to where we wanted to be! Got to the museum in the end though.
They have a  really interesting exhibition of all the  archaeological finds from the Crossrail  scheme that's being built across, well under really, London. The 200 or so archaeologists working on the site  found artifacts from just about every era of history you could care to mention. Very very interesting. This is part of the Museum of London ( another good trip) and is fascinating. It's built in part of the old dock warehouses and has lots to see, not least about the docks being bombed during World War Two, the heat  was so intense it was melting steel girders. Warehouses full of sugar and flour burnt for  nearly three weeks. I well remember my Dad telling me that at night they could see a red glow in the sky from the fires all the way out in Harrow about ten miles away. A truly terrible thing. Fair to say Tara was abit done in by this time so sat in the café while I looked around alot of this part. The day was getting on so we thought about dinner. Pizza seemed like a good idea & with the larger chains at long bloody last getting the idea about wheat/gluten free pizzas something we could both eat. Getting to Pizza Express in Canary Wharf proved abit challenging. Tara's satnav on her phone didn't seem to get the idea that the restaurant was on the second floor of a shopping centre so kept taking us around the building. At last a helpful police type bod pointed us in the right direction. After a good feed of pizza we made our way back to our second hotel, the Hilton at Canary Wharf. We'd had a free upgrade as well so our room was brilliant. We didn't purposely  get back to watch Eurovision ( we've watched it most years since about 1981! Even had a party one year that went down well, though we tried to do it again last year and nobody was interested! Miserable sods!) but we were tired by then & it was on so we watched it. Naff  Ukrainian presenters staggered their way through it, suggesting everyone should have wine and neeebles. Wine we had but neebles we did not so Tara raided the mini bar for a Toblerone. Graham Nortons commentary is quite amusing but not a patch on the late Terry Wogan, a rather nice tradition seems to have grown from Wogan's advice to Norton when he took over his mantle which was not to have a drink before song nine. So now, after song nine he lifts a glass to TW............We'd already started long before song nine!
Another first class brekky in the morning & we headed for home. The ruck sack didn't seem to be any lighter, bugger!  Coffee at St Pancras Station then the BedPan line to home. A truly great weekend with my Love. Good to spoil yourselves sometimes isn't it.

The Big Smoke with assorted buildings.

The hold of the Cutty Sark.

Cutty Sark

Memsahib in the hold.

Artifacts.

Café under the hull.

Collection of figureheads. 

Two more!

Under side of the ship again.

In the Gipsy Moth.

Cutty Sark rigging.

  

Pizza......about fourth attempt to take photo hence Memsahibs pained expression!

Assortment of receipts & bills from our trip. 

Docklands Museum.

Docklands Museum.

Greenwich Market.

Greenwich Market.

Gipsy Moth.

 

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Dig the second.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: Dig the second.: At the Hanscombe End of Shillington this weekend investigating whether there was much occupation of this area. The conclusion being there w...

Dig the second.

At the Hanscombe End of Shillington this weekend investigating whether there was much occupation of this area. The conclusion being there was probably some.
Didn't find alot which in itself tells you something, but what we did find was  very interesting. Just a few sherds of what looked like Medieval greyware pot, and some reddish coloured as well the rule of thumb being any more than 6 sherds from one pot suggests occupation, and a very nice sherd of possible Tudor pot (photo'd) this will be confirmed by the pottery analysis by Paul Blinkhorn later in the season. 
One day one we got down to 0.6m with all the finds coming up on this day. Alot of clay once again. Day two didn't yield any finds at all so the context to 0.8m was just halved and all agreed we were at natural so that was it game over, back filled, then lunch then to the Musgrave Arms for the final de brief of this weekends dig. ( sounds much too clever- we just went to the pub & had a chat!) 
 Timothy Taylors 'Landlord' ale was the guest ale this week & very nice it was too.
Another great weekend of digging.

Trench dug to 0.8m.

Dug to 0.8m in the far half of the test pit.

Derek,Kevin,Nigel, Alison & Ivor in action!

The inevitable 'selfie.' 

Finds from contexts 4,5 & 6.



Possible Tudor pottery.

Med pottery.

Back filling.

   

An idiots guide to an Idiot: A six legged cow and other things.

An idiots guide to an Idiot: A six legged cow and other things.: Haven't posted for a week or so, this entry will cover a couple of things. Dear old Norfolk beckoned again so off I went driving miles ...