Day five - the final countdown ...

The final day on site had fine weather again. Remarkably, almost the entire week on site was dry, so we were lucky.

Test Pit 1 appears to have clipped a clay-line oven or kiln, with ash and charcoal layers suggestive of rakings-ou from the structure.

Test Pit 2 had a thick layer of ash found to over-lie the original Roman ground surface.

 TP5 - road surfaces overlying the base of the road

In Test Pit 5 a third layer of cobbles and pebbles prove to rest on a layer of boulders, apparently the base of a well-built road - presumably the main road north from the fort.  Probing indicated that the road was some 10 metres wide.

 Doug excavating the road base in TP5

In Test Pit 7, a post-hole and small ditch or beam-slot was cut into a layer of burnt clay.

From left to right: Doug, Steve, Bryan, Brian, Len, and Kurt at the Cafe

The trenches were then backfilled after tea and cake at the The Turntable Cafe at the La'al Ratty.

Alan, Len and Brian backfilling

 
That's the last day of digging news. Watch out for more posts about this season's campaign, including reports about the site finds, the Beach Walking finds, and Kurt's conclusions about the Test Pit excavations!

Day Three - Come on Aileen?

We were remarkably free from rain after missing Storm Aileen, but some of the trenches were flooded.

 Clay ?flue (right in section), ash & charcoal (left in section)

In TP1 there is a possible clay wall with layers of ash and charcoal alongside the flue of a furnace.

TP2 has more stony, ashy deposits

Doug cleaning the cobble surface in TP5

TP5 was opened and immediately a cobble surface was uncovered - could this be the main road north from the fort to Hadrian's Wall?

 

Hungry heron at the 4pm feed

The finds team, sadly missing Leo for the moment, continued to sort through the twenty boxes at Muncaster Castle.  Despite being distracted by the Bird Displays, Brian and Sandra managed to get through the bulk of the finds boxes today.  Tomorrow the last few objects will be listed. But how many herons will turn up at tomorrow's 4pm feed?