Ravenglass 2017 - 17 Pot washing

Due to being a rather busy, Kurt and Sandra have only just got round to doing a bit of pot washing for the Ravenglass dig of 2017!

 Dirty finds!

Washing finds with a toothbrush

 Laid out to dry in trays - each tray contains finds from an individual context

He's found (and washed) a sherd of Samian ...

It's a base sherd of Samian with rilling as decoration ...

 

And the other side shows a foot ring.  The sherd is from either a bowl or shallow dish

 

So far, as well as Samian (2nd century), there's probable Muncaster Ware (typically friable when being washed), storage jar/amphora and fragments of Roman brick and tile. There's also some post medieval sherds, possibly from Staffordshire.

 

We'll need to wait until the pottery is dry, then we can mark it, count the number of sherds per context, bag it up, then weigh it by context. After that we will then ask a pottery expert to quote a price for writing up a report for us!   Sandra will do the brick and tile report.  Any small finds (eg. metals, glass, etc.) will need to be assessed to see if they need conservation and/or a specialist to look at them.

 

Day Four - Nearly t-shirt weather!

Remarkably fine (almost t-shirt) weather today!

In TP1, Alan found a clay wall associated with ash and charcoal layers (raking out?).  Len found further ashy layers in TP2. 

Ashy, stony surface in TP2

Closer to the fort, Doug was down to his third layer of cobble surface in TP5. This is looking increasingly the Roman road running north from the fort.

 Another cobble surfce in TP5

In TPs 6 (Bryan) and 7 (Anita & Steve), layers of burnt clay indicate yet more industrial activity.

We're very grateful to Debbie for the donuts which finished demolishing today!

Meanwhile, the finds team (Brian and Sandra) have finally finished sorting out the beach walking finds, which are now ready for sending off to the specialists when we can afford it. It was satisfying to see all the boxes lined up!

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?

Day Two - Steady progress

The weather continues to hold, and it looks like we've got Roman archaeology.

A cobble surface in TP1

 

 There is a stony, ashy surface in TP2 - Len sieving

Doug digging in TP3 

And there's a culvert in TP4

The finds team (Brian and Sandra) have re-located to a room in Muncaster Castle to prepare twenty boxes of beach walking finds for sending off to specialists. Everything needs sorting into categories (pottery, brick & tile, etc.) and bagged up.

Brian on the steps to the temporary finds room

 Some of the twenty boxes to process

Some eight boxes were sorted by the end of the day - how many can Brian and Sandra do tomorrow?

Day One - Good weather, nice trenches and nicer people

We've opened four trenches (Test Pits 1-4) looking for more evidence of the Roman vicus north of the fort. Len, Les, Alan, Chris and Doug helped Bryan and Kurt with the digging.

Les and Len in TP2 admiring their finds

We have indeed found evidence of the Roman vicus in this area! It looks very promising and we hope make more interesting discoveries tomorrow.

Alan and Chris working

And here's Bryan shovelling enthusiastically

Meanwhile in the dig HQ Brian, Leo and Sandra were investigating the finds gathered from Ravenglass beach in recent years. They are preparing the finds to be sent to the specialists.  However, they came across a very strange find!  Comment on the blog if you think you know what it might be ...

It is made of ceramic and is a very strange shape  ...

On the underside, it looks like it may have been attached to something

What will tomorrow bring?

Kurt's Excavation diary, 12th - 16th September 2016

Monday 12 September

 Ravenglass - part of the sea wall

Here we are again, just a brief visit this time. Kurt and Bryan examined the new sea wall in front of the Roman fort – massive boulders set in a deep trench. Let’s hope that it will prevent erosion of the fort for the foreseeable future.

Tuesday 13 September

 

On site, working hard

While Bryan was getting his car fixed in Whitehaven, Kurt assisted the locals (Brian, Leo, Len, Alan and Nick) in recording a small mound near the Decoy Pond. There had been talk of this being an ancient mound, but a recent investigation had been inconclusive. The heavens opened in the afternoon, so we decided to complete the work the following day!

Wednesday 14 September

 The finished trench

With Bryan back on the case, we made steady work of the small trenches across the mound. This confirmed that the mound was entirely natural. Similar features were observed in the surrounding area, and are probably merely irregularities in the landscape, which formed following the last glaciation some 10,000 years ago. Not the most exciting conclusion, but that’s archaeology!  Sandra arrived by train during the day, and in the evening we had a fine meal in the Ratty Arms with Brian, Patty, Leo and Debbie.

Thursday 15 September

The morning was spent on the Ratty railway, taking in Eskdale Mill at Boot. This impressive working watermill now has a third waterwheel, this time devoted to the production of electricity. Bearing in mind the many powerful streams in the area, it does seem strange that these streams are not utilised for power generation with the aid of some sympathetic engineering.

 

Is it Pot or Not? 

In the afternoon, up at Muncaster Castle, Sandra & Bryan sorted the last batch of Roman finds recovered from the beach, probably mostly from the fort. The pottery included Samian ware, the brick and tile included flue tile from a hypocaust, and there was also the greater part of a fine quernstone. This added to the already impressive assemblage of finds that had been recovered from the beach.

Friday 16 September

Still on guard at Ravenglass

Back to York, via a snack van at Devil’s Bridge, Kirby Lonsdale!  Thanks to the Ravenglass locals for being so welcoming again. Hopefully we’ll be back soon.