Day 4: Drones and Drains

The sun has been out and spirits are very high on site. Today, we have had lots of new finds and have progressed onto photographing and recording many of the features we've been working on over the last few days. As ever, our interpretation of the archaeology is changing rapidly. I will include some of our latest thoughts in this post. Keep reading to find out more about our progress so far...

This morning we were greeted with drone photographs of Trench 1 and 2 taken by Dr Paolo Forlin yesterday evening. We are very lucky to have these amazing shots which give us a unique perspective on the layout and spatial arrangement of features on site and their relationship to one another. Lucky for me, these images make it far easier to illustrate our current interpretation of the features on site. At present, in Trench 1 we believe that we may have recovered the edge of a two-roomed building that extends beyond the edge of the trench underneath the Wyatt Screen (top left of shot). We believe that this feature is the oldest feature in this trench because the other walls abut it. Beneath this building, we appear to have a large stone platform, possibly the base of a tower, with a square-shaped room to the left of this. Additionally, another wall extends to the right of the building, beyond the confines of the trench. Elsewhere in the trench, and in the bottom of this picture, we have recovered the remains of a culvert of unknown date together and some other unidentified features. We will keep you posted as we progress.

Drone shot of Trench 1

In addition, some lovely finds were unearthed today in Trench 1. Of particular significance was the recovery of a rim and top of a medieval green glaze ware jug recovered from the square-shaped room by our L1 students Adrian and Phillippa. One of our theories about this room is that it might have served as a latrine. We have taken some environmental samples of the soil contents of this room. So far, this space has yielded some of the most interesting and complete finds so far. In addition to the finds, there are number of stone roof tiles which we believe are in situ. We are very excited to find out what this room will uncover in the coming days.

A feature which is still eluding us however, is the one pictured below which has been excavated by Zara and Sejal. This feature includes a few large worked stones together with a collection of other stones. Beneath the worked stones, there appears to be hollow areas. This feature might relate to the culverts or drains elsewhere on site. Time will tell!

What is this feature? Does anyone know?

In Trench 2, there has been marked progress. The trench has had to be divided into three parts because of the presence of a tree and underground cable which can't be disturbed. In the middle trench (T2B) the corner of a room filled with a sandy yellow deposit. We believe this room is probably continued in the trench nearest the wall (T2A). Lots of animal bone has been recovered from this area. We have continued excavating the darker soil deposits in T2B in the hopes of uncovering more of the cobbled/rubble surface we have uncovered. In T2C (beyond the tree) there are still large areas of burning and rubble which are trying to make sense of. We hope that as the dig progresses we will gain a better understanding of what is happening in this trench.

In other news, Prof. Chris Gerrard managed to find this amazing carved figure of a man with wheelbarrow around one of the windows on Auckland Castle. Could this image have been a glimpse into the future by the sculptor? Could they have foreseen all the archaeologists on site? While it is probably an image of a gardener or workman, we can always hope!

Be sure check back for regular updates. We are hoping to have up some pieces written by students about some of the finds they have uncovered so far. Make sure to check our social media feeds for more information throughout the day.