Day 4: Wet and Windy

From the get-go, today was wet and windy. Not to be deterred, we persevered with the excavations until the threatening forecast of impending rain and ever deeper mud called an end to the day’s proceedings a little earlier than usual. Nevertheless, today was yet another great day for finds. Read on to find out more about what we uncovered...

The day began with the amazing discovery of a knife with bone handle by Rob. Labelled ‘find of the trench this week’ (perhaps a little prematurely, we still have tomorrow after all?!) this was undoubtedly exciting. After a little research, Dr Pam Graves found convincing parallels dating from 1620-30. Decorated with an intricate carved pattern and featuring little copper inlays, we believe it also would have had a round piece at the end which would have broken off. Similar examples include glass or amber beads secured at the end of the knife and featuring the initials of the owner. While ours is missing that detail, it is still a wonderful and beautiful object. It has been quickly whisked off to conservation and we look forward to seeing it all cleaned up.

Not long after this discovery, Freddy found a large piece of pot and skull (possibly dog, but we are awaiting confirmation from our animal bone specialist) in a nearby context. These finds are exciting because they add to our overall animal bone assemblage across the site, which can inform us about what kinds of animals would have been present on the site, not only for food but also as working animals. Pottery is also a really good way to date archaeological contexts and can tell us about use and occupation at these sites.

Although we get excited about finds from the more distant past, we are also fascinated by some of the more recent finds. Avid readers will remember the discovery of the ‘Eiffel Tower Fruit Juice’ bottle, and in a similar vein part of a ceramic bottle for ‘Auckland Castle Mineral Water’ was found today. This find sheds light on a 19th century attempt to market the ‘therapeutic’ waters from Auckland Castle Park which never really took off. This find is a tangible reminder of this part of Bishop Auckland’s more recent past which often doesn’t feature during our excavations.

Across the whole site, excavation of the different areas has been progressing. Excavation of the curtain wall has been steadily progressing. The kitchen/midden areas have continued to be excavated, with the soil being sieved to pick up small bones, like fish and bird bones, which are often missed by excavators. Interesting stratigraphy at the furthest east-end of the trench has led to a slight extension to that trench so we can investigate this further. Keep posted to find out more about how that progresses.

In other news, we have all been impressed and amused by the range of archaeology-themed t-shirts appearing across site. On Tuesday, staff members Pam and John both donned t-shirts sharing the same ‘humerus’ slogan, while today Henry amused us all with his definition of an archaeologist.

We really look forward to the upturn in weather expected tomorrow and next week, and to the discoveries that this might behold. To keep up to date with our ongoing progress, please follow us on our social media feeds below.