Days 5 & 6: Quick Site Update

So, last Friday was unfortunately rained off, so today was our first day back on site after a slightly longer weekend than normal. I thought this was a good opportunity to explore and summarise our findings as they stood at the end of last week, and chat about some of the new things we found today. Read on to find out more about what we’ve found so far…

Across the trench, we have identified several interesting features we are excited about. Firstly, running across the trench, we have identified the medieval curtain wall that would have encircled the site during the later medieval period. In previous excavations this feature has been identified, and we are pleased to have found it in this excavation. Abutting the curtain wall, we some interesting features, including a buttress and something we currently think might be tower with attached garderobe. In the coming days, we are keen to investigate this feature further to gain a clearer impression of what it might be. Stay tuned to find out more.

Similarly connected to the curtain wall is a room which appears to respect the curtain wall, suggesting that it was built at the same time as, or after, the curtain wall built and was in use at the same time. It is strikingly close to the garderobe, and this together with its placement in relation to the Great Hall leads us to think that it is possibly a parlour built when the Great Hall was constructed. Figuring out the relationship between all these features is one of our top priorities this week, so keep checking back to find out more.

At the furthest east end of the trench is where we have found substantial kitchen midden deposits full of animal bone and shells. This fits with our understanding of the use of this building and the corresponds to the medieval kitchens found last year on the south of the Great Hall. These areas are super exciting because we are keen to find out more about the diet and lifestyles of the medieval bishops, a topic that has been severely understudied. Through collecting an assemblage of animal, fish, bird, shell and plant remains, we hope to gather an adequate assemblage to explore this theme further and gain a really excellent understanding of the lifestyle habits of bishops, and the ways that they exploited their environments to facilitate these lifestyles.

We are also exploring some other areas on site which we believe may yield exciting finds or have the potential to contain previously unexplored deposits. Unfortunately, because of the rain progress in these areas has been slow, so make sure to check back to follow our progress in these areas in the coming days.

You may also notice from our photos that much of the archaeology has been disturbed by the recent insertion of drains across the site. Prior to 1990 there was no legal requirement to have an archaeologist on site when performing minor building works. Consequently, we have stumbled upon a network of drains and services inserted at various points which have disturbed in situ archaeological deposits. From some of the finds in the trenches cut for these pipes we have been able to date the insertion of these trenches. For example, the discovery of an Eiffel Tower Fruit Juice bottle has been dated to approx. 1910.

While today involved a lot of catch up from last week, we have had two star finds. One, coming from near the kitchen midden deposits, is a fragment of a medieval urinal. Dubbed the ‘Bishop’s Urinal’ on site, this find has quickly become one of our favourites! Elsewhere in the trench, we have discovered a really interesting piece of glass, featuring a little rose detail. This one is still a mystery to us, but we have our resident glass expert coming out tomorrow to give it a better look.

Remember to keep reading and follow us on social media to find out more about our discoveries!