Days 7,8,9 and 10: Part 3

The final instalment from this week's dig...

Over the course of the week, there are two areas which have progressed excitingly. Read on below to find out more about them.

As mentioned in earlier blog posts, the area directly beneath the bishop’s seat has seemed exciting from the beginning. Initially we believed that we had reached a medieval surface deposit, but subsequent excavation of this has shown that these were post-medieval. We have recovered some amazing 17th century finds from this area, including the bone knife and the stem of a 17th century wine goblet found by student Carys. Rubbly deposits which included broken fragments of medieval masonry suggested that this area was filled with rubble at a later date. Excavation of this uncovered in situ plaster walls. After some careful and extensive excavation, it was discovered that this area also had a plaster floor with curved edges. This has led to much speculation about the specific function of this newly uncovered room. One theory is that it might have been used to store water, like an internal water tank, or was some kind of washing space due to its close proximity to the garderobe and its relative location on the 12th century building plan. It is possible that this space had multiple functions over time, and we are witnessing one. Over the coming days we hope that will learn more about this space and its function and role.

Close by, we began digging another trench to examine a little-known area. Extensive layers of building rubble, including portions of 17th/early 18th century brick confirm that this area has witnessed activity in the past. Unfortunately, these deposits extend very deep, and to explore these we will have to expand this trench. At the moment, these deposits and their depth remain a mystery to us, but in the coming days we hope to understand these more completely.