St Mary’s DeCrypt Archaeology Dig (by sarah)
Thursday finally got to do one of the things on my extensive must do one day lists! An archaeology dig. Or rather I got to take part - I have been "on" digs but was too little to take part really and if I'm honest I don't actually remember the actual dig. So when I saw that a local church was carrying one out I jumped on board. I wasn't really expecting to find anything if I'm honest - I can't wizz at physical stuff like I used to at the camp site and I'd got my dates confused so I had to walk in!
But I did find stuff as did the others and the archaeologists were really nice and helpful and gave little talks one various aspects of archaeology (which I spent most of trying to convert to geology in my head).
This what I found 😉
Parts of a glass jar/bottle/inkwell which I found after moving some bricks - I exclaimed "oooo pretty when I spotted the glass fragment due to the colours especially as they were more vivid sitting on the darker silty soil. Of course the rim is more interesting and was lit. a pale circle that I initially thought was a worm.
Writing slate and stylise - though the stylise was found by someone else on the dig! The slate is divided into little rectangles giving it away as a school slate which makes sense as they room we were excavating was an old school room.
Nails which were lumpy rusty things, shells which were probably from the sand fill used to build the floor up rather than from eating, tiles, bits of clay pipe - these were just the stems with no decoration. And reminded me of all the bits Dad collected along the bank of the Thames. I also found a round post hole and lots of bone fragments including ones showing evidence of butchery. I liked the bricks but they aren't particularly interesting archaeologically! Brilliant day with Avon Archaeology Ltd and volunteers including knowledgable peeps on local history form the Gloucester Civic Trust and other various places 🙂 Others found marbles, and a little toy cannon which looked like the one that my dad had as a child which actually fired - it was thought that the cannon would date from the early 20th Century so it could well be the same type. Musket balls and other sundries were found which again makes sense as the church was used as an ammo store during the civil war. The school room that we were excavating was in fact the first free school in Gloucestershire and is steeped in history 🙂 I meant to take photos of the wood panelling which was covered in old schooly graffiti but forgot. And I got to play with a theodolite which I haven't done since the day I found a little hill in Richmond Park during my undergraduate days 😀
Archeology, Sarah | sarah | 
Mon 6th Nov 2017 5:41 am
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