On Tuesday Peter checks for the presence of metalwork before resuming along with Ian the work to define the edge of the circular ditch.
Whilst on Thursday Ian and Helen resume the search whilst I hammer away at the extension with a spade...
... revealing this deposit of highly significant stone, actually it's looking laid to me, and a nice large piece of early wine bottle lying on top of it all too.
The area at the bottom of the ditch was
becoming quite cramped so the decision was taken to extend the
excavated area at this point by 2 metres further east which means a lot
of earth to shift.
Peter lends a hand with the de-turfing and here is the new area cleared by the end of play
Ian and Helen make a start of cleaning the newly extended debris field whilst Andries helps out with shoveling away the fairly undistinguished ditch fill until...
...we come down onto another pretty extensive spread of rubble. By the end of Thursday we had removed all the upper level of silting in the ditch and cleaned it up....
... ready for photography.
In the upper levels of the debris field were further examples of terracotta, some clearly from plant pots but others that may be from garden sculptures or architectural detailing
Peter lends a hand with the de-turfing and here is the new area cleared by the end of play
During the course of opening up the new
area this piece of terracotta was found in the subsoil, possibly from
the acanthus leaf moulding on a Corinthian capital as above or perhaps
an urn
or planter of similar form. Whatever the case it's quite exciting as it's some of the first evidence of sophisticated gardening going on.
or planter of similar form. Whatever the case it's quite exciting as it's some of the first evidence of sophisticated gardening going on.
Ian and Helen make a start of cleaning the newly extended debris field whilst Andries helps out with shoveling away the fairly undistinguished ditch fill until...
...we come down onto another pretty extensive spread of rubble. By the end of Thursday we had removed all the upper level of silting in the ditch and cleaned it up....
... ready for photography.
In the upper levels of the debris field were further examples of terracotta, some clearly from plant pots but others that may be from garden sculptures or architectural detailing
With so many finds turning up the
need for a find store has become quite pressing so it was decided to
order a couple of plastic sheds and a selection of stackable plastic
storage crates to equip it with. All that has to be done is to put them
all together.
A dream of sheds to come,
Crates all ready to go.
One of the perennial pleasures of working at Hanwell is watching the seasons turn and enjoying the marvelous environment. Can anyone spot the lonely swan?
... and then came ....
THE BEAST FROM THE EAST!
... and that was it until March.