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Click on http://manor-lodge.dept.shef.ac.uk for more information about the dig, including images, history, and fieldwork findings.

Friday 8 July 2011

Day 20: Friday the 8th of July

Bloggers: Nat and Rachael.

The weather is less than desirable today, and a serious amount of rain dampened the spirits of the diggers. However, spirits were lifted by chip Friday, and the silence was only broken by the odd joke about cholesterol. Christian raised objections about the immensely 'soggy' state of the chips, but being from Down Under he clearly wasn't familiar with this particular English delicacy and was shouted down by the other students.

Trench update: Work continues over at the long gallery under the supervision of Charlie Hay.

Charlie shows his archaeoligcal prowess with his best impersonation of Riker
Planning is continuing in trench 21, while another fireplace has been excavated in trench 22. All the soil taken out of the long gallery trenches is being sieved to ensure that small fragments of pottery and other archaeological artefacts are retrieved.

Today's excavation in trench 20 has uncovered a linear feature between the two postulated walls described yesterday. It has been found at the base of the 1970s' trench and it is currently unknown whether it was found during that phase of excavation. However, the feature continues into the trench 20 extension; hopefully the feature remains undisturbed and it will yield some interesting information about its function and date.

Interview:  Ian is our resident Scot who definitely bears no resemblance to Terry Pratchett.


He studies archaeology part-time at Sheffield whilst simultaneously enjoying his retirement.  His dream dig involves digging somewhere 'impossible' - namely, a Viking boat burial in the sun, somewhere near Russia (that small geographic entity).  His highlight of the dig so far is being on finds whilst outdoor conditions vaguely resembled the Somme, and his favourite find is an unused musket ball. 

Find of the Day: A small glass sherd possibly dating from the Tudor Period, due to its 'diamond' shape and colour, but this will need to be confirmed later, after washing and analysis by a glass specialist.

Alex boasted the 'creation' of the day, as he attempted to patent the levitating tree:

All in all, Friday was a fitting end to the week, with our reward being a pint down the pub to celebrate Christian's birthday.

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