Dig Burley - Initial "trial" test pit, 23-25th February 2019
I thought it might be useful to undertake an initial test pit in order to evaluate the time and effort required to complete the process! Hopefully some tips and pitfalls (not falling into the pit!) will be found along the way.
In view of some unusual field markings, which may represent earlier field boundaries, I chose one of the depressions for the initial test pit:-
I thought it might be useful to undertake an initial test pit in order to evaluate the time and effort required to complete the process! Hopefully some tips and pitfalls (not falling into the pit!) will be found along the way.
In view of some unusual field markings, which may represent earlier field boundaries, I chose one of the depressions for the initial test pit:-
I fashioned a 1 metre square wooden template from old broken fencing rail which is available to any participants for "free hire" during Dig Burley! The trowel is pointing North (well it is a pointing trowel), and conveniently the "pointy bit" is 10 cms long, which is the working depth of each "spit" layer to be excavated:-
All kit assembled including gloves, tape measure, Test Pit Recording Booklet (which will be provided), sieve, finds (seed) tray, old food trays for finds from different levels, pen and pencils. A small tub of water is useful for an initial quick wash of anything which looks interesting:-
Turf removed - Took 10 minutes:-
Dig underway:-
The dig progressed with individual 10cm deep spits all excavated using the trowel only. I found crumbling the soil into the sieve (or bucket) while wearing gloves (rather than actually sieving it when looking for finds) seemed as effective and easier. Each 10cm spit took between 45-60 minutes to complete, including the recording of any finds and tea breaks.
I found nothing in the first 10 cms apart from worms and bits of random flint of various colours! The worm population was minimal beyond 10 cms. Things then started to get interesting. Finds in the 10-20 cm spit prior to washing:-
I found nothing in the first 10 cms apart from worms and bits of random flint of various colours! The worm population was minimal beyond 10 cms. Things then started to get interesting. Finds in the 10-20 cm spit prior to washing:-
The potsherd top left above is from a large diameter vessel which must have measured some 15 inches in overall diameter. The fragment top right was found very close to the first and appears to be of the same material and represents part of a large handle (initial thoughts are that this may be Verwood pottery )
These next items were found in the 30-40 cm spit (4th), including an unusual white 3.5 cm diameter sphere - ? a flint nodule or something more interesting. The potsherd on the left appears fairly primitive. Diagnosis of these items will have to wait until April when we have some "real" archaeologists on hand!
These next items were found in the 30-40 cm spit (4th), including an unusual white 3.5 cm diameter sphere - ? a flint nodule or something more interesting. The potsherd on the left appears fairly primitive. Diagnosis of these items will have to wait until April when we have some "real" archaeologists on hand!
DAY 2
First find of the day was this potsherd at a depth of approximately 46 cms (18 inches) in the 40-50 cm spit (5th). There were also a number of small and very friable orange-red pieces which I took to be either brick or tile fragments. There appears to be some old glaze residue on this fragment together with some horizontal lines or markings. I am guessing this must be fairly/very old - but how old?
First find of the day was this potsherd at a depth of approximately 46 cms (18 inches) in the 40-50 cm spit (5th). There were also a number of small and very friable orange-red pieces which I took to be either brick or tile fragments. There appears to be some old glaze residue on this fragment together with some horizontal lines or markings. I am guessing this must be fairly/very old - but how old?
The next layer (50-60 cms) revealed nothing with the soil becoming much heavier, wetter, and containing random lumps of pale yellow clay.
DAY 3
Start of Day 3 - Another sunny day!:
DAY 3
Start of Day 3 - Another sunny day!:
Excavated another 10cm spit to reveal essentially a layer of grey sand but with no finds. Decided to halt proceedings at 70 cms depth but out of interest took a small section down to 110 cms to see what was revealed. A further 10 cms of darker sand and then 20 cms of mixed gravel and flints which seemed to continue down. View into bottom of small section of the test pit down to 110 cms:
Infilling and turf replacement took 1 hour (including a few breaks!). What test pit?..........
There is no doubt that this has been quite physical, excavating to a depth of 70 cms (plus a small deeper section). However, despite the somewhat random choice of test pit site, I have been delighted with what has been unearthed as, at the outset, I was doubtful that I would find anything in the middle of a field. I look forward to finding out what these finds are and their estimated ages.
Current evidence of early habitation in and around Burley is slim to say the least, and if this test pit is anything to go by there must be much that awaits discovery during Dig Burley.
Current evidence of early habitation in and around Burley is slim to say the least, and if this test pit is anything to go by there must be much that awaits discovery during Dig Burley.