SHARP - Weblog week 2

We’ve had some exciting finds on Old Trench this week, despite the changeable weather which has stopped work several times. A section of Anglo-Saxon bone comb was discovered within the truncated area of burials which Sam has been working on. Five burials are currently being excavated and there are lots more skeletons to investigate on the lower slope – these are densely packed with just a few centimetres separating them and many are intercut with charnel. As for the pre-Saxon deposits, we have a large sherd of imitation Belgic Ware from our big Iron Age ditch, a possible Iron Age pit on the upper slope and five very nice residual prehistoric worked flints. We plan to get to work finishing the baulk next week when Gareth will be joining us full time.

The stratigraphy on the New Trench is starting to get interesting, with two presumably Saxon burials cut by our (now not so big) east-west ditch on the upper slope. We have also removed four of the five partial skellies on the upper slope which have been damaged by ploughing to varying degrees. One of these, S3002, had just a section across the knees remaining in articulation. Two slots have been excavated through the ditch, which have revealed a number of fills. One of these, a very charcoal rich tip, has produced an enviro sample full of burnt grains and seeds, about which Deborah is very excited. Small find of the week: an Anglo-Saxon copper dress fastener recovered from the backfill of one of the 1950s excavation trenches – well spotted Tiffany!

SEDGEFORD VILLAGE SURVEY

This week, despite the wet weather the Village Survey dug 7 test-pits on the Docking Road, Heacham Road and the village playing field. On the 13th, Gabe and Zannah gave a talk to the children in Sedgeford First School about the test-pits excavated there last year. All in all it was a very productive week!

Over to the Old Village Hall, where Kev and Jen Woodward have been using their metal-detecting expertise to prepare specialist reports on many of the metal fieldwalking finds from 2002-2004. We are planning to photograph these and archive the images on the SHARP website in due course. Megan has been inputting 1999 and 2000 fieldwalking data onto the GIS and has discovered that coal always seems to be concentrated in the corners of fields, where the traction engines used to stop and thresh into the first half of the twentieth century. (GIS Plot below).

PHOTOLOG - click each picture for a bigger version

Week 2, Sunday 11th July - Excavation
Reeddam maybe waterlogged but work in Boneyard Old Trench is progressing with gusto	Middle of Boneyard OT looking SE
Middle of Boneyard OT looking W	Boneyard OT looking N
Trowelling on Bonyard OT	Not forgetting NT! (SE corner)
We can still laugh despite the weather	It isn't just trowelling that our volunteers can get their teeth into
The Sedgeford Village Survey volunteers hard at work test pitting up Docking Road	Contemplation and recording of finds on the Sedgeford Village Survey