SEDGEFORD HISTORICAL  AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH PROJECT

Weblog WEEK 6 (8^th to 13^th August 2004)
 and SHUT DOWN WEEK (15^th to 20^th August 2004)

It’s already the end of shut down week and I haven’t got around to writing last week’s weblog, so this is going to be an end of dig report. We’ve been pretty busy finishing off the on site recording, but we’re pretty much up together (as of 10.45pm on Friday of shut down week – phew!).

SEDGEFORD HALL PARK

The post-Village Survey test pit project in Sedgeford Hall Park has produced extremely interesting results which may lead to a new evaluation in 2005. We fieldwalked a small area a few weeks ago and found a huge collection of pottery, the majority of which was Anglo-Saxon and medieval. During week six we dug five test pits, two of which produced evidence for a building. One of these was apparently “the best evidence of structures” which Gareth had ever seen in Sedgeford parish (in the ground presumably). From the same test pit came an unusual and perfectly preserved copper alloy and ivory brooch. This dated from the 11^th to 13^th century.

SHP Week 6 PHOTOLOG - click each picture for a bigger version This week saw not only the (ex-)Village Survey team digging test pits in Sedgeford Hall Park, but the area was also surveyed by the Non-Invasive Landscape Archaeology course students The SHP test pits created a large amount of sieving Surveying by the Non-Invasive course students and supervisors

BONEYARD NEW TRENCH

On New Trench we largely abandoned further excavation in week six in order to get the final recording finished. We did however keep removing the backfill from Jewell Trench F. We’re starting to make sense of the relationships of all our ditches – the previous excavation trenches continue to be both a blessing and a curse in respect of this. The archive report will provide the opportunity to collect and make sense of our interpretations. The New Trench team visited Norwich Castle Museum on Monday of shut down week to look at the 1958 excavation archive. We feel that the archive needs further work – we are confident that we will be able to link elements of this better into the current excavation. Thanks very much to Alan West for being so accommodating – we will be back!

BYD NT Week 6 PHOTOLOG - click each picture for a bigger version The ditches on New Trench - Small enough for one or large enough for 5! Working hard up to the end

BONEYARD OLD TRENCH

Old Trench has been put back to bed for the winter. Again we have been finishing off our recording here and planning for next season. Certain supervisors/directors think that we really can finish Old Trench next year (and new areas may be investigated next season to assess their potential as successors), but the Human Remains Team are not keen as they like to keep on top of their recording during the season. We estimate there may be as many as 30 burials still to excavate within the Old Trench.

BYD OT Week 6 PHOTOLOG - click each picture for a bigger version The row of East-West ditch sections on Boneyard (looking west) OT looking east - finishing off Reeddam, the Baulk and lower OT under cover

Scaffold Week 6 PHOTOLOG - click each picture for a bigger version View from the Scaffold Tower NEW TRENCH OLD TRENCH

SHUTDOWN

As always Shut Down week has been a mix of fun and laughs with brilliant people, and sadness because we all have to go home at the end of the week. We’ve had another fantastic season and most of us will be back again next year. Thanks so much to all our wonderful volunteers and supervisors: you’re all stars! We look forward to seeing you all in 2005.

FIND OF THE WEEK  - click each picture for a bigger version The Medieval Brooch excavated from a test pit in Sedgeford Hall Park