Community Dig 2014 – Day 4 – Vino anyone?
Well it’s been a slow but progressive day for Trenches 2 and 3. Trench 1, however, needs to hang its head in shame. On the plus side it’s been a beautiful day to be down a hole and we’ve had lots of people stop and ask us what we’re up to, thankfully out of curiosity and not suspicion.
Trench 3 has a tremendous cascade of limestone falling away from the wall that separates the playing field with the Barton Farm estate. A good 3 metre spread, (the same as Trench 1) and it is this stony area that showed up as a black line on the ground survey. However, Sophie and Jane had to combine digging with gardening, as tree roots were snipped, hacked and pulled in frustration. Modern rubbish is still coming out of the ground including a headless tin soldier and a piece of pottery from a works called ‘Powell’s’, Bristol.
Trench 2 takes all the glory today and Roy has been smash-happy all morning with the mattock, taking out the last of the gas works demolition to reveal a fab track way. You can even see wheel rut marks in the stone! It’s shown on photographs from the 1900’s and an 1849 watercolour, leading from the fields up to the barn. There was a bottle of wine in their finds tray when I looked at the end of the day. I have been assured it is an artefact.
As for Trench 1, well, what can I say? Clay, clay, clay and stones. The highlight of the day for Trench 1? Tea break, which today included some lovely Hot Cross buns and Custard Creams.