Day 16: Finishing, summary and looking ahead

Our final day on site at Binbrook today. Time to finalize our records of what we have found and draw plans of the trenches, though there are still one or two parts of Trench C to explore a bit further. Good weather is again our friend. It was a day of visitors. One of the very positive aspects has been the number of people who have wanted to learn more about what is going on and visited us in the field, trench-side; most have returned a few days later to see how the excavations have progressed, and in some cases our visitors have been along three times in a week. So we must have fired their interest; several say they are investing in trowels and will join us in the excavations next time. In particular we were pleased to have members of the Grimsby Metal Detecting Club visit: they discovered the site a few years back. It has been very helpful to learn from various members who have taken the time to visit and outline their discoveries and their thoughts on the site, which they have built up over a number of years. These are important parts of the picture. In particular Paul explained where various finds such as samian tended to come from; Club members also note and recover artefacts such as worked flints dating to before the Roman settlement. The Farm and Farm Manager at the Binbrook and Hatcliffe sites have been very accommodating and all on the project are grateful for access to the fields.

Around 25 of us have participated in the fieldwork this year, eleven from the University of Kent and around fourteen members of the North East Lincs Archaeology and Local History Society and other local volunteers. The work day today was varying in nature (sometimes all spades, barrows and mattocks, other times careful trowelling). This and the changing weather have brought us together. It is a collaboration and team effort. Everyone has learned a lot about excavation methods and techniques and some even say they have enjoyed it! It has certainly been eventful. David’s spade is sharper than ever and his wit is matching it. Steve will give a talk on the findings to the local school in the near future. Steve and David have already been thinking on the next steps for the project. More immediately the students will be writing up what they have learned from the fieldwork. They showed great dedication and kept smiling in the face of north-easterly winds blowing up the valley competing with the sunshine. Lucas in his post-pit, Toni diligently cleaning finds, and Valerie carefully trowelling are memorable impressions. Ashwini will put together a portfolio though she is not taking the training for degree credits. J’s corn-dryer had him hooked on field archaeology from early on. Danielle had no shortage of questions about how and why, between her time on geophysics and horse-managing. Meanwhile Elizabeth completed her seventh season on the project; she has once more been magnificent in ensuring all ran smoothly and in just ‘getting things done’. It has been through everyone’s efforts that we have achieved quite a lot in the space of two weeks and three weekends.

View from Trench C looking to Trench B (up the valley side)

View from Trench C looking to Trench B (up the valley side)

Recent posts have focused on the excavations as this is what we have been concentrating on just now. However, the great majority of our finds (half a tonne) are from the systematic fieldwalking: tile and brick fragments, items of building stone, and pottery sherds, collected from over a wide area of the site (3 hectares). Examining these finds and plotting their spatial distribution and combining that with the results from the large area walked last year will give us a very helpful picture of the extent of the site and its character. This can be over-laid on our plot of Lloyd’s geophysical surveys so we have complementary types of evidence for the Roman settlement. We have gathered the raw materials from which to build a detailed understanding of the site. 3-d thinking will be necessary too.

The landscape at Binbrook, as elsewhere on the Wolds, is striking and it is no wonder this is part of an official area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is an attractive place to work, study and be. One of our most fascinating finds is a part of a Roman finger ring. It is not a piece of bling but a glass bead set in a copper-alloy mount and ring. The bead is a small green sphere and a close look shows a sparkly interior – whether this is how the ring was originally designed to appear or is a function of age is a matter for a specialist: it is simple but attractive, and, having been worn by a resident at the Roman site makes it seem very special.

Looking back in time: early days at Trench C

Looking back in time: early days at Trench C

The research aims for the season have been met. Was the site a villa? Answer: on the evidence we have yes, though of course what a villa is can vary widely. There is no evidence we have found of a mosaic or painted wall plaster. There may have been plastered and painted walls but fragments may have weathered down as mortar that is not in situ appears to have done. We think floors were likely paved with stone as we have found many fragments of fine-grained split slabs (which look to have been a prestige import). Everyone believes there is so much box-flue tile in the ploughsoil that this villa had a bath or heating system. It seems a farming household gained enough wealth to invest in a stone villa-type house with Classical features.

We hope to update the blog in the autumn with news as we clean the pottery and analyse the finds. We should know more on the three features thought to be corn-dryers, from analysis of the soils and carbonized remains – was this their actual function? We continue to study and learn.

The Dig Team

Lloyd and Andy discussing the latest geophysics results and where best to locate Trench C.

Lloyd and Andy discussing the latest geophysics results and where best to locate Trench C.

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Day 15: Round-Up at Trench C

Our time is nearly up, as our chance to study the site at Binbrook draws to a close … at least for this season. We are now into the two last days to investigate and record. More here about Trench C as we dig lower.

The Roman stone wall foundation on the west side of the Trench now proves to be impressive and more details have emerged. On the north side the foundation had proved to be disturbed – we think that is due to the stones having been robbed-out and taken away for re-use in later times, and rubble discard thrown back in … maybe. We had thought that sandy marl mottles across the trench might be decayed mortar that had weathered down and disintegrated. However, we now know at the south side of the trench the foundations have survived impressively. Here the foundation is represented by substantial chunks of ironstone rock held together by very hard mortar which still binds these components in a strong matrix (thanks to Paul for the hard work on this). The foundation sits in a broad linear slot (as might be expected) and along the side of this construction slot we can see thin lines relating to the original shuttering. So at least at this level we can see that the building had been constructed with care. There is much mortar here; it contains a high proportion of sand and grit. Its discovery in such liberal amounts tallies with the idea that Feature 2020 at Trench B was created by the extraction of chalk for use as lime in the mortar used to construct the Roman period buildings. Feature 2020 also contained an unusual layer of sand and grit so maybe Roman cement was being prepared very close–by.

Mortar from the Roman building foundation at Trench C.

Mortar from the Roman building foundation at Trench C.

Steve A, a colleague who helped at the Nettleton/Rothwell site, had a chance to be on this site and finished the excavation of the post pit we identified a couple of days back. It is our deepest feature at Trench C and whilst surrendering only meagre finds through most of its fill it finally rewarded when a large tegula tile fragment with flange emerged by the bottom. We think this and the large ironstone blocks near the base were more likely packing rather than a pad in this case, not least as to their side is a deeper round depression likely to be where the post had actually stood. This will have been a very substantial post bearing the weight of the roof and a pair for it could have sat on the pad stones we have already revealed at the top of the trench. Clearly this was a large building.

Given we have little time available to conduct the excavations it has not been possible this season to examine more than a smallish part of a structure that may have been around 25m in length. Clearly it was a major investment project when it was built. For us several questions immediately arise. Was it terraced in some way into the valley slope? Was it orientated with a frontage facing the beck? Is this an aisled functional barn or the main house? Discovery and proof of a stone building of the Roman era is, on the Wolds, a rarity as there has hitherto been so little research undertaken over this vast landscape, yet this building follows on from the discovery of two at the Roman roadside settlement we excavated as part of this project recently at Nettleton/Rothwell (Willis 2013). Everyone involved this year, including our many visitors, hope we can find out more soon.

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Day 14: Feature 2020 in view

Stop press! We have reached the bottom of 2020, which lies at around 2.3m below the field’s surface.

A view of the bottom of Feature 2020 at its centre point. The natural chalk is visible here and that it also continues to dip to the right (the eastern side of the feature).

A view of the bottom of Feature 2020 at its centre point. The natural chalk is visible here and that it also continues to dip to the right (the eastern side of the feature).

We have now finished excavation work on Feature 2020. This massive pit was as large as Lloyd predicted it would be on the basis of the magnetometer survey. What was unknown was how deep it was. Well we now have some answer to that question. It is around 2.30m from the top of the current land surface to the top of the natural chalk at the bottom of our deepest excavation section at the approximate middle of the feature. Excavation shows the feature had a sloping western side which dips at a consistent angle, whilst the eastern edge is at a sharper angle, almost vertical. So whilst we have reached the bottom at the centre of the feature it is, here, still dipping quite sharply to the eastern side where it may be significantly deeper. Excavations at such depth need to continually consider health and safety. The fills of Feature 2020 have a strong clay component, especially those below the uppermost fills, and so are compact and make for firm sides, while the natural geology on the sides is solid chalk bedrock. We stepped in the excavations at both ends at an advised depth so that the soil fills were a natural brace. The lowest metre of our excavation at the centre point was a relatively narrow section and David somehow excavated this despite the challenge of the physics: his ‘wonder-spade’ perhaps had a secret extension to the handle and it evidently acted as a clay-magnet as he lifted out slices of the silty clay fill.

What is Feature 2020? When and why was it formed? One of our aims this year was certainly to see what this big ‘anomaly’ in our survey of the site represented. The strong readings on the magnetometer and its location in the geophysical plan suggested an area of burning and implied it was potentially part of the Roman site. Such large features are unusual on surveys, and aerial photos of sites on The Wolds. So we thought we needed to look at it as it might represent a kiln for making the tiles which are so prolific as fragments in the ploughsoil at the site or a pottery kiln using clay from the Waithe valley. Or was it to do with metalworking? Was it a well head? It proved not to be a kiln or oven. There was a quite striking deposit on the centre, halfway down of ash and burnt material including much carbonized bone and perhaps this was increasing the readings on the magnetometer. We will study this exceptional deposit from the samples collected; it seems to be the remains of an in situ fire. Elizabeth suggests it could be a ‘termination deposit’ marking the closure of use of the feature in ancient times. For sure the fills above it look like natural accumulations and filling in of settlement down of the lower fills.

Graham contemplating how far off from reaching the bottom of feature 2020 we are, in our deepest excavated section.

Graham contemplating how far off from reaching the bottom of feature 2020 we are, in our deepest excavated section.

Aerial photo of Trench B earlier last week. Feature 2020 partly excavated can be seen as the dark soils surrounded by chalk; Ashwini's ditch with oysters lies to the right. For scale, the trench is 14m in length. Photo courtesy of Mike.

Aerial photo of Trench B earlier last week. Feature 2020 partly excavated can be seen as the dark soils surrounded by chalk; Ashwini’s ditch with oysters lies to the right. For scale, the trench is 14m in length. Photo courtesy of Mike.

The lowest fills of the feature produced Roman finds including a nail and small shards of pot. This indicates the feature began filling in the Roman period. So we have a date. It is possible that the lowest part of the feature is by its eastern side which we have not fully excavated and so there is an element of uncertainty remaining as to the full profile and date of the feature. As to its function, we may have better information once the finds have been studied and the soil samples analyzed. It seems the pit was created (or at least open and filling up) in the Roman period. It may be the top of a well, the main shaft of which was to the side of our excavations, or a water pit lined with clay, given that the lowest fills we found are mainly composed of clay which would have held water. Our preferred suggestion just now is that it was opened to dig out chalk to turn into lime to make the mortar used to build the Roman house. In fact we found a layer of sand and grit low down in the feature which (itself) must have been quarried out elsewhere and brought to the settlement, presumably for construction. Once the chalk had been extracted and the building/s completed it looks as though this massive feature was back-filled with surrounding soils. There are some Roman finds in these lower fills but the latter are, broadly, remarkable ‘clean’ of the sorts of debris normally found at Roman period settlements (and totally contrast, for instance, with the layers seen at our own nearby Trench C). So we think the pit must have been dug and intentionally back-filled around the start of the occupation of the site, before there was much debris, etc. around which is so much a signature of life and activity at sites of the Roman period.

We think we heard David say "if you can think of a better hole, you're welcome to get in it", to paraphrase the famous words of Bruce Bainsfather (the World War I cartoonist).

We think we heard David say “if you can think of a better hole, you’re welcome to get in it”, to paraphrase the famous words of Bruce Bainsfather (the World War I cartoonist).

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Day 13: All busy on site: discoveries at Trench C!

Last few days of the dig and it has all been busy at trenches B and C. Here we update what has been happening at Trench C.

As soon as we had removed the topsoil at Trench C and cleaned the trench it was apparent we were on top of a very busy area with features and archaeological layers spread fully across the trench. We have now more clearly defined the foundations of the wall and the hard core for interior flooring (rammed ironstone). In the south east corner of our trench Lucas has excavated a square-cut pit, which seems almost certainly to have been a post pit that had contained a major structural timber (a roof support). A large pad or packing stone lay at the bottom of the feature. This led to the deduction of where a second structural feature could lie. We extended the trench and lo and behold a substantial pad of stones was revealed at the predicted location, thus fortifying the old adage that archaeology never lets you down! Here we show a photo of Antonia cleaning the pad stones. Evidently we have discovered a large aisled building of Roman date of a type known from several examples from eastern England including our one found at the Nettleton/Rothwell site previously.

Toni carefully cleaning our newly discovered post pad within the Roman building, for a detailed photograph

Toni carefully cleaning our newly discovered post pad within the Roman building, for a detailed photograph

This was a good start to the day and the momentum continued as Norman discovered a coin by our wall foundation within minutes of wielding his trowel. This discovery is very helpful and suggests our ox bones from last week date to a similar period as this coin, that is in the first half of the 4th century AD. We have pressed on with defining and recording the wall foundations.

Danielle excavating what appears to be a third corn-dryer which predates Jonathan's

Danielle excavating what appears to be a third corn-dryer which predates Jonathan’s

As is often the case with Roman corn-dryers, you find one and you soon realise it is one of several as this processing normally is clustered with repeated making and replacing of such dryers.
Danielle discovered what seems very likely to be a third, earlier, dryer cut through by Jonathan’s. Sufficient has survived for us to collect another sample for environmental analysis. Our dryers lie within the area of our building. They are late in the sequence of activity seen in this trench. Here as at other sites such ovens lying within the footprint of an earlier Roman building raise the question as to whether the building was still occupied at the time when this drying of the corn was so consistently undertaken.

Hard work all round has paid dividends with discoveries such as here at Trench C. While we have only been able to examine a small area the team has worked carefully and so we have a good record of this intense use of this part of the site. Whilst the archaeological remains are not simple to observe and excavate this all leads to improving the quality of the learning experience for seasoned diggers and those new to fieldwork alike. We were pleased to welcome Josh to join our team even before he has embarked on his degree in the Department of Classical and Archaeological Studies at the University of Kent. David, Neville and Graham have worked wonders at Trench B and we will update on their discoveries soon. We are grateful to the farmer for allowing access to the field in the brief window between harvest and re-sowing; the farmer now needs the field back for a 21st century grain crop. We turn now to the final recording and will update the blog in a couple of days.

The Dig Team

Alan and Valerie remove the baulk across Jonathan's corn-dryer following recording of the fills. Helpfully a Roman rim sherd was recovered which will help us date the use of the dryer.

Alan and Valerie remove the baulk across Jonathan’s corn-dryer following recording of the fills. Helpfully a Roman rim sherd was recovered which will help us date the use of the dryer.

Jonathan at work on a section of the wall foundations

Jonathan at work on a section of the wall foundations

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Day 12: A window on the prehistory of the Waithe Valley

A view to "Cromwell's Grave" Long Barrow across the Waithe Beck

A view to “Cromwell’s Grave” Long Barrow across the Waithe Beck

While we are focused this season on exploring our Roman period site near Binbrook the valley we are working in contains a wealth of evidence for earlier use and occupation. Along from our site is the long barrow known as Cromwell’s Grave. This monument will have had a very long history of use through the Neolithic period and later. The Ash Hill Long Barrow, also nearby but on the opposite side of the valley, was still receiving burials in the Viking period! Before our site was occupied in the Roman period we know the immediate landscape was heavily used in prehistory. Mesolithic hunters following seasonal movements of wild herds doubtless used the valley as a routeway and for water and rest.

Flint tools of the subsequent Neolithic and Early Bronze Age are well attested on the Wolds and relate to the era when people were shifting to more settled agriculture, marking the land with funerary and other monuments. The fields we have studied at our site have yielded more struck flints dating to this era than any other sites we have examined. A polished axe is also recorded from the site and this tool will have been a “hi-tech” instrument employed to fell trees to transform the landscape for farming, as one of the package of changes occurring at the time.

Here we see a selection of flints gathered last year by systematic fieldwalking plus some of the new discoveries this year.

A selection of flint from last season collected during systematic survey near the beck. Can you spot the tools and flakes?

A selection of flint from last season collected during systematic survey near the beck. Can you spot the tools and flakes?

A flint blade from last year's collection

A flint blade from last year’s collection

Some flints from this year. Dorsal view of two scrapers and a struck flake. The scraper on the left is notched and might have been used for cleaning sinews or similar activities.

Some flints from this year. Dorsal view of two scrapers and a struck flake. The scraper on the left is notched and might have been used for cleaning sinews or similar activities.

Ventral view

Ventral view

On the east side of our large pit, Feature 2020, there is a linear arrangement of post holes. A practical explanation, if this feature is Roman, would be that these were screening the pit to avoid people and animals accidentally falling in. However this straightforward interpretation is seemingly unlikely in this case for these postholes appear from their clean soil fills to be much earlier in date. The clay fillings and sealing deposit above than are more typical of prehistoric soils and reminiscent of those dated to the Neolithic at the Nettleton/Rothwell site (Willis 2013). So, it would seem likely that this post-hole feature – a palisade? – could well be contemporary with the long barrows and these struck flints we have recovered. Whether it represents a land division, ceremonial monument or settlement enclosure is not clear, and we have not seen a sign of it on our geophysical evidence. Although all the fill layers have so far produced Roman material it is just possible that Feature 2020 dates originally to this prehistoric time period; since we have not yet reached the bottom of the the feature this question remains open.

The Dig Team

Valerie and Neville trowelling clean across the edge of Feature 2020 with Neville over the area of the clay-filled post-holes.

Valerie and Neville trowelling clean across the edge of Feature 2020 with Neville over the area of the clay-filled post-holes.

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Day 11: Feature 2020 and Roman building ceramics

We have continued the work at Trench B. We have exposed and excavated more of the ditch where Ashwini had recovered many oyster shells last week. We have moved on from labelling our huge feature as “the big geophysical anomaly”, or more informally, “the blob on the survey”. It is now formally labelled “Feature 2020”. Earlier in the week we found a large pocket of burnt remains in the centre of the feature about one metre below its surface. We collected a bulk sample of the material which will go for special analysis. We can already see that it contains many fragments of burnt animal bone. This should provide us with valuable information. We do not think that the activity this represents relates to the original function of the feature. We can now see that the feature has many layers within it which is good for learning about how it filled and ‘site formation processes’. We are now down to about 1.25m below the top of the feature and have stepped in our excavations. The layers we are now encountering look very promising and all the finds we have had from the feature are of Roman date. Feature 2020 has still to reveal its main secret: why it was created in the first place. At five metres in diameter we think it must have been something extraordinary, which is why we decided to tackle it as a priority.

Work at Trench B earlier this week

Work at Trench B earlier this week

Pocket of burnt material some way down in Feature 2020

Pocket of burnt material some way down in Feature 2020

A view of Feature 2020 in the process of excavation

A view of Feature 2020 in the process of excavation

From both our fieldwalking and excavations we have recovered hundreds of fragments of Roman ceramic building material. These show that the Roman building/s as the site were almost certainly roofed with tiles. Many Roman rural sites had buildings which were evidently thatched or had wooden shingles. To roof our Roman building with tiles would be expensive and would have been an instant sign to any observer approaching the site that here in the province of Roman Britain Classical architecture had been adopted by some. Here in the photos are some examples of roof tile and box flue tile for a heating system. There are so many fragments of the latter that many of the team believe Roman baths or a heating system had been installed. Typically we have encountered no complete or largely complete tiles. Archaeological remains are often broken fragments but nonetheless are usually more than sufficient for identification.

Two fragments from Roman roof tiles. The fragment on the right comes from the broad flat type (known as tegulae) which would have covered most of the roof area. This example shows traces of mortar for attachment of the arched tile type (known as imbrices) which sealed the joins between tegulae. Presumably our mortared example here had been used for roofing at our site.

Two fragments from Roman roof tiles. The fragment on the right comes from the broad flat type (known as tegulae) which would have covered most of the roof area. This example shows traces of mortar for attachment of the arched tile type (known as imbrices) which sealed the joins between tegulae. Presumably our mortared example here had been used for roofing at our site.

Fragments of box flue tiles; the larger piece came from Feature 2020, and shows sooting over its interior surface indicating use. Here we show the outer surface.

Fragments of box flue tiles; the larger piece came from Feature 2020, and shows sooting over its interior surface indicating use. Here we show the outer surface.

The Dig Team

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Day 10: A wider view on the archaeology of the area

The area in which we are working has been little explored archaeologically, which is the main reason why our research and training project is being undertaken. There are sufficient traces to suggest that the Wolds have seen intense human activity since the last Ice Age. Few sites have been excavated or surveyed. Here we see two sites in the valley we are working in. The long barrow at Swinhope, known as Cromwell’s Grave, dates to the Neolithic period; it survives as part of a field boundary and is presently colonised by trees.

The "Cromwell's Grave" long barrow, showing its

The “Cromwell’s Grave” long barrow, showing its commanding position on the brow of the hill, overlooking the wider landscape

Further up the valley in the mid 1970s a mosaic was discovered by chance at Kirmond le Mire. Although a very classical mosaic it featured a blackbird rather than the eagle, peacock or Nile goose more typically depicted in Roman imagery. Only part of the mosaic was revealed at the time of discovery, and it is thought to be from a corridor. The mosaic apart almost no work has been undertaken at this site to properly categorize it since its discovery. It lies preserved as a Scheduled Ancient Monument under grass.

Visit to the villa site at Kirmond le Mire

Visit to the villa site at Kirmond le Mire

Visits to these sites and others allow us to discuss and learn more about the past use of the landscape.

Volume One of the project is published. Details may be be found via the following links:

PCA Publications

Oxbow Books

Amazon

The Dig Team

A further view of "Cromwell's grave" long barrow

A further view of “Cromwell’s grave” long barrow

View across the villa site at Kirmond le Mire

View across the villa site at Kirmond le Mire

Valerie and Ashwini contemplate their section drawing

Valerie and Ashwini contemplate their section drawing

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Day 9: Processing finds and Roman building stones

We have been working on the finds and studying the building materials used, as the excavation progresses.

Antonia writes: “Today Danielle and I were tasked with the opportunity to wash and clean some of the finds from the two trenches at our Binbrook site. In particular we were dealing with the bags of finds from the ploughsoil above our trenches and from the trowelling clean of the trench surfaces as we defined the layers below. Of course, coming from the field they are covered with an amount of soil; the finds need cleaning to ensure identification and as we will be keeping these artefacts for further detailed study as we prepare the publication of our work. The finds bags included a range of types of items, such as animal bones, tile fragments, sherds of pottery, glass and teeth. The process of cleaning is easy and straightforward, but follows a system with some differences depending on the material to clean. We found that knowing the system to follow allowed us to get through a variety of finds in what felt like a short space of time for the amount of finds in the bags.

Washed finds drying in trays

Washed finds drying in trays

We started out with two washing-up bowls of warm water ready to place the majority of the finds as this loosens any soil stuck to their surfaces. We then proceeded gently to shrub them with toothbrushes.

Washing the finds

Washing the finds

The amount of vigour needed depended on the item being cleaned: tile and pot sherds need a firm shrub as soil adheres strongly to these items.  Thereby the previously hidden surfaces are revealed. It is surprising what such a simple clean can show: details of decoration on pottery and finger and hand marks on Roman tiles left by the original manufacturers of the roof tiles of our site. As we have been careful on site to ensure that finds from particular layers go into the right finds bag so too we were careful with this process of cleaning to ensure that the correct finds bag stayed with the finds it contained. Steve said the typical next stage after pottery and bone is dry is to mark it with Indian ink with its site code and context (layer) number so it will always be clear where it came from.

A range of some of the finds

A range of some of the finds

Washed finds drying

Washed finds drying

Once the finds are washed and dried it is clearer to see what they actually are. (Fragments of Red Chalk and reddened ironstone at the Binbrook site can often appear to be tile fragments unless you wash them). We did not wash and scrub the oyster shells as if you did so you might loose important information from their surface layers that can easily flake off, so these we just dipped in the water to remove excess soil. Iron and glass we kept dry and these finds will be bagged separately. Although these finds were from upper site layers, when clean we could see the great majority were Roman in date: Roman kitchen greyware pot sherds from jars and finer table ware beakers made in the Peterborough area (called Nene valley ware). There was a hobnail from Trench C from Roman footwear; we will look out for more of these.

One aim in studying the finds will be to see how the items from the two trenches compare given that they are from two different locations at our ancient site. Examining the finds will prove a great learning experience”.

Antonia M. and Danielle G.

The Dig Team write: From our fieldwalking at the Binbrook site and the hedgerow survey conducted by David Robinson, Brian and other Society members we knew there to be a great deal of stone brought to the site. This is presumably building stone related to the Roman site and fits in with a pattern that is emerging for the types of stone and stone industries in the area in the Roman period. The column drums found at the start of this season are of Claxby Ironstone. This rock, extracted from exposure points on The Wolds scarp to the west has been a commonly used material in vernacular architecture in the area in recent centuries, though as is often found to be the case we can say ‘the Romans did it first’! The church of St Helen at Swinhope is quite near our site and dates from the thirteenth century; built largely of Claxby Ironstone its walls show how this stone can weather and deteriorate. Often it seen left as an undressed building stone in local houses but this church, for example, shows it can be finished well for door and window surrounds etc. Much of the stone at our site is the Claxby Ironstone. Present too are Tealby Limestone and Roach. These are similar rock types which themselves are not homogenous so expert geological/petrological study is always likely to be beneficial; washing also helps! Some 55 years ago Prof Rhatz found that Tealby Limestone and Roach had been used in the construction of the late Roman enclosure wall at Caistor to the north west of our site in the only significant excavation to examine this walling. Study for our publication on the Roman Roadside settlement at nearby Nettleton/Rothwell showed all three of these rock types being quarried and employed as building stone. Roach was used for the more visible architectural elements there, for when dressed its surfaces are less prone to weathering than with the ironstone.

Building stone with dressed corner from our big pit

Building stone with dressed corner from our big pit. Coin for scale is 10 pence piece

Example of shaped but undressed building stone from surface of field

Example of shaped but undressed building stone from surface of field (our Binbrook site)

St Helen's Church, Swinhope

St Helen’s Church, Swinhope

Detail of capital at church doorway

Detail of capital at church doorway

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Day 8: Corn-dryer explored and a robbed wall?

At Trench C Jonathan has been busy with the feature we thought, following the trowelling clean of the top of the archaeological remains, was likely to be a Roman corn-dryer (see earlier posting, Day 5). His careful excavation work on this feature has proved that our guess was well-founded. The surface clue was a keyhole shaped arrangement of stones with a soil filling. These dryers have a flue channel where there would have been a small fire; this is fed from a stoke hole at one end and the opposite end will be where the heated air, a little away from the main heat source, will have risen to parch cereal grains on a platform (see posting of Day 5 for the reasons for this process). The photos show that this dryer had been constructed from stone blocks. Its shape is fairly well preserved but only the bottom of the feature survives as its upper part has been truncated by (doubtless several) processes that have occurred in the area of the site since the Roman period, most recently routine agricultural ploughing. Here most of the lower course of stones survive; in places though a few are missing.

Jonathan at work

Jonathan at work

The stone used to make the structure is Claxby Ironstone; that was evidently the main stone used too for the walls of the Roman buildings at the site. Perhaps it is significant that there are no re-used Roman ceramic tiles or bricks in the structure. In this case most of the ironstone blocks have turned from their normal brownish-yellow to a red colour, this might be due to the temperature or a chemical change triggered by the heating and exposure. The walls of one of the corn-dryers excavated at Hatcliffe a few seasons ago as part of the wider project had stone walls, but the stone floor to this one shows considerable care taken in what will have been a temporary ’work-a-day’ heating oven not intended to be other than functional. Jonathan removed an upper fill of soil and fortunately he found that the lower level comprised soot, ash, fragments of fired clay and a dark soil; these will be a remains from when the dryer was used.

The photos indicate this sooty ash covering on the floor of the dryer. Finding this is great news as this debris, is, according to Steve, exactly what we are hoping to find on the dig. The reason being that it should contain burnt grains that by chance slipped through the parching floor and will be preserved as charcoal, as well as fragments of the fuel used (?coal, straw, twigs).

Collected soil from Jonathan's dryer

Collected soil from Jonathan’s dryer

So we kept this lower soil and the photo here shows some of it in a bucket. It will be analysed by the expert James Rackham and his team who will see what grains and other fragments are there which will tell us the details of the economy of the site and the environment around it, agricultural and natural, in Roman times. This is the first such dryer we have found at the Binbrook site. However, there is every indication this one overlies an earlier one – so we may have a sequence of dryers. Good news!

We will plan this feature next: that is make a scale drawing of its details. A feature like this is excellent for training students in recording methods. Jonathan will turn from use of the trowel to sharpening his pencil.

On the other side of Trench C the wall foundation is being cleaned and defined. It is represented by an alignment of stone rubble. The unstructured nature of the rubble makes us wonder if this is the debris from the wall being ‘robbed’ of its best stone long ago and the debris thrown-back. The shape of the construction cut for the foundations is, though, well-persevered and we are speculating if gritty patches are decayed Roman mortar. We wonder at the moment whether the dryers date to after the time when this stone building went out of use.

The martins are gathering in the sky to begin to fly south and the weather is on the turn from the dry and sunny conditions we have enjoyed over the past few days. Alan, our volunteer expert digger, plants indigenous trees on the Wolds each autumn, including species with fruits suitable for resident and migratory birds. One of the aims of the project is the recovery of evidence for the environment in the Waithe valley in past times. Little is known of the ecology of the Wolds in prehistory and the Roman era. The University of Sheffield collected important environmental data in the early 1980s when they looked at the long barrows in this part of the Wolds. Our published volume (2013) covering the site at Nettleton/Rothwell Top included much new data. The evidence from the corn-dryer(s) and ancient pollen samples from the Binbrook site hold much potential.

The Dig Team

Corn-dryer showing flue mid-photograph, stoke-hole at bottom of picture, partly excavated

Corn-dryer showing flue mid-photograph, stoke-hole at bottom of picture, partly excavated

Corn-dryer. Possible earlier dryer being investigated at top of photo.

Corn-dryer. Possible earlier dryer being investigated at top of photo.

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Day 7: Anomaly explored and Victorinus coin

Update on the excavation of the ‘major anomaly’ … One of our main aims on the excavation this year at the Binbrook site is to examine the large “anomaly” feature that showed on the geophysical survey of last summer. So one of our tasks has been to open an excavation trench across the feature to see what has given this reading on the survey. The survey (using a magnetometer) showed a very dark circular reading which stands out on the extensive plot of the ancient site. It lies close to the ditches of the Roman enclosure/road, so we thought even before we started that it could relate to our Roman period site. Our geophys expert, Lloyd, said it was not caused by iron but probably some type of residue of burning. Using a GPS instrument Lloyd located the site of the anomaly in the field at the start of last week before we had begun any excavations. He marked it with a pink spray on the surface of the ploughsoil (see photo). This spot is in the middle of the field, where there was no surface indication of anything in particular. Steve said it was a good example of how new technology has made a huge positive impact in archaeological fieldwork. Lloyd had located the spot even before we had assembled our digging tools that morning. In just a few hours of digging-off the topsoil, before lunch, we could see that we were in the right place. Impressively Lloyd then predicted that if we extended the trench a metre we would be over a ‘linear feature’ that gave a faint but clear reading on his survey. This proved to be Ashwini’s gully feature with the oyster shells.

So what progress have we made with understanding the “anomaly”? David, Neville, Graham and Alan have been excavating the feature all week. They have carefully removed tens of buckets of soil. After a couple of days it was clear his feature was indeed big. It is like a big pit. It is not a kiln or oven as we had thought it could be before we started. The slag we found when cleaning over the top of the feature has not been found lower down. We are nearly a metre down into the feature now and it is filled with dark soils with Roman finds. There are not great quantities of finds (perhaps there will be at the bottom?), but the finds are in good condition: large oyster shells again, big pieces of Roman pottery and Roman roof and hypocaust tiles. On the west side the edge is sloping in a little and on the east side in particular the soil is very dark and we think that means it has a sooty content; that may account for the reading. With more digging over the coming days we will doubtless learn more. Is this a well, cut into natural chalk, to supply water for small scale industrial processes and/or watering animals at this top end of the site, a long way up the slope from the stream below?

We have now found a few coins. They are all Roman and whilst their discovery is always exciting and they give us ‘dates’ and show the emperors and goddesses of the Roman world they are the ‘small everyday change of the empire’. We feature here one of these coins found by Stan. This has been identified by our coin expert David Holman as a low value issue of Victorinus (269-271). To quote David “the portrait is unmistakable” while the reverse shows “Salus feeding serpent rising from altar”. You can see here the emperor has a luxuriant beard – which would be fashionable today! He had a successful military career before becoming emperor of the breakaway ‘Gallic Empire’ of the time. He came to an untimely end.

The Dig Team

The anomaly ringed prior to excavation

The anomaly ringed prior to excavation

View of the anomaly pit with top layers partly excavated

View of the anomaly pit with top layers partly excavated

The anomaly pit looking east

The anomaly pit looking east

Victorinus coin obverse

Victorinus coin obverse

Victorinus coin reverse

Victorinus coin reverse

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