A change of scenery brought with it a change in pace. Our team of experts and undergraduates were brought to a more familiar site in Lincolnshire, near Hatcliffe, which has seen more diverse fieldwork techniques done on it than our fresh-faced Binbrook site!
Compared to Binbrook which was the first trench to be dug at the site, our first trench this month adds to a number already dug over the last few years since the beginning phase of the project at Hatcliffe in 2007. In fact, this new trench expands on an area we know to be rich in the type of remains we are looking for – although there’s quite a bit of weeding to do on the older trench in the meantime before the two trenches can meet.
First bite out of the new trench
Just like our progress at the other site, the work at Hatcliffe is split into using spades to cut out the shape of the trench, shovels for removing soil, barrowing, and a designated “spoil heap” – soil taken out of the ground while digging a trench – not too near the trench, so as not to encroach on our digging space! However, this trench is much wider and a square shape than the Binbrook trench, allowing more people to work in it at once; thus the ploughsoil was swiftly removed, and we are already in the stages of expanding the trench and trowelling down the layers bit by bit to reveal older features in the earth.
Using small trowels to cut away the surface — a different skillset to prising away chunks with a spade!
As well as the usual NE Lincolnshire helpers, we have also had some metal detectorists offer their assistance with our excavation. When they aren’t using metal detectors in the field where coins and jewellery have been found in the past, they are kindly checking the spoil heaps for finds we may have missed while removing the soil. As it stands, several Roman coins have been discovered in the site beyond our trench. These are essentially the small-change coins of the time, as is normal for any Roman period site in Britain. It is fascinating for all of us to see images of the emperors and gods depicted.
Provisional identification in the field suggests this is a coin of Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, and dating to the 330s. (Photo by Elizabeth Blanning)
Several possibly medieval plough-marks have been uncovered in the thick clay, and there is clear evidence of burning in the soil from Roman occupation at the site, from burn-marks and charcoal mottling the clay. Whittling down the layers bit by bit, we are hoping to uncover more details and possibly more finds!