Cerne 2: The Outstretched Arm

This first day, a clear blue sky. The kestrel hovers, dead still, as though nailed to the air.

My trench crosses the upper part of his outstretched arm. To my right, Peter investigates the elbow of his club wielding arm. Down below, Nancy looks at the sole of his left foot and Carol cuts into his right. We are individually isolated though within calling distance.

First we scrape away last year’s rechalking and below lie the stains of that old dirty surface we covered up to make him bright and white again.

We don’t expect to find deep deposits.

After all, we understand that there have been regular scourings… every 25 years. The stratigraphy may well be compromised ….but perhaps… at the bottom there may be something preserved in one of our trenches which will allow a good optically stimulated luminescence date (OSL for short) to be collected.

We will see. All we can do is dig down..recording each layer as we go.