From sea to land

A winter view of Godolphin House

The out building next to the house

It’s amazing what is contained within all the estate and farm buildings the Trust looks after. Often while working on something else you notice other things of interest or the odd and quirky! While working at Godolphin cataloging  archaeological objects found on the estate, we went into one of the out buildings, were some worked stone and architectural pieces of wood are stored.

The upper room of the out building next to the main house was dark and full of portable  objects from small pieces of tile to large lumps of wood. But it was the only fixed object in the room that caught my eye.

Side view of the strange branch and machine

It is a lovely wooden branch, chosen for the natural curve it had. This was fixed to the ceiling at one end  and the wooden floorboards at the other, and attached to it is a metal machine of some kind. There is a hopper at the top, an arm for a handle and a hole underneath.

The arm for the handle and the hopper at the top

What could it have been used for?   I needed to ask  Mal (the property development manager) whose family had worked on the estate for generation’s, he is a font of knowledge and sure enough he told us it was an oyster shell crusher!   Oyster shells and other shells were used for many things in the past, to add to clay to help stop pots exploding in the kiln, to add to mortar or help with leveling wall courses, or to help fertilize the land. Oysters have many other interesting facts attached to them especially in an archaeological context, but more of that another time possibly  from a  guest blogger 🙂

closer view of the machine

I Dig Godolphin comes to an end.

I’m very sad to say that this will be the last update on I Dig Godolphin, as the dig has now come to an end. We’ve had a great time at the property over the past two weeks, we’ve answered a lot of questions about Godolphin, and also created many new ones!

Here’s an update on the final day’s digging, and some possible answers to the many questions we have about Godolphin…

We now know that a road exists between the earthwork bank and the side gardens, and this could be the medieval Breage-Trescowe/Vanes Lane road.

Louisa does a final clean of the medieval trackway.

The bank which runs along the orchard, from the Cider House to the side garden wall seals an original land surface, and is probably 16th century in date. This forms part of an outer enclosure, perhaps dividing the orchard into ornamental (west) and more wild-looking (east) planting. The ornamental planting would have been closer to the house, to create a formal orchard on this side.

Unfortunately we didn’t find structural evidence of an earlier Cider House, but it’s clear that the ramp is made (at least in part) of good quality dressed granite, possibly derived from the earlier building.

The fully cleaned Cider House ramp, which we hope to keep uncovered for visitors to see.

The medieval drainage gully was also given a final clean, ready for recording…

The survey equipment.

Final dig of the medieval drainage gully.

 The Mike Dodd/Peter Schofield kiln in trench D was a much more complex structure than originally thought, and highlighted an interesting point in archaeological interpretation: despite photos, memories and written accounts of events only 40 years ago, the scant remains of the kiln made it difficult to understand. It’s interesting to think that archaeologists then make assumptions about the use of the earthwork bank from a few sherds of Late Medieval pottery!

The orchard area has been cultivated since the earliest phases of Godolphin, with pottery from the 14th-16th centuries represented in high numbers, incorporated into the soils by manuring from the house and farm. Later material was less prolific, although industrial material from the 19th century had been dumped in the area to the south of the Cider House (mining kibble handle and chain, boiler waste (slag) and stone).

Although there was no direct evidence, the flint scraper from trench B (probably Bronze Age circa 1500 BC) and fragment of well-worn prehistoric pottery found in trench E, support the idea for prehistoric origins at Godolphin. This could be associated with activity on Godolphin Hill.

The last two weeks at Godolphin have been fascinating, and as you can see, we have discovered lots of interesting and unexpected finds. After cleaning and processing all the finds, they will be kept here at Godolphin, and some pieces will be added to our archaeological handling collection for visitors to enjoy. On behalf of the Godolphin team, and our visitors, I’d like to say a big thank you to the archaeologists, both staff and volunteers, for all their hard work on site.

A helping hand from Smeggle the dog.

James the archaeologist hard at work.

The final day’s team. Sadly this picture is missing many other volunteers who have also worked so hard over the past two weeks.

The penultimate day’s digging

The dig site at Godolphin was a hive of activity today, as the archaeologists began a final clean of all the trenches, before beginning to draw (cross)sections and use surveying equipment to record the trenches and finds.

More of the medieval road was revealed today…

The road is revealed.

…and a section was cut further in to it, to test the depth of the road.

Testing the depth of the road.

Both trenches D and F look great after a final clean today. Trench D shows the full extent of the remains of the Cider House pottery kiln, while trench F contains the remains of the Cider House ramp.

Volunteer Barbara does a final clean of the ramp in trench F.

 

The kiln volunteers do a final clean up too.

To save the best until last, today trench D provided us with a wealth of Peter Schofield/Mike Dodd pottery. Some pieces are almost entirely intact, with only minor chips, while others are unfortunately more broken. This was such an exciting find for us today, as the volume of pottery means that we can use some objects as part of our handling collection, to help us tell the story of Godolphin and the families that lived here. What a great find, well done Alex!

Alex finds a significant dump of pottery.

The big kiln clean up.

I’m afraid today’s post is an update from yesterday at I Dig Godolphin, and another post on today’s finds will follow later on. Two for the price of one! So first for yesterday’s update…

Our volunteer Louisa has started digging a ‘feature’ in trench B. This looks like a ditch that runs beneath the Late Medieval soil. This can only be seen as a slight difference in the colour of the soil, and shows how subtle some archaeology can be- it’s not always hunting for treasure!

Louisa excavates a ditch below the late medieval topsoil.

A big clean up of the kiln has started in trench D, ready for being photographed and a survey today. We will then have to think about how we preserve the kiln under the soil, before trench is refilled next week.

The fully excavated kiln site.

Volunteers Keith and Graham carried on revealing the Cider House ramp yesterday. We have discovered late medieval tile and 19th century china/ironwork here!

Cleaning the ramp.

It appears that our volunteers may have found the edge of the medieval Breage-Trescowe road in trench E, so almost the entire width is now visible.

Volunteers get to the edge of the medieval road.

To finish today’s blog we have a great action shot of our volunteer Chris swinging a mattock!

Chris swings a mattock.

Fame for the kibble handle!

Today we welcomed Chris, another new volunteer to the dig site. He got stuck in to trench A… with a Cornish shovel!

New volunteer Chris in trench A.

In trench B, we have now discovered a faint brown line in the clay, running the length of the trench. This could be a ditch cut into the natural (subsoil). Can you spot the archaeology in the photo below?

Spot the archaeology.

I’ll give you a clue, it’s on the right hand side of the photo. Our volunteer Louisa is going to investigate more of this tomorrow.

More progress has been made on the Breage-Trescowe track, and it has been a great talking point with visitors today.

The medieval track emerges.

Trench D has provided yet more pottery, as today the pottery dump was discovered. This contained a wealth of broken pottery and test pieces, which we will now wash, pack and record for the archive. Hopefully some of these pieces will then be added to our handling collection, currently on display in Godolphin’s King’s Room.

The kiln boys reveal a pottery dump.

After some excellent research by our volunteers and archaeologist, it has been made apparent that yesterday’s bucket handle find, is not a bucket handle at all. It is the handle from a kibble – the bucket used to bring tin and copper up from mines. Later our volunteer Keith found the accompanying chain.

Fame for the kibble handle, as a local paper visits to photograph progress on the site.

Today the kibble was photographed as one of our interesting finds for a newspaper article. Look out for Godolphin in next week’s The Cornishman!

An artist’s perspective.

Today I spent some time on the dig site with Godolphin’s artist in residence Nicola Tilley. Nicola has been recording life on the archaeological site daily. She is capturing the orchard as a moment in time, and recording the site as it is before the trenches are filled in, and the landscape changes again.

Below are some of Nicola’s sketches from the site…

Josiah by Nicola Tilley

Alex and Pam by Nicola Tilley

In trench D the pottery kiln is still being revealed, and many bricks and other kiln furniture have been discovered today. We are still thrilled to have uncovered so much in this trench, despite it being the newest artefact the archaeologist James has ever excavated!

Kiln furniture close to the chimney stack.

Bricks and kiln furniture.

Progress has also been made today on the Cider House ramp in trench F, although the ground around the ramp is full of roots, making excavation difficult. We hope to leave the ramp exposed, as when work begins on the Cider House conservation project, it will be useful to understand the original ground level, and the way the landscape has developed around the building.

Progress is made revealing the ramp.

Today the medieval Breage to Trescowe road has been uncovered in trench E. This is excellent news, as we understood the road would have covered this part of the orchard, however this is the first piece of evidence we have found on site to support it. Tracie is very pleased with this discovery…!

The medieval Breage to Trescowe road.

Other interesting finds on site today include a bucket handle, possibly from a bucket that would have held the cider apples, and a very impressive quartz crystal. Fingers crossed for lots more finds and some dry weather tomorrow!

The bucket handle.

Sandra with the lovely quartz crystal.

Ready, steady, dig!

It’s been a very productive day on site, with both the archaeological dig and our family activities… so apologies for the very late post (a couple of hours later and it would be tomorrow!).

Cathy has sadly decided to leave the dig, as she will be returning to Canada. It’s been great working with her here at Godolphin, and we thank her for all her interesting finds- some of which are still a mystery!

The newly opened trench F is beginning to reveal the original Cider House ramp, as well as some other hard standing which would have been created to stop the carts sinking in to the softer ground of the orchard. We will be extending this trench further, in the hope of picking up some of the footprint of the original building (which we did not find in trench C at the rear of the building).

Beginning to reveal the Cider House ramp in trench F

Trench A has been cleared, ready to draw the (cross)section tomorrow, and the bank also appears to seal a late medieval soil.

Volunteers disappear in to trench A!

The late medieval layer seen in trench B.

In trench E the digging continues, to search for evidence of the possible medieval Trescowe-Breage road.

The pottery in trench D has produced a Mike Dodd/Peter Schofield egg cup on the site of what we now know to be the Japanese climbing kiln.This was inspired by Bernard Leach’s 1920 Shoji Hamada kiln.

You may be wondering what the title of this post has to do with any of today’s news. Well, in trench D, the competitiveness has kicked in for the kiln digging race…

Timing the kiln digging race.

… or is one of our volunteers waiting for the next tea break?!

Only pots and horses

The pottery theme continues at Godolphin, as today we saw some more examples of Mike Dodd’s work. Mike Dodd worked with Peter Schofield in the Cider House Pottery, and luckily the Godolphin Property Development Manager Malcolm, had some pieces to bring in and compare with our finds.

Malcolm and Spencer compare some pottery found today, with some pieces still intact

Trench D, which covers the site of the original pottery has been extended today, with more help from our Ranger Pip and a mini digger. Gently taking the surface off with a digger will enable us to make progress in the trench, without damaging any of the finds.

Pip assists with extending trench D

Those of you who have visited today will also have noticed that we’ve opened another trench, trench E. It is unknown whether work on this trench will continue at present due to the proximity of trench E to a wasp’s nest…

Opening trench E

We’ve covered the pots, so what’s all this about horses? Well today we found two rather special horse shoes, one which we suspect belonged to a very large horse! Uncovering these horseshoes tells us that access for carts carrying cider apples would have come via a track through the orchard.

Cathy found this horseshoe in trench B

Pam with another lucky horseshoe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s great for us to be able to learn more about farming here at Godolphin, and that includes cider making. Agriculture is the main industry that links Godolphin’s past to its future. We are still farming here today, and have a flock of Poll Dorset sheep to join our herd of Red Devons this year.

I’d also like to thank Pool Academy for their visit to Godolphin today. The students completed various archaeological activities, including helping us with brushing, washing and packing finds. Hopefully they will be working on their own dig sites in the future!

Potty about pottery!

It’s been another great day at Godolphin, and our luck with finding pottery hasn’t run out! It has been made apparent, through research evidenced by finds over the last two days, that there was a small make-shift pottery adjacent to the Cider House, before the Cider House Pottery itself. The young Peter Schofield, who grew up at Godolphin, decided to create his own pottery in the grounds. Accompanied by his friend, the potter Mike Dodd, they began to work on this project in the 1960s. Today the floor of this pottery was uncovered, complete with handmade bricks and pieces of broken pot.

Two volunteers uncover the floor of the pottery in trench D.

Research tells us, that this became redundant after the Cider House Pottery was used in the 1970s. Bernard Leach, a close friend of Peter Schofield’s mother Mary (who was the sister to renowned St Ives artist Peter Lanyon) assisted the young potters in creating a working pottery, thus leaving their little pottery to the side unused.

We are very pleased to have uncovered the floor to pottery, and in turn discovered a little more about the story of pottery here at Godolphin. Let’s hope the other trenches become this successful too!

Sieving for finds in trench A

The sieving continued in trench A today, and the trench itself is becoming much deeper. We are hoping to cut further in to provide a cross-section of the soil. This could potentially help us with the dating of objects, and help us to understand the movement of the soil around the orchard area. In turn this will then give us clues to the agricultural activity around the estate, as this is often the cause of disturbed soil.

Sadly, the trench directly behind the Cider House has not provided us with many finds, and we may need to stop working on it soon. We had hoped to find a clue to a possible building previously situated on the site of the Cider House, but unfortunately the trench has not supported this theory. The shallow trench and number of tree roots also mean that excavation is very difficult here.

On a more positive note, we will begin extending trench D (the old pottery) tomorrow, and also hope to open a new trench at the top of the orchard. Today we welcomed St Uny School to Godolphin, as part of their ‘Treasure’ project. All the staff and students had a fantastic day, and even brought some of their own finds for our archaeologists to identify, including an interesting little Victorian medicine bottle. We look forward to welcoming them to Godolphin again soon.

I Dig Godolphin

The excitement has been mounting here at Godolphin recently, as the staff and volunteers on site have been preparing for the archaeological dig ‘I Dig Godolphin’. The grounds of Godolphin, near Helston in Cornwall, are now being excavated as part of the Council for Archaeology’s Festival of Archaeology. There are many questions surrounding this historic estate, and currently we are looking to the orchard and Cider House to provide some answers. More information on the Godolphin estate can be found here.

‘I Dig Godolphin’ runs from today (15 July) to 28 July, and I will be updating you on all the news from the dig site. Fingers crossed for some fascinating finds!

The dig kicked off this weekend with the help of our countryside Ranger Pip and a mini digger. This is only used to take off the turf, as the rest will be completed by hand.

The first cut is made, with the help of Ranger Pip and a mini digger.

Four trenches were then opened, and with the help of lots of volunteers, it wasn’t long before progress was made…

Volunteers made lots of progress today on trench A.

Today’s list of interesting finds includes a Bronze Age flint tool,  and lots of pottery. The Cider House was once used as a working pottery, and because of this, we have found some interesting pieces of 1960s ceramics, still glazed with intricate patterns. Other bits of pot have a grainy, granulated surface which tells us that they can be dated to the Medieval period. Our volunteer Sandra has had an enjoyable day on the dig, and especially liked seiving for finds.

Seiving for finds in the sunshine.

It’s been a successful, albeit hot day at Godolphin today. Let’s hope for some more sunshine and archaeological finds tomorrow!