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.

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.

Week two and more discoveries at Godolphin!

The archaeologists are back on site for the second week of ‘I Dig Godolphin’, and we’ve had another successful day.
Cathy couldn’t stay away, and has decided to spend more time digging at Godolphin, rather than returning to Canada. We’re happy she decided to come back, as she uncovered another interesting find on site today! 

Cathy’s iron object causes a lot of interest on site.

Cathy’s find.

Our archaeologists think that this may be an iron masonry tie.

Dave, a kiln expert, visited the site today to help us identify the type of kiln we have uncovered in trench D. Dave has been dismantling a kiln in Lelant, and told us that Mike Dodd and Peter Schofield’s kiln was built in the style of a Japanese climbing kiln. This enabled the heat to be directed up and down on to the pots, and each individual chamber could benefit from controlled heat, ensuring the best firing for each style of pot.

Volunteers uncover more of the kiln in trench D.

Sandra has been washing pottery from the 1970’s kiln.

Trench A is getting deeper, and we have now uncovered a layer of medieval pottery. This will enable us to date the movement of the soil above, and hopefully point us towards a conclusion on the ridge in the middle of the orchard.

Digging deep in trench A.

In other news, as well as the 19th century rum bottle, Trench E has produced what appears to be part of a 17th or 18th century decanter,  and some 15th/16th century pottery. Today we also saw the opening of trench F. This picks up the ramp leading up to the Cider House, and we hope to uncover more finds when we reach the base.

It’s been a very long day on the dig, in the drizzly rain- fingers crossed for a little more sun tomorrow!