Thursday, July 8

Before breakfast, I stop by the office to remind the gentleman about my mattress. He says he will see to it today. A hopeful sign.
The weather today is the same as it has been since we started, cool and mostly cloudy. This is good weather for digging, although the wind will pick up in the afternoon and blow a lot of dust around. (As if we weren’t getting dirty enough already!)
Each morning Peter Carne gives a talk in one trench about what has been accomplished, any interesting finds and today’s definition of “what it all means”. The same group picks up where we left off. We have covered a lot of ground but have very little that is interesting to show for it. Additional folks are added to the group and we spread out even further. We are now covering more ground than any group in either trench.

I sense some puzzlement from the supervisors as to why we are not finding more substantial stuff. There are three guys working behind us who have spent every day with the Mattocks, clearing a large area that received little attention by the people on site before us. While they are pulling up lots of pottery bits and animal bones, they also are not finding any large rocks, in patterns or just scattered about.

Over in the other trench they have uncovered some human bones. Just a few, but they are very surprised. In one of Peter’s morning talks, he says that in the Middle Ages it was not uncommon when digging a new grave to find an older one and take the remains out and just chuck them into a field. The folks over there have named the remains “Jimbo”. They have also found more animal remains (most of which are cattle) and so have decided that Jimbo was buried with his cow. Clearly, they have too much time on their hands.

In our trench, all of the groups are making slow progress. No names given to what we are finding. We are working too hard for such things. At the end of the day we have covered an impressive amount of ground, none of which leads to a clearer picture of “what it all means”.
When I return to the house I anxiously put my key in the lock. Will there be new mattress joy? YES! While it is not one of the new ones that were being delivered it is in very good condition and I am happy. No air mattress tonight!
After dinner, I take my laptop to a pub and begin to work on the pictures I have taken. I need to start making some choices as to what to post on this blog as well as on Facebook. It is a long process but I make a good start.

About the images:
1. Working with trowels.
2. Working with Mattocks and shovels.
3. Eleri, my house mother.
4. Some of the animal bone finds.