Report: 6th September

Rain didn't quite stop play, and the usual site tour took place at 4pm:

In Trench One they are now looking for a possible Roman road.  Trench two has an alignment of large stones which is possibly a wall and there's a surface of cobbles.  Way up the field in Trench Three there are two parallel alignments of large stones - it's possible it's a building.

Meanwhile, in the Finds Hut,  a Roman Crambeck mortarium was being looked after. It's parchment ware (which means it's a pale yellow colour) and has red-brown paint on its reeded rim.  This pottery is produced in Yorkshire during the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, so the York contingent of the staff team where happy to see a familiar sight!  Photo to follow when it's been washed.

Two gazebos were erected by Brian and Leo.  One resides in the compound.  The other was placed (rather hopefully, as it turned out) up near Trench Three to provide shelter ...

Comment: 6th September

Yes, it's raining today:

Report: 5th September

All trenches are now being dug.  Geophys is still on site surveying.  Pot washing is being done.  Some of the ceramics are still rather water soluable, with the Roman Samian ware and some of the tile being the major culprits. The weather is good, but rain is on the cards, so gazebos were brought the previous evening (which entailed driving to the late night Argos over in Barrow, via the short cut of Corney Fell) and two were erected by Brian and Leo.  One was for the compound to provide extra shelter for the diggers at teabreak, plus shelter for the gallant potwashers.  The other was way up in the field near Trench 3 (Supervisor Rowan's domain) to provide some cover should it get really nasty up there - otherwise it's a long walk back in the rain!  

Director Kurt talks about Trench 1 - note the large blocks in the foreground - so large that they may well be part of a building.  Still a lot to do, though, to expose the trench properly

 Supervisor Bryan explains Trench 2.  There is a large area of stones, with more to uncover yet.  There's also a hint of some sort of industrial activity.  Bryan's also manfully modelling the Romans in Ravenglass t-shirt!

Supervisor Rowan talks about Trench 3.  The most advanced trench in that it has been mattocked and is down to a bit of trowelling in places. Again, stoned surfaces are to the fore ...

Report: 4th September, and pictures

4th September: Another busy day on site, with machining continuing in Trench 1 & 2.  Geophys was on site again.  Trench 3 is now fully operational and the subject of much trowelling!

Here's a quick picutre diary of the Dig so far, up to 4th September:

Brian , Leo,  Kurt and Oscar the dog contemplate the field work ahead

The Welfare Unit/Office.  Complete with the Ladies Loo with the dodgy door knob and generator dependent lighting!

Director Kurt and Supervisor Bryan sort out the generator ...

...

Director Kurt and Supervisor Bryan sort out the Heras Fencing Panel ...

The Compound completed : Store to the left, along with the Portaloos, Finds Hut straight ahead and Welfare Unit, with Ladies Loo to the right!

John the machine driver and Supervisor Bryan take the top soil off Trench 1

Geophys (GSB) was on site undertaking the magnotometer survey and the volunteers helped in the afternoon

 Jimmy from GSB shows the volunteers the data they collected - he was impressed that they had demagnetised themselves pretty well (no metals can be worn whilst undertaking the survey)

The best photo by far ( though I might be biased, signed the Finds Officer!) Simona and Jan wash finds - Roman Samian, tile, and rather more recent glazed pot

Report: 2nd-3rd September - setting up the compound

Apologies for the brief hiatus in blogs. Unfortunately trying to get onto the Web in the middle of a field in Cumbria is proving difficult at the best of times! Added to that, your blogger is also the Finds Officer and general compund dogsbody so it's been difficult to nip into the village and get onto the Pennington Hotel's super-stable wi-fi.  Finally, I'm here, and having done a few other urgent Web-based tasks have got to the blog.

2nd September was all to about getting the cabins and store, along with waiting for the van with all the digging equipment. The Welfare Unit, which is serving as an office, arrived at 10am, and not much later the Store and the portaloos.  This left only the Finds Cabin (which will also serve as a place to shelter from the rain) to be delivered.  Meanwhile, the Heras Panel sheeting was set around the cabins, so that they are secure whilst no-one's on site.

3rd September saw the delivery of the Finds Cabin (hurrah!) so the Finds Officer was able to check that all the equipment had actually turned up and set up ready for the next day.  Out on site, the trenches were being surveyed in, and the mechanical digger was able to start removing the topsoil.

4th September: We're digging!  As it's now getting on for 4pm and the site tour, I've got to run back to site to ensure there's someone actually looking after the compound.  Pictures to follow, hopefully tomorrow, but I have heard that there's some massive stones in one of the trenches, and can confirm we have actual Roman Finds! 

Romans in Ravenglass: the t-shirt!

We are now very proud to be able to be able to offer this year's Romans in Ravenglass t-shirt. Long time producers of t-shirts for York Archaeological Trust's community projects, Zik-Zak of York is handling the printing and the sales. It costs £12.00, plus postage & packing, and can be ordered on line from here.  If you're on the dig, you're entitled to wear one - it's what the best-dressed Ravenglass archaeologist is wearing this year!

Report: Introductory Day 3rd August

There was a great turnout, with over fifty people from the local community cramming into the room at the Pennington Arms Hotel in Ravenglass.

Holly Beavitt-Pike of the Lake District National Park gave the welcome address and then introduced Dr Alan Leslie of Northlight Heritage who spoke about Ravenglass Roman Fort in the wider Roman context.

He asked when our preconceptions of Rome were formed and showed images from tv series, and films going back to the 1920s. He then went on to consider the evidence for Roman Ravenglass, and how it is viewed. He challenged us to think about the context of the fort and how it is interpreted. He pointed out the book Motel of the Mysteries by David Macauley which humorously explored the idea of future archaeologists digging up a motel and not fully understanding what they have found. [Kurt has a much thumbed copy of this, which he will bring to the excavations in September],  Dr Leslie gave a thought-provoking and amusing lecture which set the scene for the next speaker.

Kurt Hunter-Mann of York Archaeological Trust, who is directing the excavations, spoke about the archaeology of Ravenglass so far and what will be happening on site during the forthcoming excavations. In the first year, there will be three long trenches, so there's plenty of digging to do. In addition, there will there will be opportunities to take part in geophysical surveying, environmental analysis and field walking (which will include the shoreline).  He omitted to say there will also be the chance for undertaking finds work!  So there's something for everyone to get involved in.  In particular, he said that local input is crucial, with the community having insights into their archaeology and area which would be very valuable to the project.

Next to speak was Lisa Keys of Minerva Heritage who will be delivering the Romans in Ravenglass Outreach programme.

 
This will involve local schools visiting the site, as well as the Young Archaeologists' Club coming to see the dig at some point.  There will be several open days over the four weeks (for the dates see here), which will include displays, craft activities, finds displays from previous excavations and site tours. At the end of the project there will be an interpretive leaflet and panel, as well as a permanent display at nearby Muncaster Castle.

That was the end of the lecture programme  for the day and it was time for lunch. It was a fine day, so people were able to sit out in the courtyard to eat their sandwiches, and chat about the project. The audience was split into two groups. One section was to follow Holly, and the other Kurt, in a tour of the fields that were to be the object of the project.  This was a chance for the community to contribute further information, as well as ask further questions of the tour leaders.

The tours lasted for a couple of hours as the groups were led over the two fields and around to the Bath house.

Overall it was a great day with much enthusiasm for the project shown by both the speakers and the local community. We're all now looking forward to September and the main events of the Romans in Ravenglass project!