Manor Lodge Dig

Day 30: Friday 30th July

2010-07-31T12:41:00.005+01:00

After 6 weeks of digging, trowelling, planning and blogging, the Manor Lodge exacavations have come to an end. It has been a brilliant 6 weeks. Lots has been learnt, many friendships have been made, and there has been a whole lot of fun had.

Weather: Grey

Word of the day: Goodbye

Find of the day: Fragments of what could be an early cup/drinking vessel. (Pictured below)

The drain pipe has been taken out of trench 16.

Philippa and Gregg on finds.

Eleanor and Kate spent some time today digging a sondage. They then planned it and photographed it. Eleanor's try before you buy course fees has gone really well. She is almost 87% certain she wants to study Archaeology at university.

Rachel and Caitlin were digging for bedrock today and kept finding loads of charcoal. You can see the colour difference in the soil sample buckets. These samples will be sent off for sampling.

If you look really closely, at the bottom of the wall where Lily and Cherubin are digging a much older part of the wall has been found.

Hutch with his mattock.

Charlie's Beard 1.

Charlie's Beard 2.

Team trench 16. Lily, Hutch, Buttery Jonathan, Kanani and Cherubin.

We also asked a few of the group who had been here for the full six weeks what they had enjoyed most:

Alvaro: When the sun was shining and lots of good working and conscientious people.

Buttery Jonathan: Seeing a squirrel fall out of tree, Learning loads, meeting everyone and working with them.

Hutch: Finding the hoard of saggars.

Cherubin: The amount I've learnt and the friends I've made.

Lily: Finding the drain pipe.

Lauren: Imparting my wisdom to training archaeologists.

Day 29: Thursday 29th July

2010-07-29T21:09:00.003+01:00

Weather: Some sun.

Word of the day: Saggar

Find of the day: Around 7 buckets of pieces of saggars were removed from trench 16. (Pictured below are a number of pieces that fit together.)

Buttery Jonathan and Hutch were on saggar duty. Here they are with full circular bases found in the trench.

Shannon was collecting soil samples today to be send for floatation.

Lily and Cherubim spent the day clearing the area around the drain pipe. They had their work cut out for them because the soil was mainly all clay. To conquer this problem they used spades rather than shovels (spades are flat) so they could cut into the clay in order to remove it.

Our brilliant and dedicated tea lady, Charlotte was trowelling in trench 17 today to see if, where they are trowelling is actually a feature.

Blake was sieveing the soil taken from trench 17 to see if there were any finds in it.

Gregg and Charlotte (pictured) , as well as Philippa, Margret and Kanani were on Extreme Finds Processing today. We have one day left of the dig and more finds were coming out of trench 16 today then have been found in trench 18 over the whole dig! They were washing outside in the sun and moved inside later on when the cold winds came.

Kate and Eleanor were planning trench 18 today.

Yesterday, Trench 15 reached bedrock, so today Rachel and Caitlin were also planning.

Charlie's Beard is a digestive.

Day 28: Wednesday 28th July

2010-07-28T23:24:00.006+01:00

Weather: Grey.

Word of the day: Drain pipe

Find of the day: The rest of the drain pipe and where it leads. ( Pictured below)

You can see the rest of the drain pipe pictured above. This is the Victorian drainage system from the houses here at the Manor during the 18th/19th century.

This is what we thought was a cellar, but it seems that the pipe is actually leading down into it. Could this actually be where waste was stored? This photograph was taken from the pipe side of the pit.

Lily and Cherubin chasing a pipe dream!

This is the makers mark discovered on friday and breifly written about yesterday. We were sent some brilliant information from Chris Cumberpatch about it. Thankyou Chris. The mark is infact that of the Don Pottery and is dated to the period of the Barker family (1839-1893). It shows 'a circular garter enclosing enclosing a demi-lion holding a plain pennon'. This mark is often accompanied by the initials S.B & S (Samuel Barker & Sons) and is usually found at the bottom of the mark. This pottery comes from Swinton and Mexborough and founded by John Green in 1801. Don Pottery is not uncommon on sites in Sheffield. A large quantity was found on a site in Upper Allen Street. As well as local markets, the pottery had an extensive trade via Hull. For more information, there is a book available at Doncaster Museum by John Griffin about this pottery.

Hutch doing some shovelling and general cleaning up of his section of trench 16 so it is ready for photographs.

Hutch, The King of the spoil heap.

A roof tile that was covering the drain pipe.

Today in trench 18 it was all girls. We renamed it Team G/Trench G. Here are the lovely ladies. Eleanor, Katie, Philppa, Kate and Charlotte.

Charlie has left site. There is no Charlie's Beard today (we forgot) so expect 2 tomorrow. Apologies.

Introducing...

Name: Carrie. Ba Classical and Historical Archaeology.
Likes: Foreign foods and the cinema.

Dislikes: Digging in the rain, spiders and being late.

Favourite Films: Inception, The Mummy films, and The Lady and the Tramp.

Favourite 3 course meal: Nachos for starters, Lamb Rogan Josh for main with all the trimmings and for desert some Ben and Jerry's ice cream.
If I could be involved in any archaeological dig, I'd like to excavate: Mesoamerica.

http://www.theancientweb.com/explore/content.aspx?content_id=19

Day 27: Tuesday 27th July

2010-07-27T21:07:00.008+01:00

Weather: Grey, chilly but luckily the rain held off.

Word of the day: Soil heap.

Find of the day: A clay pipe bowl with a skull on it. (Pictured below)

On friday's blog we posted a picture of this, a makers mark. We have since found the other half. It is not actually a dog and flag but a lion. We will give you some more information on this tomorrow.

In trench 16 they have discovered a large number of Saggars. You can spot them in the photograph above poping out of the soil. (They are a sort of red/brown colour).

Margret was one of the community volunteers from last week and she enjoyed herself so much that she came back for the day to really get stuck in with the digging. She spent her day working with Carrie, Charlie, and Rachel in Trench 15, mattocking and shovelling down to bedrock.

Cherubin has been busy trying to find the rest of the victorian pipe discovered in trench 16 two weeks ago. He has had his work cut out. There is lots of clay in the soil in this particular part of trench 16.

This is the waste pot found in trench 15 that the school children from yesterday were very interested in. It is like a ceramic bin. Lots of pieces of glass were found in the ruins of the pot. Maybe this is an early version of recycling?

Rachel and Charlie matttocking in trench 15.

Like clay pipe, we have found loads of animal teeth. Today we found part of a cow's jaw in trench 18 with teeth still attached.

Charlie's Beard. Still looks patchy. Charlie has now left site for greener pastures (aka a holiday). So to say goodbye we threw him in the soil heap. Charlie's Beard will still be a feature here though.

Introducing...

Name: Eleanor. Has just finished her AS-levels and is planning to apply to study Archaeology at University. She is here to see if she actually likes it.

Likes: Chocolate, romcoms and swimming.

Dislikes: Spiders, snakes and too much exercise.

Favourite films: The Notebook, There's Something About Mary, and The Hangover.

I can't live without: My Mobile Phone

Weird Fact: Eleanor can touch her nose wirh her tongue.

If I could be involved in any Archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: The Necropolis underneath the Vatican.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_Necropolis

Day 26: Monday 26th July

2010-07-26T20:35:00.005+01:00

Weather: Grim and Grey.

Word of the day: Sure

Find of the day: 3 pieces of a pottery, 2 of which fit together. (Pictured Below)

These three fragments of pottery boast the names of two characters from the novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' by Harriet Beecher Stowe. This anti-slavery novel was written in 1852 and was so popular that a series of ceramics were created to capture the story. The two characters featured on this particular ceramic are Miss Ophelia, Augustine St.Clare's pious cousin who argues against the institution of slavery but is repulsed by the slaves themselves, and Topsy who is a young slave girl.

So what is the context and significance of finding this? Well, firstly it shows that there was literacy in the the 19th century houses at the Manor Lodge. Also, Hull is near by and Hull was a focal point in the anti-slavery movement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Tom's_Cabin

http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/interpret/exhibits/stevenson/stevenson.html

Lily has been removing dirt from the stone wall in trench 16. When the dirt is removed we will be able to see the stones to record them and also we will know when they come from. This wall could be post medieval but with repatching and fixing there are a number of other bricks from other times.

Cherubin taking a quick break from shovelling.

We had a number of school children at Manor Lodge today on a school trip. They were quite interested by this rubbish disposal pot in trench 15.

Philippa and Hutch mattocking back the next layer in trench 18.

Blake and Shannon were busy trowelling back in trench 17 today.

Lily spent the first two weeks of the excavation on site then was involved in a number of field schools. She looks happy to be back.

Lauren spent some time this afternoon checking context sheets.

Charlie's Beard. To the untrained eye this will look no different to any other Charlie's Beard but it is. Charlie has had a slight trim and has left himself with a number of beard bald patches.

Day 25: Friday 23rd July

2010-07-26T11:29:00.005+01:00

Weather: Sunny and chilly.

Word of the day: MATTOCK

Find of the day: The stone from a ring. (pictured below)

Above is a fragment of pottery. On the front is an elaborate pattern and on the backside (pictured) is the makers mark. If you look carefully you will be able to spot a dog and flag.

Students taking part in the material cultures field school spent the afternoon learning about lithics and deciding how to arrange the artefacts found in the display cabinet. Above is the top shelf which has been used to display the large number of interesting and diverse game pieces we have found.

The lithics talk this afternoon for material culture students was held outside. Above are arrowheads and below are blades.

Alvaro teaching the students.

In trench 17 there was a real sense of teamwork. It was incredibly busy. Mattocking, shovelling, wheel barrowing. Everyone was busy.

Charlie's Beard and the Charlie's Beard shovel. Can you spot the difference?

The blogger took to the trench to do some serious mattocking. It proved to be the best stress relief.

Day 24: Thursday 22nd July

2010-07-23T11:17:00.004+01:00

We would like to say a big congratulations to Charlotte (our tea lady), who today graduated and didn't trip over. We would also like to say a massive congratulations to Lauren who is now engaged.

Weather: Grey with rain.

Word of the day: Sondage.

Find of the day: A teadrop shaped game piece. (Pictured below).

Philippa and Charlotte trowelling a feature.

Tom and Buttery Jonathan spent a large percentage of the afternoon in the finds basement. Tom was doing site plans and Buttery was matching the photo numbers with all 77 context sheets. Good job he likes paper work.

The word of the day is Sondage. In the most basic of translations, this means: 'digging a small hole'. Above, Charlie is digging a sondage and below is the sondage that the blogger dug. Tom popped over to trench 15 to see what had been going on and Charlie said: 'This is a sondage dug by an archaeologist (pointing at his hole), and that is the sondage dug by the blogger which makes the archaeologists look rubbish.' Thanks Charlie. Turns out the blogger (who studies English Language and Linguistics is a natural archaeologist).

The small skeleton of a chicken has been discovered. There is much debate over what the find should be named. Piri piri was suggested aswell as Mr or Mrs Tweedy. Above, Katie is photographing the find.

Kanani and Chris checking site plans.

Charlie's Beard. No different. May have to start doing a site plan of it so we can tell the difference.

Introducing...

Name: Caitlin. Ba Classical and Historical Archaeology.
Likes: Formula 1, reading and drinking.
Dislikes: Spiders and chickens.
Favourite Book: The Aenid by Virgil.
Greatest Adventure: Canooing in Scotland with with the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
If I could be anyone for a day, I'd like to be: The Queen.
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: Mexico.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico

Name: Rachel. BSc Archaeological Science.
Likes: Pigs, football and music.
Dislikes: Snakes and ventrilliquist dolls.
Desert Island Discs: (6 Songs) At Atlantic City-Bruce Springsteen, This Charming Man- The Smiths, Can't Stand me Now-The Libertines, Mr Tambourine Man- Bob Dylan, Boys Don't Cry- The Cure, and Rock and Roll Queen-The Subways. (Book) Into the world by John Crakaur. (Guilty pleasure) A spice rack. (Rachel likes spicy food).
Favourite place in the world: The Lake District
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: Stonehenge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_henge

Day 23: Wednesday 21st July

2010-07-22T11:08:00.003+01:00

We'd firstly like to wish a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Lauren.

Weather: Warm.

Word of the day: Buckets and finds train.

Find of the day: Large pieces of blue and white pottery. (Pictured below)

Above are students filling out a context sheet.

Both wednesday last week and wednesday this week we have had a number of community volunteers on site. This project is giving them an introduction to archaeology. They are invited to dig, trowell, sieve for finds and clean the finds. Above are two community volunteers searching for finds in the soil heaps.

The material culture students were doing finds processing today. They also had an informal session outside in the sun led by Alvaro, about the excavation and treatment of Organic Materials. All the students were intently listening and afterwards commented on how interesting the talk was.

Becky and Cherubin learning about Organic Materials.

Charlie's Beard was mostly made of metal today.

Introducing...

Name: Cherubin. Recently graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi where he studied Geographic Information Systems.
Likes: Cars, shiny things and Corporation.
Dislikes: Avril Lavigne, mean people and politicians.
Ideal Dinner Party guests: Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, Dennis Rodman, Henry VIII and Seth McFarlan.
If I could be anyone for a day, i'd like to be: James Bond
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: The Temple of David underneath the Dome of Rock.

http://graal.co.uk/houseofdavid.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dome_of_the_Rock

2010-07-20T22:35:00.003+01:00

Weather: Still can't make up it's mind. Hot, cold, rainy.

Word of the day: Material Culture

Find of the Day: A pair of copper alloy pins. (Below)

A few weeks ago we found a piece of pottery with a pair of feet on it and some horses legs. This piece pictured above is from the same piece of pottery. Unfortunately they don't quite fit together. Theer is a tiny piece missing from the puzzle.

This glazed number is what is known as Manorware and there are huge amounts of it because it was produced here in the 18th/19th century.

A new field school were on site today. This field school is called Material Culture.

http://www.shef.ac.uk/archaeology/field-schools/manor-lodge-mc.html

Hutch sorting a finds tray.

In trench 16, students were digging out a new feature. Further down a large hole was discovered. A post may have been in this hole at some point.

Site planning is still going on. Above Charlotte is recording stone by stone in a feature in trench 18.

Blake trowelling trench 17.

Charlie's Beard looked rather wind swept today.

Introducing...

Name: Katie. BSc Archaeology, Sheffield.
Likes: Holidays in the sun, lasagne and dogs.
Dislikes: Spiders and her brother.
Tonight Matthew, I'm going to be: Blondie
Greatest Moment: An expedition to Bolivia.
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd Like to excavate: East Smithfields Black Death Cemetary.

.org.uk/English/Collections/OnlineResources/CHB/Database/Medieval+cemeteries/ESmithfieldBlackDeath.htm

Name: Philippa. BA History and Archaeology, Newcastle University.
Likes: Latin American and ballroom dancing, Mohitos and rugby men.

Dislikes: Creepy crawlies, blood, injections and plasters.
Favourite Film: Dirty Dancing.

Desert Island Discs: Spice Up Your Life-The Spice Girls, 9 to 5- Dolly Parton, Purple Rain-Prince, Boys of Summer-Dj Sammy, Livin La Vida Loca- Ricky Martin and Wonderwall-Oasis. Ray Mear's Surivival Guide and Alfie the Teddy Bear.
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: MV Cita

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Cita

Day 21: Monday 20th July

2010-07-20T10:57:00.005+01:00

Weather: Hot and sunny

Word of the day: Penguins and Sharks.

Quote of the day: Whilst reading the joke from the back of a Penguin chocolate bar:
Charlie: I'm disappointed with this joke.
Victoria: I'm disappointed with life.

Find of the day: This large piece of worked bone from the handle of a knife. (Below)

After the rain of the weekend, Tom was trowelling back in trench 17 to see the features once again.

Katie a BSc Archaeology student from Sheffield and Philippa a Ba History and Archaeology student from Newcastle were digging out the second vegetation feature in trench 18.

Skulls from Bawtry.

You may have read about the field school taking place at Bawtry Cemetary last week. If you are an avid follower of Charlie's Beard you will know that Charlie kept disappearing to medieval burial ground. Above is one of the skulls found. Charlotte is carefully cleaning the female medieval skull so it can then be sent for professional analysis.

Buttery Jonathan is still busy site planning. Above is the start of his site plan of trench 16.

Charlie's Beard. Still no different.

Introducing...

Name: Charlotte. A Ba Classical and Historical Arcaheology student.
Likes: Festivals, cooking and The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.
Dislikes: football post world cup, and moths.
Best Moment at the Festival: Leeds 2008 when Rage Against the Machine played Killing in the Name of.
Tonight Matthew, I'm going to be: Elton John.
If I could be involved in any archeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: Something Holocaust related like Auschwitz.

http://en.auschwitz.org.pl/m/

Name: Gregg. Ba Arcaheology.
Likes: Football, table tennis, drinking and fashion.
Dislikes: fishing, golf and markets.
Ideal Dinner Party Guests: Eva Mendes, Stevie Wonder, Alan Carr, Denzel Washinton and Alvaro.
If I was a Simpsons character and could only wear on outfit I'd wear: Slim jeans, a plain t-shirt, a cardigan and All Saints boots.
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: Machu Picchu.

http://www.sacredsites.com/americas/peru/machu_picchu.html

Day 20: Friday 16th July

2010-07-19T11:26:00.002+01:00

Weather: Wet

Word of the day: Trowell's, soggy chips and soggy feet.

Find of the day: A second small skeleton. Either a cat or Dog. (Pictured Below before it was excavated)

Again, large amounts of site planning were taking place. Everyone seemed to be site planning in the awful weather. Buttery Jonathan is in this photograph using the dumpy level.

Nat and Becky were finishing off their site plans today. Here they are taking a last few measurements for their overlay.

Above Chris is checking C.J and Alyssa's site plan of trench 16.

For site plans to be as accurate as possible students have to measure every single stone in a wall. Ben is doing just that.

The award for the best waterproof clothing goes to Tom. You literally couldn't miss him in this flourescent yellow matching set.

Charlie was spending some time supervising at Bawtry today so today's Charlie's Beard was found on a spade. The resemblance is uncanny.

Introducing...

Name: Kim from Columbia University, New York. Kim is studying Applied Physics with BA Anthropology.
Likes: Cars, video games, computers, and bike riding.
Dislikes: Ignorant people, touching without purpose, unexpected hugging and fake people.
Ideal Dinner Party Guests: Audrey Hepburn, Beethoven, Laurence Olivier, and E.A. Budge.
Favourite Movie: Rebecca by Alfred Hithcock.
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: The World Trade Centre.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/gallery/2010/jul/16/world-trade-centre-ship

Day 19: Thursday 15th July

2010-07-15T17:08:00.008+01:00

Weather: Couldn't make up it's mind.

Word of the Day: Tape Measure

Find of the Day: A tiny mouse skull pictured below.

Students involved in the Historic Buildings field school were back on site today after a good day yesterday at Hardwick Hall. Students were looking at the walls at Manor, trying to determine the different fazes of building. Above is the Long Gallery, and these different fazes can be indentified based on the different types of stone, various repairs and the windows. In the photo above you can see that the windows have been filled in with red bricks from the 18th/19th century.

Hutch stretching in preparation to record stone by stone.

After several days of planning, Mauro is getting back into the swing of things.

C.J doing a site plan of Trench 16.

We have found a fairly large amount of worked bone, but here is a piece of worked shell.

This is a fragment of what looks like a jug.

Kim very carefully trowelling a feature in trench 15.

Nat also carefully trowelling a feature in trench 15.

Charlie is BACK. He was also kind enough to bring Charlie's Beard back to site. It was a very joyous occassion, but still looks no different.

An Interview with C.J.

C.J aka Charles James has just completed his first year of BA Archaeology at Nottingham University. He has been at the Manor Lodge field school for three weeks so we thought we'd have a good old chin wag about Archaeology.

V: So why Archaeology C.J?

C.J: I've been interested in classics for years and years, since I was little. And with archaeology you can explore that further. You're getting to grips with the practical side. I find history quite boring, but with archaeology you are actually getting involved, discovering, hands on learning. It's interesting.

V: Indiana Jones or Tony Robinson?

C.J: If there hadn't have been that fourth Indiana Jones movie I would have said Indi. But I'm going to have to go for the Robster. Baldrick. He's a bit of legend really. Then again, Indiana Jones is good, bringing archaeology to the masses.

V: You've been here for a few weeks, what do you think is the most interesting thing we've found?

C.J: When I was in a trench with Tom, trench 17 we found that game piece, the ceramic cube, and a couple of minute later we found the top of a wine bottle.

V: What aspect have you enjoyed most about your course thus far?

C.J: The first year is an overview of the last 4 million years and i've liked how its so varied. I found ancient man like cavemen and neanderthals really interesting and obviously all the Roman and Greek stuff. I'm still not massive on 1066, I prefer my really old stuff. Achillians, Greek Islands, Troy and gaining more context of the ancient world.

Day 18th: Wednesday 14th July

2010-07-14T22:29:00.007+01:00

Weather: Dull and grey

Word of the Day: Cellar

Find of the Day: A 18th/19th century cellar was found in trench 16. This brilliant find is pictured below. The camera was literally placed inside the opening to the cellar and 'take' was pressed with no idea as to what we were seeing.

A handle and a fragment of ceramic found in Trench 16. It has been suggested that this could maybe be dated back to the 17th century.

A stone floor in trench 16.

Students decided to make the act of filling up buckets of soil more enjoyable so started to make soil castles.

BreeAnn and Samantha have been collecting soil samples from trench 18 for environmental archeaology. The feature that they are collecting the samples from is thought to have been vegetation. Hedges could have potentially been planted here and this process will enable us to know exactly what was planted. Trench 15 will also be collecting soil samples to see if there is any correlation between the vegetation grown there with trench 18.

Charlie was on a research day today so we had to think of a way to represent Charlie's Beard. Toby Martin a PhD Archaeology student was Charlie's Beard model today. We managed to coax him into doing it with the promise of the fame.

Introducing...

Name: Charlotte. A MA Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations and Archaeology student from Edinburgh University.
Likes: Music, shopping and history.

Dislikes: Baked beans and snakes.
Favourite Songs: Johnny B Goode- Chuck Berry and Baker Street-Jerry Rafertty.
Ideal Dinner Party Guests: Nelson Mandela, Johnny Wilkinson, Robert Pattinson, Robert Plant and Julius Caesar.
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: Maritime. eg Mary Rose

http://www.maryrose.org/

Day 17: Tuesday 13th July

2010-07-13T23:12:00.002+01:00

Weather: Grey

Word of the Day: Planning

Find of the Day: Another small cherub figure without a head. (Pictured Below)

We have found a considerably large amount of pottery with words on. Here is another example.

Plannning is the word of the day for this grey tuesday. Photographing, section planning, levelling and site plans were all taking place. Every trench was doing some kind of planning. Above, Tom is showing students who have joined the excavations this week and last how to use the dumpy level.

This is Liz doing a section plan of this feature. This involves measuring every single feature so the plan can be as acurate as possible. Here Liz is about to measure the depth of the feature at different points on the base tape.

We have another entry for the competition of Best Hat. This entry comes from CJ and is a corduroy flat cap.

This is an incredibly detailed site plan of a the 1970s trench in trench 16. Buttery Jonathan and Mauro have both been busy planning every single feature.

Here are students site planning after having used the dumpy level and staff to find out how the trench depth relates to sea level.

Charlie is still at Bawtry so we had to improvise once again to bring you Charlie's Beard. Inspired by 90s children's television, Victoria created a large face and beard out of mattocks, shovels, trowels, buckets and other tools. Neil Buchanan would be proud.

Day 16: Monday 12th July

2010-07-12T22:27:00.007+01:00

Weather: Rain, rain go away.

Word of the Day: Trifle and rain coats.

Find of the Day: A fragment of pottery with the word Blessed on it. This could be part of the phrase 'Blessed are the meek'. (Pictured Below)

A few weeks ago we found a snail called Sampson who became our mascot for the day. Sampson the Second came to visit the Historic Buildings field school students and brought along his friend Delila.

This week 7 students are taking part in a Historic Buildings field school. This school introduces and teaches students how to record medieval and post-medieval buildings. Students will be spending a number of days at Manor Lodge aswell as taking trips to Hardwick Hall and Monk Bretton Priory.

http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/archaeology/field-schools/manor-lodge-buildings.html

Hardwick Hall: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-hardwickhall

Monk Bretton Priory: http://www.monkbrettonpriory.org.uk/

Above and below are photographs of some of the ruins at Manor Lodge being photographed by students.

Lily using a digital camera to make records of the ruins. 3 types of camera are used to photograph historic buildings. This process creates a permanent record. Firslty a digital camera is used. Secondly a 35mm with both black and white film and colour for archiving and also a Medium Format Camera. This is often used in architecture and produces a large negative. (Medium Format Camera pictured below).

A number of features have been discovered in Trench 18 recently. Samantha and Breeann have been busy trowelling the trench so the contexts become more visible and can be photographed.

Tom teaching students how to use a context sheet.

Trench 16 being prepared for photographs.

Charlie was sorely missed at site today. He is spending a few days at Bawtry Cemetery http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/archaeology/field-schools-index/bawtry.html This is what an artist's impression of Charlie's Beard looks like today.

Day 15: Friday 9th July

2010-07-12T11:28:00.004+01:00

Weather: Very hot and sunny.

Word of the day: Ear ring

Find of the day: A post medieval ear ring, possibly 16th Century found in Trench 17. (Pictured below)
During the 18th century small terraced houses were built on the site. Above is a photograph of the a Victorian drainage pipe, part of the drainage system discovered in Trench 16.

Kiln made of clay and straw for experimental iron smelting which is taking part at the weekend.

Part of a metal bucket found and lifted from Trench 15.

Pieces of knife bone handle found in Trench 17. 18th/19th century.

The largest tooth found so far. This tooth is absolutely gigantic and attached to a piece of jaw.

17th Century pottery found.

A small game cube found by Charlotte.

Today we had a talk given by Alvaro about the finds so far. This was a great opportunity for students to see things that they had found, cleaned and sorted. It was also a good chance for students to take pictures for their future coursework assignments.

Above are both of the cube game piece found.

Charlie's Beard is till growing strong. A ceremonial beard shaving has been proposed for the last day of the dig.

Day 14: Thursday 8th July.

2010-07-08T17:12:00.004+01:00

Weather: Warm and sunny.

Word of the day: Worms

Quote of the day: In reply to a comment about Nat's slow pace of shovelling soil into a wheelbarrow.
Nat: I'm slow because I was built to play piano and push pens.

Find of the Day: We haven't got one specific find of the day. Instead we are going to talk you through a number of interesting finds.

Today students also had a lecture led by Rachel Askew, a PhD Archaeology student, titled 'The Consumption of Material Culture in Castles during the English Civil Wars, 1642-49'.

Over the course of the last few weeks we have found a relatively high number of these fragments of 19th century jam jars.

This strange shape is actually a fish bone.

As previously said in past blogs, we have found more pieces of clay pipe than we have worms. However this piece found today differs from the others. This one has an addition on the end which we assume would be the end used to actually smoke through. It is the kind of shape which means it could be clamped between the teeth. Due to the fact that we have only found one end of a clay pipe has raised suspicion that there was just one really really long clay pipe.

This is a picture of worked bone, cut into an almost perfect square.

We have found lots and lots of animal teeth. This is the largest found and measures at about 2 inches long.

Above is some moulded plaster cornice found. It is used as decoration and for coving.

This section of trench 16 is being prepared for section drawing after some levelling took place yesterday.

At the osteology field school today, students were learning about Palaeopathology. This is the study of ancient diseases. After a lecture students were invited to look at bones which had suffered disease, trauma and illness and identify what had happened to the person by looking at the bones.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleopathology

We have found a Charles and Diana memorabilia plastic bag with the date of their wedding on in 1981.

Alvaro having a look at site.

Charlie's Beard. Charlie's beard has changed some what. He has shaved his neck.

Day 13: Wednesday 7th July

2010-07-08T10:44:00.004+01:00

Weather: Grim and rainy.

Word of the day: Waterproofs and bad jokes.

Find of the Day: A small fragment of 16-17th century pottery. (Pictured below).

Today the student taking part in the osteology field school were looking at adult skeletons and with the help of a hefty handout were determining the biological sex of the skeletons and assigning the age of death. Above is a male skeleton.

The skull on the right is male and the skull on the right is female. There are several differences with male and female skulls which helps to determine the sex of the skeleton. To name just a few: A male's skull is robust and heavier than a females. There are differences above the eye sockets. A female's will be much smoother than a males.

This is a picture from the hand out that accompanies the task. If you look at the diagram of the male's pelvis next to the female's you will be able to spot a number of differences.

The newest entry for the Best Hat competiton comes from BA Archaeology student, Sam. Today on site he was sporting a knitted number with a peak.

Trench 17 were busy mattocking the next layer of soil.

Samantha is trowelling along a linear feature which has been half sectioned to show the profile of the feature. At the moment it is looking like it could potentially be vegetation.

A packet of 1970's Chip Sticks found.

Charlie was off doing research today but luckily he left us a drawing of his beard for Charlie's Beard.

Introducing...

Name: Alyssa. BSc Arcaheology student.
Likes: Shopping, ice cream and sunshine.
Dislikes: Mushrooms.
Greatest Moment: Living in Cypress for 4 years.
Can't Live Without: Friends, family and chocolate.
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: Pompeii

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii

Name: Alvaro. Archaeological Research Services LTD project manager.
Likes: Real ale and travelling in the sun.
Dislikes: lies and injustice.
Sports: climbing, surfing, mountain biking and ski-ing.
Greatest Moment: Climbing Mattehorn mountain which borders Switzerland and Italy with his brother.
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: South American early civilizations.

http://archaeology.about.com/od/incatiwanakumoche/South_American_Civilizations_and_Cultures.htm

Day 12: Tuesday 6th July

2010-07-07T10:31:00.005+01:00

Weather: Chilly

Word of the Day: Bedrock

Find of the Day: A deer's antler.

In other news...Alvaro is going to be in the Sheffield Star!

Here is the antler found today in trench 16. In the past Manor Lodge was a deer park. This antler could be dated to the 16th Century.
A number of students who have been involved in the excavations at Manor Lodge are currently taking part in an osteology field school. Osteology is the study of human bones. On monday they were looking at adult bones and today student were given a box of juevenille bones to put into an anatomical position in labs. The task was to help the students identify the similarities and differences between adult and juevenille skeletons and with the help of supporting literature the students were able to identify the age of the skeleton. In the photograph above, Cherubin and Rebecca are looking at the skeleton aged between 4 and 6 years of age.

This is the skeleton of a 2-3 year old. The field school is being run by Dr Lizzy Craig and has 22 students attending.

A few weeks ago we found this. A Royal Marines button. We have since been trying to date this brilliant find and thanks to some research from the resident tea lady Charlotte, we can tell you this:

In 1855 his majesties marine forces were renamed the Royal Marines Light Infantry, then in 1862 they were renamed the Royal Marine Light Infantry. On the button, the s in Marines exists so this potentially dates the button between 1855-1892.

Nat and Tom have been collecting soil samples from trench 17 for flotation. This process will enable us to know more about the environmental archaeology of the site.

Here is a ceramic bead found.

This is a very interesting find. It is a bone washer. You will not be able to see this on the photograph but the small washer contains both ridges on the inside and the outside. This suggests that not only can things be screwed into the washer, but also the washer itself would be screwed into things.

Introducing...

We would like to now introduce you to the man behind Charlie's Beard, Charlie.

Name: Charlie. MA Archaeology student.
Likes: Delirium Tremens Beer, The Big Lebowski and Biffy Clyro.
Dislikes: being punched in the face, BMW drivers and wasps.
Would Like to Meet: a fully functioning woman with a GSOH. Enjoys long walks in the park and is preferably Scarlett Johanson.

If I could be anyone for a day, I'd be: Godzilla.

Best Holiday: Crete 2000
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: Stonehenge to find the Underhenge. (Dr Who Reference).

http://www.stonehenge.co.uk/

Name: Liz. BSc Archaeology Student.
Likes: The pub, rock climbing and films.
Dislikes: Spiders and Nicholas Cage.
Favourite Films: Pan's Labyrinth, Chocolat and Clockwork Orange.
If I was a simpsons character and could only wear one outfit I'd wear: A checked shirt and jeans.
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: Olduvai Gorge

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olduvai_Gorge

Name: Samantha. BA Archaeology Student.
Likes: Swimming, ice cream and animals.
Dislikes: Spicy food.
Favourite place in the world: Home in London.
Ideal Holiday: Caribbean cruise with lots of water sports.
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: Pompeii

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pompeii

Day 11: Monday 5th July

2010-07-05T19:25:00.005+01:00

Weather: Chilly and windy.

Word of the Day: ceramics

Find of the Day: A large piece of waster pottery. (This means it is mis-shapen due to being mis-fired. Pictured below).

Here is the extra long piece of clay pipe found on friday by C.J.

Mauro using a dumpy level to measure the depth of the original 1970s trench that has been excavated from trench 16. By doing this, we can see how precise the 1970s plans of the site are. What we found yesterday was that actually the 70s trench doesn't match the original site plans.

Charlie's Beard looked a bit wind swept today. In other news, Charlie has been involved in the excavation of trench 15. In the 1970s, the layer of soil that we have reached was recorded as natural bedrock. It isn't. It is actually soil with evidence of burnt material in it.

A selection of pottery. If you look closely at the white fragment on the right you may be able to spy a small 's'. This is the makers mark.

Ceramics found over the course of the last few weeks were spread on large tables to be sorted. At the Manor Lodge Site there is a visitors centre which has lots of information on the history of the site. We are going to be putting a display cabinet in the centre, so are selecting artefacts which tell a story to display in the centre.

Charlotte: Finding pieces and fragments of pottery with interesting designs, patterns and pieces that fit together.

Introducing...

We've got an interview for you with young whipper snappers Ben and Nat, but first we thought we'd introduce them.

Name: Ben. BA Archaeology, Sheffield.

Likes: Mountain biking, fish and guitars.

Dislikes: Loud people and being called a geordie. (Ben is from Sunderland)

Favourite Songs: Maybe Tomorrow- The Stereophonics and Venus in Furs- The Velvet

Underground.

Ideal Dinner Party Guests: John Frusciante, Jimmy Page, Kim Jong II, Keith Richards and Roy Keen.

If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: The burial ground of the Qin Dynasty.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qin_Dynasty

Name: Nathanael. BA Archaeology Student Sheffield.
Likes: drums, rock climbing and piano.
Dislikes: freshly cut grass due to his hay fever.
If you could be anyone for a day who would you be?: Prince Harry.
Favourite Song: Heart of Gold- Neil Young
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: Easter Island.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Island

Victoria: Why did you choose archaeology and what sparked that initial interest?

Ben: I've always liked archaeology, always been interested in finding stuff. I went to Binchester, and Durham university were doing some excavations there and they showed us around. There was part of a road they'd excavated, found some quite cool stuff, but they say it's bigger than stuff they've found at Hadrian's Wall, so if they had excavated that it would be bigger and better.
Nat: I did it at GCSE. Went on a dig in year 10 I think it was in Chirbury and it grew from there really.

Victoria: Indiana Jones or Tony Robinson?

Ben: Tony Robinson

Nat: He's more realistic.

Victoria: So you have both completed your first year of BA Archaeology. What aspect of the course have you most enjoyed?

Ben: European Civilizations with Jane Rempel, good lecturer.

Nat: I really enjoyed Origins. We had a lecturer Phil Pettitt, absolute legend, he's a really good lecturer. So I was kind of interested because of the lecturer. I really liked the pre-history and that aspect of it. And we studied world civilizations this semester which was fantastic.

Day 10: Friday 2nd July

2010-07-04T21:17:00.011+01:00

Weather: Hot

Word of the Day: Cake, chips and wheel barrow.

Find of the Day: A clay pipe bowl with a small amount of tobacco resin in the bottom.

Quote of the Day:
Charlotte- You're sharp aren't you.
Victoria- As sharp as a trowel.

The clay pipe bowl found by Team Trench 17. During the course of the dig we have found more fragments of clay pipe then worms. Today C.J. found the longest piece of clay pipe thus far. It measured at 10 and half centimetres.

It was Hannah's birthday today so we gave here a cake and a card.

Today we had a teaching session led by Alvaro on Lithics. He called this lesson, 'Monkeys and Rocks'.

Above is an arrow head dated back to the Neolithic period.

These pieces of flint from Europe, are from the Mesolithic period. They are between 12,000 to 9,000 years old.

Alvaro teaching the students.

http://archaeology.about.com/od/lithics/Lithics.htm

A new entry for the Best Hat competition is this woolen panda number, as modelled by Laura.

For the past two weeks the atmosphere on site has been absolutely fantastic. It has been lovely to observe the way that the students and staff are interacting with one another and forming bonds and friendships. Above is a photograph of Hannah and Buttery Jonathan, sharing a joke whilst trowelling.

Charlie's Beard. If you look closely Charlie's beard is growing around the chin area.

10 Buttery Facts. (Above is Buttery Jonathan showing us his lovely t-shirt tan line. We call him Buttery Jonathan because his name is Jonathan Buttery. This is what happens when you have too much sun!)

1. Butter tea is drank in Tibet and is made from yak butter, salt and tea.
2. In Wisconsin, it is illegal to serve butter substitutes in state prisons.
3. Butter sculptures of figures from Tibetan mythology are produced in Buddhist monastries in Sikkim.
4. Butter was used as a cure for the bubonic plague with onion and garlic.
5. In Quebec, margarine must be a different colour to butter. Originally it was coloured dark red, but it is now nearly white.
6. At the annual Big Tex Choice Awards in Texas, deep fried butter won the prize for being most creative.
7. Before the body of a Parsi is removed from the house, their forehead is smeared with butter or ghee, and the dogs of the house are let in. If they lick the butter it is a good omen, if not it is a sign of perdition.
8. The world record for eating butter is seven quarter pound sticks in 5 minutes by Donald Lermon.
9. The word butter is thought to have come from the Sanskirt word Bhutari, which means the enemy of evil spirits.
10. Butter is more yellow in summer than in winter if it comes from grass fed cows.

Sourced by the very brilliant Kate Brown.

Introducing...

Name: Kate. BA Archaeology student.
Likes: Archaeology, industrial and black metal, corsets and platform boots.
Dislikes: the colour pink and liars.

Weird Fact: Kate is double jointed in every joint.
If you could be anyone for a day who would you be: Zoetica Ebb.

If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: Meso America

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerica

Name: Kanani from Brigham Young University in Utah, USA.
Likes: Josh Grobon, movies and family.
Dislikes: Centipedes and carrots.
Favourite films: Pride and Prejudice (the one with Colin Firth) and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Best Adventure: Driving in an ice storm.
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: Bog Bodies.

http://www.archaeology.org/online/features/bog/

Day Nine: Thursday 1st July

2010-07-02T10:03:00.005+01:00

Weather: Drizzily and chilly.

Word of the Day: Context

Find of the Day: Ceramic game piece.

Today we also had a thursday afternoon lecture titled: English Heritage and Role of the Regional Science Advisors. The lecture was led by Yorkshire's Regional Science Advisor, Andy Hammon.

The ceramic game piece.

Spot the context: Trench 16.

This is a photograph of students using a system of water flotation. This process is a feature of Environmental Archaeology. A tank is filled with water. At the bottom of this is a number of pipes which pump the water around so there is a continuous flow. These process pushes floating material to the surface which can be collected to give an indication of the landscape, plants, what crops where grown in the area etc. It provides extra information outside of the artefacts.

Here is work experience student Will, digging for the first time.

Lily recording contexts from Trench 16.

Hutch with what was collected from the surface of the water flotation tank.

Charlie's Beard is back and still doesn't look much different.

Introducing...

Name: Lauren, site supervisor.

Likes: Strong Tea, Heavy Metal and Osteology.

Dislikes: Spiders, and the color pink.

Greatest Moment: Lauren has just finished writing up a cemetary excavation report.

Favourite Film: The Wicker Man with Christopher Lee.

Favourite Song: Days of the Phoenix-A.F.I
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: The Spitalfields crypt in London.

http://www.spitalfields.co.uk/about_archeology.php

Name: Rebecca. BA Archaeology, Nottingham University.

Likes: Cake, reading and Christmas.

Dislikes: Asda, N-Dubz, and Waking up at 5am.
Favourite Films: Die Hard series.
Greatest Moment: Winning a face pulling competition at the age of 5.
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like excavate: The Mary Rose

http://www.maryrose.org/

Name: Danielle. BA Archaeology Sheffield.
Likes: Mashes potato, swimming, travelling and jewelley.
Dislikes: Clay pipes, un-cleanliness and B*Witched
If you could be anyone for a day, who would you be?: Wonderwoman.

Favourite Film: E.T.

I can't live without: Soap
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: Turin Shroud.

http://www.shroud.com/

Name: Susan. BA Archaeology Sheffield.
Likes: Reading and Holidays.
Dislikes: Sausages.
Best Holiday: Machu Picchu, Peru.
If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: An unknown tomb in Egypt.

Day Eight: Wednesday 30th June

2010-06-30T17:58:00.010+01:00

Photograph of the Day: Cherubin striking a Zoolander inspired pose.

Weather: Hot

Word of the Day: Factor 50 Sun cream

Quote of the Day: Hannah- When I stop mattocking, I start moping.

Find of the day: Bone button cut offs. (Pictured below)

Today we had a tour of the Turret House (Pictured Below). The Turret House was built in 1574 by the 6th Earl of Shrewbury and his wife Bess as a gate house to Manor Lodge. People believe it was built for Mary Queen of Scots as her prison, but it wasn't built until four years after she arrived in Sheffield. It wouldn't have been big enough for her entourage, she brought 30 servants with her. It has a French style to it, refelected in the shape of the tower. It is suspected that the Turret House was also used for banquets, and could have been used after the hunt for refreshments.

It is often thought that Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned here because one of the stained glass windows installed during the Victorian period states that she was imprisoned there.

This is the coffin that Thomas Furnival was buried in. Thomas Furnival designed and built the Turret House. It was later used a trough for animals to eat from.

A photograph of wall decoration.

The ceiling on the second floor is original. It is decorated very elaborately with lions, grapes and such like. Above is an example of the lion. These are heavily associated with the kind of lions that adorn the doors of French Manor houses as door knockers.

This character is also a feature of the ceiling in the Turret House. It is thought to be a face from Eastern Europe. The wooden carved forms would have originally be held up with horse hair.

A whet stone/sharpening stone found.

The body of a white ceramic figure was found in Trench 17 today.

The latest entry for Best Hat comes from 7 year old Isabel who was visiting the site with her Mum.

Introducing...

Introducing you to some more of our lovely lot at the Manor Lodge Excavation.

With the absense of Charile, we haven't been able to record Charlie's Beard today. Instead we had to improvise to bring you the latest in beard related news. Victoria made the beard using her artistic skills and asked Buttery Jonathon to model it.

Name: Buttery Jonathon. Going into his 3rd year of BA Archaeology.

Likes: Archaeology, food, Black Keys, and the film Red Dawn.

Dislikes: Pushchairs, Primark, pushchairs in Primark, train pushers, especially train pushers with pushchairs trying to push to Primark.

One interesting fact: Buttery Jonathon once won an Early Learning Centre pencil sharpener for painting a paper plate with an Ian Rush (Liverpool Footballer) portrait on it.

Proudest Moment: Being a Charlie's Beard Model for 5 minutes.

If I could be involved in any archaeology excavation, I'd like to excavate: with explosives or other general purpose explosives, like Thomas Bateman.

http://www.aboutderbyshire.co.uk/cms/people/thomas-bateman-pioneer-ar.shtml

Name: Charlotte. Just finished BA Archaeology. Currently the resident tea lady, domestic goddess and desperate housewife of the dig.

Likes: Chocolate, Ribena, Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Mango (The Shop) and Mangos.

Dislikes: Tea, coffee, hot chocolate, chocolate ice cream, and spiders.

If I could be anyone for a day i'd like to be: A Princess with her own castle.

If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: Egypt.

Name: C.J. BA Archaeology student at Nottingham University.

Likes: playing the guitar, 60's music like The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, space, football and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Dislikes: Soggy cake, turkish delight, and hair in the plughole.

Best Holiday: Rome

Greatest Moment: Cooking a full roast dinner with all the trimmings.

If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: Greece or Rome, or be Captain Safety of Ceramics for Lord Elgin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Bruce,_7th_Earl_of_Elgin

Day Seven: Tuesday 29th June

2010-06-29T20:51:00.006+01:00

Weather: Hot and cold with dusty winds.

Word of the day: Husband

Find of the Day: A piece from a grave stone with the inscription 'Husband' found in Trench 16. Pictured below.

Lauren showing Kate how to photograph Trench 18.

Chris and Kanani using a planning frame to make a site plan of the features in Trench 16.

Day Two of Charlie's Beard. Spot the difference from yesterday.

A different kind of brushing. Tom brushing the teeth of the canine, Splat, found previously.

Gareth teaching primary school pupils about the site.

Canine bones.

A new entry for Best Hat. A tiny top hat made out of clay.

Here is CJ, who has just finished his 1st year at Nottingham University studying BA Archaeology. He looks very happy to be involved with the work at Manor Lodge.

Introducing...

We would like to introduce some of the students and staff from the excavation to you.

Name: Will. A 14 year old work experience student from Sheffield.
Likes: History, science and lunch.

Dislikes: Spiders and maths.

When I grow up I'd like to be: An Archaeologist.

If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: Something to do with the world wars.

Name: Mauro. From north-east Italy. Just finished 1st year BA Archaeology.

Likes: Archaeology, history and Anthony Hopkins Movies.

Dislikes: Philosophy, politcs, lawyers, snakes and spiders.

If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: Paleo-Christian excavations in the Middle East.

Name: Tom. Who has recently completed his first year in Archaeology.

Likes: Archaeology, cheese and onion crisps and Muse.

Dislikes: Christiano Renaldo.

If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: anything with Flinders Petrie or General Pitt-Rivers

Flinders Petrie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flinders_Petrie

General Pitt-Rivers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_Pitt_Rivers

Name: Lily from the University of Rochester, USA. Lily hopes to title her degree, Biological Archaeology.

Dislikes: Country Music.

Two Favourite Songs: Furr- Blitzen Trapper and Dream On- Depeche Mode

If I could be involved in any archaeological excavation, I'd like to excavate: a medieval burial ground.

Day Six: Monday 28th June

2010-06-28T23:56:00.005+01:00

Weather: Hot with dusty winds.

Word of the Day: Bricks and dust and bones.

Find of the Day: Cut line for the dog skeleton.

Quote of the Day: Alvaro- I haven't abandoned you. I have abandoned you.

Trench 15 have been digging out the 1970s trench. Here are just some of the bricks they have taken out.

Chris the excavation supervisor checking Trench 16's site plans.

We have our second entry in the Best Hat Competition. This entry comes from Gareth Perry, a PhD Archaeology student who is interested in 5th/6th Century Anglo Saxon Cremation Cemetries. Here, Gareth is sporting a straw cowboy hat.

Trench 17 are doing a second site plan after reaching the bottom of the base of the 1970s trench. Here CJ is measuring the from the bedrock to the base tape.

Lauren, showing Becky and Tom how to photograph a site.

Welcome to Charlie's Beard. This is where we are going to watch the progress of Charlie's beard over the next few weeks. This all happened when Charlie threatened to shave off his beard at Lunch. The group voted no and this feature was born.

A photograph of the dog skeleton in the soil before it's excavation.

Interview Corner: With Tom and Fogs.

(Tom and Fogs sharing a joke.)

Interview with Tom who has just finished his second year of a BSc in Archaeology and Fogs who will be moving into his second year of his BA in Archaeology.

Victoria: What do you like about Archaeology?

Tom: I enjoy the thrill of the find. (Laughs) I like to find whats been going on, trying to figure out as much as you can from a bit of pottery or bone, like that's been butchered, they've been eating meat and you can just build on that. I enjoy that bit personally.

Fogs: I've just always been interested in archaeology. Since I was a kid really. Done a year, looking forward to the second year, just exciting.

Victoria: Indiana Jones or Tony Robinson?

Tom: Bit of both I think.

Fogs: Tony Robinson in Indiana Jones' hat.

Tom: Always wanting to find the treasure but happy to find the rubbish. (Laughs) I think Indiana Jones really. Holding onto the back of a speeding truck.

Victoria: What is the most interesting thing we've found so far, in your opinion?

Tom: This. (Holding up a fragment of 1970s pottery). We found a marine button which is interesting to me. Depending on the age of the marine badge it could be off a tunic from the second world war, which would be great because it would place military installation up here.

Fogs: And you'd think there'd be one up here because it's high up. There's one at Wincobank Hill Fort and the concrete foundations are still there. Maybe there are some here.

A final word from Tom and Fogs about the dig.

Tom: It's applying it, like bits and pieces from different lectures and you're bringing it all together in one thing, seeing it come to life basically. Putting into practice the things you learn in lectures.

Fogs: The best way is actually getting out there and digging. Coming and digging something up. I've really looked forward to that. Having my trowel all scuffed up.

Day Five: Friday 25th June

2010-06-28T10:14:00.005+01:00

Weather: Cool with bursts of hot hot heat.

Word of the Day: Fish and Chips

Find of the Day: The skeleton of a small dog. The bones found yesterday belonged to this skeleton.

Today was Chip Friday. At lunch we all enjoyed fish and chips. After lunch a few members of the dig were a little sad because it was a whole week until the next Chip Friday.

We would also like to congratulate Charlotte who just found out that she got a First Degree in BA Archaeology.

Here is BA Archaeology student Tom Keyworth carefully excavating the dog skeleton. To ensure that minimum damage is done to the skeleton, he brushes away dirt with a paint brush.

Site planning is still taking place. Here is Charlie Hay modelling a Staff so his group can make 3D plans of trench 15. Jonathon Buttery site planning.

The Finds Process

Archaeological excavations aren't all just about digging in the dirt. Finds are placed in a finds tray and then taken to the basement for the finds process.

Here is a piece of 17th Century pottery that was found in Trench 18.

Finds are then cleaned. We clean pottery with toothbrushes and paintbrushes. Metal is dry brushed and we also use skewers to remove dirt. In the photograph above Craig is washing ceramics.

The finds are then left to dry in the sun. They are then sorted and put into bags.

This is a photograph of a wooden button found.

It has been a tiring first week. The weather has been lovely and we are all looking forward to what might be found next week.

Day Four: Thursday 24th June

2010-06-24T23:18:00.005+01:00

Weather: Cool

Word of the Day: Mattock

Find of the Day: Fragments of a small canine.

Today saw cooler weather then days gone by, plenty of mattocking and a collection of bones from a small canine. We also had a lecture in the afternoon led by Jill Campbell, a PhD graduate student from Queen's University Belfast. It explored 'Were Medieval Buildings and Landscapes designed?'. Jill used examples from her own research and study. This proved very interesting and relevant to the current excavations taking place at Manor Lodge.

Did you know? For 18 days in November 1530, Cardinal Wolsey was held captive at Manor Lodge. It was whilst Wolsey was awaiting an escort to deliver him into the custody of Henry VIII in London.

Above are the canine bones found in Trench 18. The students were incredibly pleased to finally find something interesting.

Here is Masters student Charlie Hay using his artistic talents to plan every feature of Trench 15 onto the Site Plan.

Becky Hankinson is officially entered into the Best Hat Competition. If we spy a good hat on site we will post a picture here. Eventually we will have a winner. Becky is sporting a very fetching tweed flat cap.

In Trench 18 a piece of pottery was found that looks remarkably like a segment of party food favourite, the party ring.

Tom Barnard, a BSc Archaeology student from Sheffield University was busy digging down to the base of an evaluation trench built in the 1970s

Each day students keep field diaries. These are logs of what was found, the location of these finds, how they dealt with the finds...etc. Above is Charlie Hay and Jonathan Buttery hard at work recording their day on site.

Day Three: Wednesday 23rd June

2010-06-23T19:12:00.012+01:00

We found out what animal the mystery jaw bone from yesterday belonged to. It was a COD.

Weather: Cool in the morning. Hot in the afternoon.

Word of the Day: Site Plan

Find of the Day: a Royal Marine button.

And today we had a Quote of the Day:

(Whilst discussing the new layer of soil that was being dug in trench 18).
Becky: At least theres another layer.
Danielle: There's layers right down to the core of the earth.

Today there was a lot of site planning going on. This is where you plot the features of the trench, the size and shape. In the photograph above, the long tape measure is the base line tape. The smaller tape is being used to measure the width at different points.

All information then has to be made 3D. This is so it can be overlayed onto maps for future reference and digs. This is a requirement for archiving a site. It is preservation by record.

To measure the site in 3D we use a 'Dumpy Level' and 'Staff'. You may recognise the 'Dumpy Level' because it is used for surveying.

This is the Find of the Day. It was found by Becky Hankinson who is studying a BA in Archaeology at Nottingham University. It is a small button with 'Royal Marines' embossed on it and a small crest or symbol. We think it is 19th century. We will let you know as soon as we do.

This was my personal find of the day. We named the snail 'Sampsom' and he became our mascot for a while. It was suggested that Cherubin should eat it. Escargot=Escar-gone.

This is Alvaro, a project officer from the Archaeological Research Services Limited, brushing off top soil for 18th century handmade bricks.

These are the 18th century handmade bricks, labelled and enjoying the sun.

The photogrpah above is of what looks like a grave stone. This is because the left corner is curved like that of a grave stone.

Here are Craig and Foggy getting to grips with doing a site plan of trench 15. Towards the end of the day a structure was discovered in the south of the trench.

We have a number of students from other universities than Sheffield. This is Kenneth 'Hutch' Gregory (left) and Cherubin Alcalen (right) who have both recently graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi where they studies Geographic Information Technologies.

Day Two: Tuesday 22nd June

2010-06-22T18:24:00.004+01:00

Another great day on site. Lots of interesting finds, beautiful weather and buckets of soil. We have removed much of the topsoil and are now down to the subsoil.

Weather: Hot and sunny

Word of the Day: Subsoil

Find of the day: A mysterious jaw bone was discovered. It is from either a bird or animal but is as of yet un-identified. Check back tomorrow for pictures and hopefully the mystery animal will be identified.

Here are some more finds from the second day of the excavation:

A box of ceramic fragments from trench 17.

Saggar fragments uncovered in trench 15. Saggars are fireclay containers made from tough clay which supported and protected the ware from flames, ashes, smoke and kiln gases during the first firing in the kilns. The term 'Saggar' comes from 'Safeguard, refelecting its function. 18th-19th Century.

Pieces of clay pipe.

Pieces of decorated clay pipe from trench 15. One fragment features the name 'William Wild'.

A round game piece discovered in trench 17.

Fragments of blue and white ceramic. 2 of the fragments fit together. These were found by Charlie Hay who is an Masters Archaeology student .

Day One: Monday 21st June

2010-06-22T17:29:00.008+01:00

Firstly welcome to the official blog for the current archaeological excavations at Manor Lodge. We hope that you find this blog interesting and regularily read it.

The excavation has started. Topsoil has been removed. Spades and wheelbarrows dominated the day as well as some very interesting finds.

Weather: Hot and sunny

Word of the Day: Topsoil

Find of the day: Knurr from the game Knurr and Spell

These photographs are of one of the Knurr found. These balls are part of a game called Knurr and Spell. A small hard round ball, the Knurr, is hit with a slim club/stick/bat, the Spell (a bit like golf) in open spaces. It has been commonly associated with Yorkshire and is sometimes referred to as the 'Northern Spell'.

For more information on how to play visit: http://www.londoncensus.co.uk/downloads/knurrspell.pdf

And to watch how it is played, follow this link to watch the film 'Ower Bit Bog Oil' (1963-1964):
http://www.yfaonline.com/yfapublic/assetDetails.cfm?film=998