Day 17: Tuesday 13th July

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 13: Wednesday 7th July

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 10: Friday 2nd July

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 Eight: Wednesday 30th June

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

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.