Dig Diary - Thursday 24th August - Day 10

This was one of those days which lead you to ponder the great philosophical questions – like “Why am I here?”

Although the weather forecast was wrong once again and we had a full, gloriously sunny day, not very many diggers appeared in the morning. Numbers rose later on, when it became less and less likely that the forecast storms were going to reach us.

The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the approach of  Dominic’s 21^st Birthday and the marvellous surprise birthday cake that had been prepared for him. Iced and filled with jam and cream, its slices gave us all a powerful incentive to work on after coffee break.

As for the digging, we spent the time cleaning up surfaces and trying to work out the relationships between different walls, drains and ditches. Which one was built first? Were these two built at the same time? Are they bonded together? Was the drain built as the same time as the wall running over it? Are these dips in the ground surface the result of features being cut through them, or are they the signs of over-enthusiastic mattocking by some other digger?

It’s surprising how wrapped up one can become in searching out the answers to small questions like these, particularly when the sun is shining and the company is congenial.

All in all, a good day, even though there were no earth-shattering finds.

Nick Landon

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