Cambridge Feature: Corn Dryer? Oven? Kiln? Something else?

By Richard Brennan, Project Archaeologist

As with all great archaeological discoveries this story begins with the final product, the 100% excavated feature in all of its glory, something uniquely special. You can see a large hole dug into the ground with a longer and shallow shaft continuing to the west (and some painted sticks for decoration)!

The mystery feature

The mystery feature

If at first look you excitedly whispered to yourself that this is obviously an Iron Age corn dryer or some kind of oven or even a kiln, then, like us, you are unfortunately mistaken. On the surface, the feature appeared to have a flue-like wing (to transfer heat) continuing to the west and a possible oval wing (to dry grain or bake ceramics) to the east. If it was a corn dryer or oven then one would expect accompanying integral structural components, to you know, house the feature, store the goods, and keep out animals and what not. Our Go Pro shot of the immediate surrounding area shows no evidence for any post holes or beam slots. So just what did we have here if not an oven, kiln or corn dryer structure?

GoPro shot of the feature

GoPro shot of the feature

We half sectioned the “flue” wing and quarter sectioned across the “oven”. I worked on the “flue” and south facing section and my colleague in the north facing section of the pit. It quickly became apparent that our feature was probably neither a corn dryer nor oven nor kiln, and in fact most likely a large waste pit, with some sort of raking channel…I know, right.

So why do I think this? Well, there was no baked lining to the feature (the clay geology if baked would appear a reddish orange colour). The feature contained

The vast majority of the finds were heavily worn, fragmented and obviously discarded away as broken pieces of rubbish within the remnants of the charcoal deposits. Lastly, the stratigraphy of the waste pit indicates a possible prolonged use and that it was open for some time as phase after phase of dumping had been taking place. Had it been a corn dryer or oven we might expect a single dump event as its use came to an end.

Although all this is still speculation until the expert reviews come through, what at first we thought might have turned out to be an Iron Age corn dryer, oven or even possible kiln is probably ‘just’ a waste pit.

Find of the month: August – a prehistoric bead

Shale bead

The shale bead

Yvonne Rose, Archives Supervisor

In 2015 we excavated a very wet site close to the Brayford Pool in Lincoln. One of the finds, which is due to head off to the museum very soon, is this lovely example of a shale bead. It was found during analysis of the samples which was a lucky catch!

The bead has broken down the middle, probably along a natural stress line. Shale is a type of sedimentary rock which is made up of layers and layers of compressed clay and other minerals such as quartz, and as a consequence it can easily laminate along these layers. XRF (X-ray fluorescence) was used to determine the material, as jet and shale can look quite similar. XRF uses X-rays to work out the elemental breakdown of the item; different elements react differently to x-rays and by seeing how the x-rays react, technicians can work out the elemental make up of an object.

The bead is a roughly oval shape with a hole in the centre which has most definitely been drilled. The shape of the hole suggests that it was drilled from both sides rather than straight through from one side. This bead would mostly likely have been one of many on a necklace or other form of strung jewellery. The bead itself doesn’t show any sign of hard wearing suggesting that it was a fairly new bead or necklace, or that it was only worn for special occasions.

This bead was quite difficult to date from its shape alone. Artefacts manufactured from materials such as shale, with its propensity to laminate especially as it dries out, tend not to survive the centuries. This results in an incomplete archaeological record of all the styles and construction methods used throughout the Neolithic and Bronze Age eras, meaning accurate comparison for dating purposes is not always possible. The closest beads in appearance to ours are from a shale and amber necklace from Balmashanner, Angus in eastern Scotland which date from around 800 BC. As you can see from the picture, there are broad similarities to our bead but it’s not quite the same style. From this comparison we can assign a broad date range for our bead to around 1000‒800 BC.

We can have a lovely specimen of a shale bead but without an extensive record collection to compare it, we can only guess to at its age. So keep digging and finding lots more shiny beads!

Best site hut biscuit with Rob

What is your job role?

Geophysics Project Officer

How long have you worked for Allen Archaeology?

6 years and 9 months

How would describe your excavation technique?

Hulk Smash

How long have you been working in archaeology?

6 years and 9 months

How did you get into archaeology?

A long and complicated story involving being a medical student, a holiday entertainer in Cyprus and then finally a stint at Bristol University studying Archaeological Science (mostly playing hockey). That’s very much the short version.

What is the best thing about your job?

Having minions to boss around is certainly a plus, but actually it’s getting out to new sites and through the magic of fluxgate magnetometry getting to be the first person to see archaeological features that have been buried for hundreds if not thousands of years.

Specialist skills?

The ability to continue walking all day every day and cover ridiculous amounts of area whilst surveying in a remarkably short period of time.

Rob walking through a large puddle

Nothing stops Rob’s dedication to walking for geophysics

Best site hut biscuit?

Bourbon. And if you don’t think so, then you’re wrong.

 

Find of the Month: EXTRA! Medieval Shoe from Brayford Wharf, Lincoln

As a special treat for July we have an extra Find of the Month! This one is particularly exciting as it’s a rather nice example of a medieval ankle boot. It was found in thick clay on a site in Lincoln’s Brayford Wharf East, where the waterlogged conditions are ideal for preserving leather.

The boot dates to between the 12th and 14th centuries and is made of goatskin with a cowhide sole. It laces up at the side and the straps would originally have fastened using a metal buckle. At 25cm long, it probably equates to a modern-day size 3 or 4, taking into account the extremely pointed sole!

You can watch this and other videos of our work on our youtube channel.

Find of the month: July – worked bone from Cambridgeshire

Lucie Evans, Branston Academy

Our find of the month for June is a collection of carved animal bones engraved with a ring and dot decoration. They were found on farm land located in South Cambridgeshire. The bones in question were found in the fill of an oven which has been dated to the Iron Age. It appears that a pit was later dug into the centre of the oven and objects discarded into it. The pit contained layers of silty and organic deposits and the four pieces of worked bone were found along two metal objects. The appearance of ridge and furrow cropmarks and an Iron Age enclosure ditch suggest an agricultural community having occupied this area.

Worked animal bone

Worked animal bone

There has been a bit of a debate within the office as to what the worked bones would have been used for. Whilst three look as if they were just used to practice the design of dot and ring on, one of them has has been shaped with a rounded end. They are all made of animal bone, not antler (which seems to be the preferred choice of the time). Three were crafted from long bone while the rounded end piece is made of metapodial (long bones found in the hands and feet of mammals which connect the digits to the centres).

One suggestion of what they may have been turned into is a comb beater which would have been used to push down ‘weft threads’ when weaving.

The ring and dot pattern can be found on objects from pottery to bone; it is used nationwide and across the centuries. The ring and dot pattern would have been created with an Iron Age compass tool, which helped to create the perfect circles. This simple design would has been described as ‘folk art’ as it would have been simply used to make the piece more interesting.

I find these pieces really interesting as to me it shows the gradual skill learning and perfecting taking place, and although it is most probably down to my imagination I see these as the slow progression of an ‘individual’ in their craftsmanship.

Best site hut biscuit with Charlotte

What is your job role?
Project SupervisorCharlotte Tooze

How long have you worked for Allen Archaeology?
I started working for AAL in October 2013, so three and a half yearsish?

How would describe your excavation technique?
A fellow colleague once told me that if my digging style was an animal, it would be a ‘Chattering Brummy Peacock’

How long have you been working in archaeology?
My first commercial job was with Wessex Archaeology in Salisbury in July 2013

How did you get into archaeology?
I took a break from education after finishing my A-levels because I had no clue what I wanted to do. During the first few months of part-time supermarket checkout worker boredom I watched A LOT of Time Team episodes and decided to give it a go.

What is the best thing about your job?
Working out the story of a site. Finding Quernstones (Oh, and sitting opposite the handsome specimen that is Roger Evershed in the office)

Specialist skills?
Inventor of the infamous ‘Mud or Poo’ game, which I now hear is sweeping the nation. Founder and CEO of ‘Gin Wednesdays’…and I quite like Earthwork Surveying

mud or poo

Mud or poo?

 

Best site hut biscuit?
Milk Chocolate Digestive… Every. Single. Time.

Cathedrals and sandcastles at the Lincolnshire Show

Feenagh Johnson, Project Supervisor

Tucked among the various stalls at the Lincolnshire show 2017, Team Allen joined the wonderful people in the Cathedral Tent and the Lincoln Cathedral Connected project to perform a little bit of community outreach and to show off some of the cooler parts of our work!

Mark Allen chats about the Cathedral excavations

Director, Mark Allen chats about the Cathedral excavations

Over the course of the Show, countless cups of coffee were consumed (thanks to Stokes) and even more people were introduced into the wonderful world of archaeology, engaging with our reconstruction pots; mosaic tiles and plans of our works at the cathedral and of course Pighill Archaeological Illustration’s virtual reconstruction of the Works Chantry, which quite literally brought the archaeology we had encountered to life!

Fee with a reconstructed pot

Fee with a reconstructed pot

It was great to see how enthusiastic and interested the public were in their local heritage, but the centrepiece of this adventure was without a doubt the sandpit. Armed with trowels, little spades and of course finds trays and brushes, a small army of budding archaeologists (hopefully!) jumped at the chance to explore what it was like to be a real digger.

They travelled from Ancient Egypt, with a sphinx and a couple of pyramids; through the Roman Empire, with a fort and colosseum and then back home again with a castle and a very artistic representation of Lincoln cathedral, unearthing all sorts of artefacts (including what we were told were real dinosaur teeth!). At the end of the two days we can’t help but wonder…who had the most fun in the sandpit… the kids or the archaeologists!

Sand Cathedral

Sand Cathedral

Sand castle

Nicky and Bill with their sand castle

 

 

Best site hut biscuit with Nicky

What is your job role?
Senior Project Archaeologist

How long have you worked for Allen Archaeology?
I have worked for AAL since September 2015 with a quick travelling break to New Zealand in the middle. Although I did have a coffee and cake with a Historian out there so I’m going to call it a ‘research break’…

How would describe your excavation technique?
One cut. One fill.

Nicky digging

One cut, one fill

How long have you been working in archaeology?
Since September 2014

How did you get into archaeology?
I wrote a list of ideal jobs when I was about 8 with Archaeologist appearing second on the list after marine biologist but I don’t like boats so here I am!

What is the best thing about your job?
I love working outdoors, having in depth site discussions about why anyone would want to dig so many holes (pot calling kettle black me thinks), the copious amount of biscuits, finding really shiny things, finding not so shiny things, the list could go on!

Specialist skills?
Onsite recycling enforcer

Best site hut biscuit?
The mighty Hob nob! ‘Hobnob’ also incidentally was used in the early 19th century to mean ‘to socialise’ – something all archaeologists like to indulge in, if not with hobnobs then with other grain related products. Making me love Hobnobs even more, if possible!

But what does it mean!?

Nicky Grayson, Project Archaeologist

We’ve just finished work on a site in Cambridgeshire and excavating a ring ditch here was probably one of the highlights of my time on the job.

It is really satisfying to work on something concrete; a feature about which you can say “yes, someone was here and dug this and now I’m here at the other end repeating the process” simple pleasures eh? Even if there are no finds just the idea that I am standing in the same spot working on the same thing that someone else was a few thousand years ago is enough to make the daily grind exciting and meaningful…most of the time.

While digging I bandied around a few ideas for the feature’s interpretation.

Could it be a round house? It does have four stake-holes in the middle which could potentially form part of a circle for an internal structure, the others might simply have disappeared on the bottom of peoples shoes as we did have a particularly wet week. No hearth or other domestic features were found within the ring ditch  and the ditch was 1.2 meters across in places which is a little excessive for a drip gully – so are we dealing with the foundations of a wall? If so, why no postholes in the bottom of the ditch, and why weren’t any finds such as daub (used in the construction of wattle and daub walls) found in the fills?

It could be an enclosure ditch for animals? A fairly small enclosure ditch dug for purpose? It is 15m in diameter, the land in Cambridgeshire is flat, and I think it would be fair to assume that the site shouldn’t be truncated too badly from ploughing, meaning the ditch won’t be too different in size now as it was then. The stake-holes could be a small wind break or shelter for the inhabitants.

The fill of the ditch was very dark and organic which could be the product of rotted wooden remains and settlement waste accumulated following the disuse of the feature. However, the ditch was also recut at one point indicating at least two phases of activity. I did also find what looks like a buckle or clothing attachment, this was in the uppermost fill of the ditch and with the wet weather was revealed, as it happens with my shoe.

Another thing I both love and hate about archaeology in almost equal measure is that we will never have the full story. Ever. From the way we have excavated it to how I was feeling on the day (looking back I was feeling a little soggy) to our social projections of the present on the past. Although there’s so much we can now tell from scientific analysis we have to accept that something will always remain an enigma.