Over the last couple of months we have had staff working on an excavation at Lubenham Hill, Market Harborough, in advance of a residential development by Linden Homes. On Thursday 28th July 2016 we are opening the site to three guided tours at 10am, 12 noon and 2pm. More information about the project can be found here.
There is no parking on site and therefore access is strictly from the footpath that runs through the site from ‘The Pastures’ on Brookfield Road.
Site access for visitors
Warning: Images of human remains feature in this post
Several of Allen Archaeology’s recent site excavations have revealed a particularly interesting aspect of ancient mortuary practice: human cremation burial urns.
Some of the pots we have retrieved date from the Bronze Age, Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon periods, and are known to have been used as early as the Mesolithic in Britain (c.5500 BC), although this method began to fall out of favour following the widespread adoption of Christianity in Western Europe.
Early Anglo-Saxon (5th–6th Century AD) stamped cremation urn found near Fakenham, Norfolk
Unlike modern cremations practices that produce ‘ash’, archaeological cremation burials consist of pieces of bone of varying size, often being quite large and identifiable. The reason for this difference is down to the processing method. Whilst modern crematoriums use industrial furnaces (that burn at temperatures of 870-980 °C) and a machine to pulverize the dry bone fragments into a fine powder, cremations in the past would have been performed much differently. The deceased would have been placed on a wooden pyre and required constant attention to keep the fire burning, particularly when the weather would not cooperate (surely not?!). The result is a lot of small chunks of cracked and discoloured bone which are then placed (in part or altogether) into a pre-made urn, and buried.
Due to the fragility of the urns and their importance as a burial, they are carefully removed on site and sent back to the office to be excavated – this happens exactly the same way as on site, but at a much smaller scale! The contents of the urn are removed in levels or ‘spits’, and records including photographs and drawings are taken before and after the removal of each cross-section and full layer. Due to having to work in a pot with a diameter of roughly 13cm compared to a pit or ditch of 1 to 2m, a completely different set of tools is needed. Lay down the shovel and trowel, and pick up your clay art tools and tweezers! Once the bone is removed it is passed through several sieves (10mm, 5mm & 2mm), with the remains of varying sizes weighed rather than counted. These are then bagged according to their size, with any recognisable elements bagged separately.
Excavating a cremation burial
So now the bones have been excavated, what can we tell from them? More than you think. The colouring of the remains, the amount the bones have warped from their original shape and their completeness can reveal information about the temperature of the fire, if there were any problems during burning (such as weather or incomplete incineration), how the body might have been placed on the pyre and whether the body was clothed or burned as dry bone. Duplicate elements of bone will also alert you as to whether more than one individual is present within the urn, as can the cumulative weight of the fragments.
Also, other remains such as macrobotanical or charcoal fragments can aid in the interpretation of the pyre construction, whilst ‘grave goods’ given to the cremated individual might also survive.
Fragments from a Romano-British cremation urn burial found at North Killingholme, Lincolnshire
I initially wrote to Allen Archaeology to see if I could gain experience of geophysical surveys in a commercial environment: the equipment used, data analysis and how this relates to the archaeology of the site. I am a geophysics student at University of Southampton, I don’t specifically study archaeology unless chosen as a specialism, but Allen Archaeology kindly offered me a month long volunteer placement. When I started I didn’t know much about archaeology at all; how the two fields of study were related was something I was very keen to learn!
Doing a magnetometry survey
The data analysis on the other hand was completely new. The results were produced in a program called Terrasurveyor and were completely different from magnetometer results I had previously seen. Instead of looking for geological structures as I have done at university, we wanted to find archaeological sites. Rob was great at pointing out distinguishing features in our data and explaining their significance; such as land drains, old roads and other details which would have been inconsequential to someone untrained in archaeological geophysics. Rob taught me how background research into the area and georeferencing of old maps onto modern ones could reconcile anomalous geophysical results with archaeological evidence.
Rob showing me how to process the data
When I haven’t been out in the field I have been able to help out around the office; completing small tasks on QGIS, washing artefacts and trying to piece together a Roman tablet. I’ve had the chance to explore the archives and learnt a lot about the differences in pottery from various periods; I also had the shocking experience (for a non-archaeologist) of coming face to face with a skull!
During my time with Allen Archaeology, I have become more confident in the use of magnetometers and GPS with geophysical surveys and developed my knowledge of computer programs such as QGIS and Terrasurveyor. I have learnt how to interpret geophysical surveys and use them to find archaeological remains; and most importantly through Rob’s instruction, I have learnt how to compare the archaeological evidence (e.g. pottery) in a field with the geophysical data collected and been able to draw conclusions about the history of the area based on all the evidence. I have enjoyed my experience with AAL a lot and when I return to university in September, I am definitely going pick a couple of archaeology modules to compliment my geophysics studies.
There’s nothing better than a cool drink in a pub on a sunny day off followed by a spot of jousting. Yes, jousting and not watching it but actually doing it! I recently returned to The Knights of Middle England at Warwick to feed my rapidly growing addiction.
Horse riding in its less violent forms has been a huge part of my life since I was a child. My love of horses is part of the reason why I am interested in history with its Mongolian hordes, the Charge of the Light Brigade and medieval Knights with their chivalry and tournaments.
As most people probably know, jousting was a medieval sport where two knights cantered towards each other, aiming to break their lance on certain parts of the body to score points. It was initially a training for warfare, alongside other war games, but towards the mid to late medieval period, it began to become more of a spectacle, a bit like football nowadays but a lot more aggressive!
During the two hour lesson I attempted to master three skills; the rings, tent pegging and the quintain. The aim of the lessons are to get you up to a standard to be able to compete in the bi-annual amateur competitions which feature these skills; as well as jousting at an experienced knight, and of course to have a lot of fun.
The Rings!
We began with the rings; the lance looked like it would barely fit through! I succeeded with the largest rings they had, but they can get a lot smaller. The rings are placed on props above the tilt line rather than on the gallows; like in A Knight’s Tale. It was fairly easy to get one ring, but then I often ended up trying too hard to aim at the second ring rather than keep it level and straight to secure the first ring before getting to the second.
The hardest event: tent pegging
We then moved on to tent pegging, where we are told that the ‘sport’ began during the crusades with target practice on the heads of buried enemies. It has been used as a training exercise since the 4th Century BC in Asia, it was also very popular in India against elephant-mounted troops. This was the event in which I had the least skill, my timing was awful. I would get in position to spear the peg then wait too long, hitting the ground behind the peg! I did manage to get it a few times, which is some consolation.
Hitting the quintain
Then we moved on the final skill and the one that was the most fun – hitting the quintain, a revolving shield with a ball on a string which follows it round on the opposite side. This packs a hell of a punch. On your first run you are mostly concerned with the ball hitting you in the back, but this changes to worrying about the force that travels down the lance as you hit a solid metal object!
The whole event left me on such an adrenaline high, it was fantastic! Although it also left with a nasty three week long bruise on my chest!
I thoroughly enjoyed my brief time as a woman warrior in training (check out this Guardian article about the inclusion of women in English Heritage events) and it has me completely hooked, I’m planning my next lesson as we speak!
What is your job role?
Project Officer
Loving life in 2008
How long have you worked for Allen Archaeology?
For nine years in September
How would describe your excavation technique?
Once upon a time I suppose it could have been described as fast and furious, but with a bun in the oven the spade has been put on a shelf for a while
How long have you been working in archaeology?
About ten years
How did you get into archaeology?
It has always interested me, but I never considered it an occupation until I somehow found myself with a degree in it and thought, why not? I started off in Ireland and a year later ended up at Allen Archaeology.
What is the best thing about your job?
Probably that I’m still learning new things with every job. In the beginning, everything was new and the learning curve steep and interesting. When I started it was a really small company with less than a handful of people and so I got to try everything almost in one go. As the years have gone by, different staff and people with different skills, have helped me deepen and broaden my own.
Specialist skills?
I don’t know about special, but I’ve done a few building surveys throughout the years. I believe I wrote a few clay tobacco pipe reports as well, but that only lasted for a short and sweet time; they’ve got someone much more skillful to do this these days.
Best site hut biscuit?
Well, any biscuit or cookie with a gooey nougat centre rates high on my list, although their lifespan tend to be quite short in my presence.
It’s been a busy week at AAL so this weeks blog is a little round-up of what we’ve been up to.
Warning: Images of human remains feature in this post
You might have already seen the excitement on our site at University of Lincoln. During monitoring works we uncovered human remains dating from the Roman period close to the River Witham.
Tobin has been visiting a site in Cumbria where we have been undertaking a Watching Brief
Damian has had a team out working on an evaluation near Peterborough.
Rob has been out with a team to start a large geophysics project on the Lincolnshire coast where they’ve been contending with a lot of weather but enjoying the location!
Fee’s been working hard in London
Al is dealing with challenging conditions in Brentford
Work is continuing on our “big” project in Market Harborough where the team are undertaking an open area excavation
Bryn has been working hard processing environmental samples
Yvonne has joined the archives team and is getting up to speed as Cova heads off on maternity leave
Nasha has been busy editing reports and dealing with publicity.
Josh has been analysing lithics for a specialist report
Following on from our post “Evaluation by trial trenching” this weeks post is going to explain what a “watching brief” is.
A watching brief, scheme of works, or programme of monitoring and recording, is usually the final stage of archaeological investigation, and may follow on from desk-based studies, evaluation trenching or excavation. Usually one archaeologist works closely with the groundworkers, monitoring their excavations which might be for foundation trenches, services, drainage or landscaping. The archaeologist records any archaeological remains that are exposed.
A watching brief can be applied to a scheme of any size. For example, on a large linear scheme such as a pipeline, it can follow stages of non-intrusive and intrusive survey that have (hopefully) identified and investigated the areas of greatest archaeological interest. The watching brief is used as a ‘failsafe’ to double check stripped areas where little or no archaeology is likely to be present. This often requires a degree of patience – watching a machine strip topsoil for kilometre after kilometre without finding anything! It is also essential to take a good book, for any delays as spoil is moved and machines are repaired or refuelled.
A small team working on a watching brief for a linear scheme. A good book is essential!
Many small watching briefs are undertaken as the only stage of archaeological work on a site. For example they might take place during the groundworks for one or two new houses or an extension to an existing one. These clients may never have dealt with archaeology before and may never need to again, and so we are often asked ‘What happens if you find stuff? Will it stop the job?’ The answer is almost always no and on the rare occasions that unexpected or significant archaeology is exposed, additional staff can be deployed to site to limit delays.
Watching briefs can be interesting and challenging. Working on a busy construction site you need to keep your wits about you and have a keen understanding of health and safety. We inspect and clean the exposed sides and bases of the foundation trenches to piece together the evidence provided by these cross sections through the site, tying together fragments of field boundary ditches, pits, landscaping layers or other features to gain an understanding of the area. We will also recover dating evidence, such as pieces of pottery, whenever possible.
When the archaeological fieldwork is complete, the developer will carry on with their building programme and we still have plenty of work left to do, cleaning and analysing any finds from the site, preparing the report and depositing the project archive with the local museum to sign off the client’s archaeological condition and make the results publically accessible to this and future generations.
I graduated from University of Bournemouth in the summer of 2015. I had worked on some research projects as part of my degree and had some experience of volunteering, but no commercial archaeological experience. Without experience it’s normally very hard to get into commercial archaeology, as some of my fellow graduates can attest to. I was lucky enough to apply to Allen Archaeology at just the right time and was offered a start as a trainee in November.
Working at Lincoln University
I started out in the office washing and marking finds. These are important skills but they can get a bit repetitive so I jumped at the opportunity to go out on site for the first time – to Whisby quarry. It was certainly a bit of a culture shock compared to the academic digs I’d been on before! Work was fast paced, colder, muddier and harder work. However, the site was fairly straightforward and with some help from my supervisor Damian Podlinski I got through it all right.
From there it was time to move into Lincoln, where the company was digging in preparation for construction to start on a new building for the university. The site was next to the river and fairly deep, which meant it was under water most of the time. So again, wet, muddy, cold. We had a great team though and halfway through the site we’d figured out a system that made light work of it.
“Work is fast paced” this site in Yorkshire demonstrated how quickly I could work given training
At the end of the traineeship I went to broaden my range of experience by working for another archaeological company in London for 5 weeks before returning to AAL in March. Since then I’ve worked on a number of different sites and types of job; I’ve done watching briefs both alone and supervised, I’ve excavated Roman settlements and most recently I worked on a medieval building near Lincoln Cathedral. No doubt there will be more interesting sites to come – and some cold, wet and muddy ones but the trainee scheme has allowed me to get my foot in the door working in commercial archaeology.
I joined the company as a project archaeologist in June 2015. For the majority of my time here so far I have been out onsite digging, firstly working on the large Roman site at North Killingholme and since then a variety of other sites across the country. Every now and again, I’m posted in the office where I participate in post excavation tasks such as washing and marking finds, which I quite enjoy.
At the end of February there was an advert on the front desk advertising a temporary secondment as an archives assistant; I jumped at the opportunity to apply. I saw it as a good opportunity to learn valuable skills; develop my interest in post-excavation processes further and increase my knowledge of artefacts.
My application was successful and for the best part of March and April I undertook the secondment; temporarily becoming an archives assistant. During this time I had the opportunity to learn a variety of new skills and experience more of the processes that happen in post-ex, alongside getting to handle all the exciting artefacts that come back from site. I helped to package artefacts to be sent to the specialists, sort and catalogue skeletons, write inventories and help organise finds from incoming projects.
My primary role was to assist and prepare a number of site archives to be deposited to their corresponding museums across the country. In this I prepared both the written site archive, so all the registers, drawings, context sheets etc. and boxed the associated site artefacts. The whole process for each site had to adhere to their associated museum guidelines, each of which was different. I assisted with site collections from Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Winchester. Some of the tasks within this were quite repetitive, such as numbering and labelling digital photographs to correspond to the photograph registers or writing accession numbers on all the documents. Nevertheless these repetitive aspects are quite necessary as without it the allotted archive wouldn’t adhere to the correct format and so would be at risk of being rejected by the museums.
I really enjoyed my time in archive department, it was great working with the Archive team and getting to know the ins and outs of what goes on downstairs. It was an enlightening experience, as I have now seen first-hand the full process to which each site and it’s artefacts and documents, takes before it finally it ends up in a museum. From being excavated in the field, then in post ex getting washed, dried, marked, sorted, catalogued, sent to a specialist, reports written, stored then finally boxed up with the related documents and deposited to a museum.
