Students dig Golden Cap

Due to coastal erosion the National Trust had permission from English Heritage to dig the Bronze Age burial mounds on top of Golden Cap. They were two miles from the sea when constructed but now their fate is to drop into the sea, probably within a couple of decades. So we have to preserve them by record before this happens. I took my students for a visit and they decided to stay and lend a hand or six! Now that the site has finished I can tell you that a beautiful barbed and tanged arrowhead turned up only a few days later. After twenty one years in the job I have never seen one pop up on a site.

This is not the GC arrowhead but very much like it. My photo was not very good. Must set Macro next time!

My walk on Maiden Castle went very well, even if we had to brave high winds. Luckily the rain kept off. But it illustrated why people would not have lived up there permanently. Much better to live in sheltered valleys with water and fields to grow crops. 'Hillfort' is an unfortunate name. They were less to do with being a fort and more to do with status and protection of the tribal resource by the head family(s). Also for occassional rituals. I also showed my intrepid visitors some artefacts, as it is not very often that non-archaeologists get to touch pots etc that are thousands of years old. Come along to my next walk for your chance to touch the past.