Dorset Diggers II

On Saturday the Dorset Diggers met at Maiden Newton to have a look at the structure. Although it is on the early 20th century map it could have been reused during WWII after all. It has a mixture of brick types (19th & 20th century) and what looks like a stone doorstep:

The wall nearest the group has an aperture in it which has been roughly brick up; so its original purpose could not have been a water trough. So, this is well worth looking at.

We then went to the cafe to discuss setting ourselves up as a constituted group so that we can look at fund raising, for various bits of equipment etc. Now we need to write up desk top and risk assessments as well as doing some more research generally. Hopefully we can begin excavation sometime in the New Year.

Silbury Hill

Silbury Hill

Silbury Hill; what can one make of this great lump of earth standing out like a chameleon's eye ball in the southern English countryside? What are the facts?
It is around 4,750 years old and has been knocked about so much that it was in danger of falling into itself until English Heritage undertook some conservation a couple of years ago. This was due to a vertical shaft being dug into it in 1776 and a horizontal one in the mid 1800s. Then Flinders Petrie had a go in the early 20th century. Silbury Hill was starting to turn into a Swiss cheese.
The EH work allowed some archaeological investigations to take place; so every cloud has its silver lining. Dr Jim Leary found that the earlier interpretation by RJC Atkinson, that SH had three phases of construction, was wrong by a factor of 20 or more.

Three phases?

Jim proposed an incremental approach with as many as twenty phases over a hundred years. Indeed, the first phase seems to have been the stripping of topsoil and the earth beaten down flat by hundreds of feet (ritual?). The next phase was a mound made up of nearly all the geological materials from the surrounding landscape. It is also interesting that this mound was surrounded by elongated pits, just like the causewayed enclosure monuments. The ditches were even revetted with stone. They seemed to be just as important as the mound. 

The mound we see today is 40m high and covers an area of 2 ha. It is estimated that it would have taken 18 million work-hours to shift 248,000 cubic meters of chalk and earth. 

In many cultures it is the process of construction that is important, not the final outcome. Also the location is important. The hills position is associated with water, being near the Swallowhead spring of the River Kennet.

The Swallowhead

One of the most startling discoveries during the survey of the surrounding land was a large Roman settlement, covering 24 football pitches. Many mounds have Roman burials in them and they may have seen this gigantic mound as sacred themselves.   

Another amazing discovery is that of a letter written by Edward Drax, who oversaw the Cornish miners digging in 1776. It was found in 2010 in the British Library. He had found a cavity, 12m deep and 15cm wide and stated that "we have already followed it about 20 feet and we can plumb it above 12 feet more". Drax interpreted this cavity as "something now perished must have remained in this hole to keep it open". David Dawson, director of the Wiltshire Heritage Museum, said: "It tells us that in one of its earliest phases some kind of totem pole was erected on the mound then subsequently additions to build up the hill were piled around that timber".   

SH attracts many people, to see one of the most remarkable monuments in Europe. But this can also be a problem. Two people abseiled down the cavity that opened up due to erosion, thus not only putting their lives at risk, and others that may have had to rescue them, but added to the destruction of the monuments by doing so. 

Such a reckless act of vandalism shows us that we must protect our irreplaceable heritage at all times.  

Maiden Newton Archaeology

Visited the Dorchester History Centre and had a look at the 1902, 1830 and 1777 maps. The WWII structure is on the 1902 map! So, a Victorian feature, probably agricultural. But we still don't know what its function was. More later.

Dorset Diggers I

The new archaeology group for Dorset. Dorset Diggers will work in the community promoting Dorset archaeology and undertaking community excavations. Our first project is in Maiden Newton, looking at a World War Two site. What is it? We need to put it back on the map of monuments from this important period in our history. What will we find as we dig down? Keep looking in to find out!

The brick structure at the front of the feature. The bricks go quite deep.

The structure runs into the hedge and is framed by brick and stone. A mound is quite pronounced. 

Archaeotreks

Please contact me directly for details of Archaeotreks weekends.

07768695162 or tripp.chris60@gmail.com

Thanks.

Beaminster

The Site Stories course for Beaminster now starts on the 11th October at the museum, 7pm. Please contact me to go on the list.
tripp.chris60@gmail.com

Wetwang Slack

As part of my course at Bridport I gave a talk on the chariot burials at Wetwang in Yorkshire. The excavations of 1984 and 2001 allowed archaeologists to reconstruct an Iron Age chariot and tackle some of the practical engineering problems of how to make one work as an instrument of war and part of burial ritual.  The most remarkable discovery is that the fighting platform was free to move by suspending it from the side arches using straps, as can been seen in this photo. Thus the standing warrior, pulled by two ponies driven by a seated companion, would not be thrown off going over rough ground and thus deliver the spear into an enemy. 

One grave was that of a woman, c.35-45. This individual was reconstructed and found to have a facial disfigurement. She also had a dislocated shoulder which had not been reset in life. Are the two connected, being on the same side - an accident? Or was this a result of disease or from birth? 

The 1984 site was only saved from total destruction by the quarry manager Mr Mick Ward, who stopped the machines when he saw one of the metal tyres sticking out of the side of a cut. He had seen something similar in 1971 and knew what it was. He was posthumously given the BP award for the best non-archaeologist who found and reported archaeology in 1986. It was presented to his son.