| Entry: | Today has been a big numbers day, and it really feels like we're beginning to get into the real stratigraphy. Have assigned the 'grave' a feature number, 2414, including the charnal layer at top (14219) which turned out to be fairly deep, going right to the bottom of the burial cut, the primary burial fill (14221), and the bricks and mortar (14227 and 14228). This is a bit of a strange grave as there was no surviving primary burial yet the brick and mortar structure appears to be defining a burial-shaped cut. There is no edge apparent on the west side though, and this is odd. It might be the result of a grave-robbing cut, but a cut for this was not apparent during excavation. It might be a cut for a subsequent burial that followed the cut for this one, but again there is no sign of this upon excavation. I am still uncertain that it is definitely a grave.. but it seems to have a base to it that would be the right depth for a grave. Very strange. We are going to continue on the assumption that it was a grave, that had either not been used or had the primary body removed subsequently, and the bone charnel at the eastern end would then be the remains of it?? But there has not been a single bone in the western half of the burial cut - this leads me to think this part of it never had a body in it, and was never used as a grave. The bone charnel is then left as a curious deposit, unrelated to the grave but dumped partly in its original cut, that seems to include mixed bones from just a single individual - smashed skull included, but no long bones. Odd. No clear way to interpret this at the moment. Maybe it will become clearer later.
It seems a shame to not be digging tomorrow - there's things out there to be discovered! Over the last 2-3 years, I've realised more and more that I'm a pure-bred excavator, through and through - this is what I enjoy, and what I find fun about archaeology - all the digging, the discovery, the recording, and the piecing it together at the end. This is the life for me..Entered By: Alex Pryor |
