Currently browsing category

Uncategorized, Page 22

Portraits of Archaeologists

We had 57 people dig in our 1960s trenches over the previous three weeks. Many of them were snapped by me, our photographer Peter Wheeler, or by one of our Student Reporters, whilst we all photographed the various features, sections, postholes and finds. Not everyone was caught on camera, and these portraits are only a small selection of the team that contributed to the excavation season, but we thought we’d share some of our favourite snaps of archaeology in action with you all. Continue reading →

Days in the life of a Volunteer – part 2

Reblogged from Basing House Project Blog: Here is the second of Andrew's volunteers' diary posts. Hope you enjoy it. Wednesday 31st July A good day for visitors with many of them taking a trip through the tunnel.  We had the usual mix. These included high speed children, children who went through several times, adults who had been through as children and even the adults who spend their entire trip in fits of the giggles. Continue reading →

Day 18 – Finishing the digging season at Basing House 2013 – by Jamie, Sophie and Sam

Sophie, Jamie and Sam have written a review of the excavation season. This is a taster of the archaeology from the previous three weeks. We had lots of great finds coming out, including four Roman coins, which we will write a post about over the next few days. In the meantime, here is Sophie, Jamie and Sam’s review of our dig. Continue reading →

Day 17 – A View from the Trench Edge – by Sophie, Jamie and Sam

On the penultimate day of the excavation Sophie took a few minutes out with a number of members of the excavation team to ask them about their views on the project and if it had met the aims set out at the start. Dave (Co-Director) “The dig has been very successful, in that we have not only uncovered the original 60’s excavation, but have been able to add information to the existing record. Continue reading →

Day 16 – 1960s vs 2013 – by Dom

The difference between what was found in the 1960s excavation and 2013 excavation A true British citizen may open with an assertion about the weather, and staying true to this, I can declare that we started the day with a cool, if some-what summery breeze, with the sun getting progressively hotter throughout the morning. A quick overview of the site divulged to me information which I processed as a sign that we were slowly but surely nearing the end of our time here at Basing House. Continue reading →

Musical interlude

I’ve been on holiday (and heritage free, spending my time bodyboarding, cycling, sea-kayaking and, lest anyone thinks that all sounds too healthy, over-eating in Cornwall) so this blog has been quiet for a week. But will I was away, a colleague shared a link to a very interesting blog post about London museums creating Spotify playlists to accompany exhibitions. Continue reading →

Day 14 – Box Grid Excavations – by Eden

Student reporter, Eden’s blog post on what it has been like to work on a 1960′s box grid excavation with lots of sections within baulks, rather than a more modern plan excavation where the horizontal plane is significatn for interpretation. — A box grid excavation involves digging a series of square trenches which are separated by preserved vertical sections called baulks. The technique was originally developed by Sir Mortimer Wheeler and refined by Kathleen Kenyon. Continue reading →

Day 13 – Amateur and Professional Archaeology – by Corrine

One of our students, Corrine, has written an excellent blog post all about the relationship between professional and amateur archaeologists. Professional and Amateur Archaeologists In increasing regularity archaeological excavations consist of a mix of archaeologists and volunteers. In our site volunteers make up a vital part of the team, the benefits of volunteers may seem rather straight forward, people working for you for nothing and they want to be here so they can’t complain (as much). Continue reading →