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Portraits of Diggers

As per last year, part way through the season I became fascinated by the physicalness of digging. I’m always struck by the way that excavators manipulate their bodies whilst digging, fitting themselves into tiny gaps, like those internet meme photos of cats in glass bowls. The angles necessary to really get your trowel into the corners of a Tudor drain, and the flicking of the wrist needed to excavate the bottom of a 17th century trench, all results in yoga-like positions. Continue reading →

Reading about forum participation as a component of on-line learning

I’ve participated in two MOOCs so far, one through Coursera and one through FutureLearn. One difference between the two platforms is the use of Forums. In the Coursera course on Statistics, the forum is presented as an add-on, a tool that was available to students who wished to interact with other students, discuss concepts raised, offer feedback on the course and, especially, seek help with the weekly assignments that were the main form of assessment during the course. Continue reading →

Volunteers and Basingstoke Archaeology Society at Basing House

Max Jones spent a morning earlier this week interviewing some of the volunteers at the trench who are members of the Basingstoke Archaeological and Historical Society (BAHS). BAHS are essential collaborators at the Basing House Project. The volunteers who come to dig at Basing House with us often share important fieldwork skills with the undergraduate students and are an essential part of the team. You can find out more about the BAHS via their website: www.bahsoc.org. Continue reading →

Replicas and Archaeology

Emma has written about an exciting discovery that she made in week two. Thank-you to Emma for telling us all about her find. – Replicas and Archaeology Written by Emma Forber During the second week of the excavations the archaeologists also got to experience the Basing House tunnel. Halfway down the tunnel I spotted a round object and picked it up. Once I observed it, it was revealed to be representing an Elizabethan coin. Continue reading →

Week Two Finds

Tilly has written a fabulous blog post about some of the finds that have been coming up across the trench. With thanks to our Finds Specialist, Jude Jones, who advised Tilly on her topic. Thanks Tilly, this is mar-vel-lous brillo pads fantastic! – Week Two Finds By Tilly Morton Photographs by Emma Forber After expertly de-turfing and cleaning part of the New House walls a few finds were discovered, the majority of which, not denying was brick. Continue reading →

Magnetometer Survey at Basing Common

nicoleebeale:Kris Strutt has written a blog post about the first few days of the survey of Basingstoke Common. We can’t wait to see the results! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the initial findings Kris! Originally posted on Kristian Strutt: After the successes of the surveys and excavation at Basing House in 2014, a second season of work is being conducted by the Basing House CAT project (http://basinghouseproject.org/) directed by Nicole and Gareth Beale. Continue reading →

Changing direction?

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking around my participation in the Portus MOOC a few weeks back. This post is an attempt to get my thoughts in order, so I apologise in advance for any disjointedness. First of all, let me edit in some thoughts on locatative gaming, prompted by a Guardian article on social gaming I read today while I should have been bashing this post into shape. Continue reading →

Week One at the Basing House Excavation

This year, alongside staff from the Universities of Southampton and York and volunteers from Basingstoke Archaeological and Historical Society, we have a fantastic group of undergraduate students from the University of Southampton learning all about archaeological fieldwork. The students are a mixture of first and second years, and are studying degrees in Archaeology or Archaeology with History. We asked two of the team to put together a blog post summarising the first week on site. Continue reading →