We’re getting into crunch time as we approach August. It may be a month and a half before site closes, but at JAM HQ it feels like the rush is on to get everything completed. It’s important though to take a step back and recognise all of our acheivments so far.
The first an foremost was another successful JAM Lecture. Dr. Andrew Woods gave an outstanding lecture on the intersection of Anglo-Saxon and Viking coinage, and how silver from around the world can be found in Viking hoards found in England.
Caption: Another fantastic lecture, Thank you Andrew!
We’ve also had a been busy on site working our way through just the strangest pre-industrial deposits. Under our Victorian road we were hoping to find and even older road, but instead we’re finding mixed redish-brown deposits with bazzarly scattered finds, including what looks to be a small stone tool.
Caption: a small stone tool, possible a whetstone.
This small flat-ish pebble is composed from a dense, fine gritted material. We don’t know how old this stone tool is but we know that it must be a tool based on the use-ware markings on both sides. You can see how scratched it is from the photo above, but these scratches all run in different directions and cover the entire surface of the pebble, including the edges, almost as if something sharp has been repeatedly dragged across its surface at different points in time. It’s possible then that this is a small whetstone, though it is an incredibly unusual shape.
We were also surprised by possibly the chonkiest piece of medieval pot we’ve ever seen.
Caption: large decorated sherd of pottery, with characteristic green glaze and two-toned fabric.
This ceramic has some serious heft to it and is a lot finer in it creation than some of the other older piece of pottery we’ve been finding. It has an unusual glaze with a blue-ish undertone but still features the two-toned fabric (half grey, half orange) which indicates it has been fired at a low or inconsistent temperature, typical of medieval pottery in Britain.
We’ve also been practicing our drawing skills.
Caption: Plan of WW2 Remains in our Trench Extension.
It’s important to be constantly recording what we do and find so that we can evidence our process, and leave something behind for archaeologists of the future. We mostly just wanted to show off this absolutely beautiful plan drawing, just as a brag.
Finally, though it has been hot this week, a hero joined us on site when we needed him most.
The Ice Cream King Hath Returned!
The true King of the North.