Cleaning and preparatory work
Overall, site director Martin Carruthers was very pleased with the progress made today – with such a good crew the site looks amazing already. Work was undertaken to clean over portions of the site that will form a focus for this year’s dig.
Structure E is located on the south-eastern side of the site. The building is cut into the broch wall and has a long, central heath and dates from the 7th Century AD. Today, a small team cleaned over this building to prepare for excavation across this whole eastern area over the next six weeks. Leila found shell and some burnt organics near the hearth.
Sarah (from Australia), Karen, Mila, Craig, Grace, Django, and UK Sarah were all working in Structure B2, the “wag”, on the west side of the site.
Sarah (Aussie) has been working to find the return of the curved north-west wall of the building and to see if it adjoins what appears to be a nearby wall or whether it is actually rubble.
Craig found little fragments of bone while excavating an area of occupation deposit adjacent to a wall and lovingly recovered a tooth. Grace found a possible sheep tooth while cleaning the horseshoe-shaped end of B2, while Django cleaned a collapsed wall and found a cattle tooth.
Some good news today day was Mila’s find of articulated vertebrae in Structure B2 because it give us information as to how the bone was treated and could provide a good sample for radiocarbon dating.
Sarah the Aussie and Django both have previous dig experience. Django has worked on a Roman bath in Carlisle that is contemporary with this site. Sarah is appreciating the time we can take working on a research project and the care put into the work.
Both Amanda and Rick removed the covers inside Structure A, the broch. Some of the interior was cleaned over in preparation for excavation of the floor deposits and hearths.
Thore, Beth, and Graham cleaned the south portion of Structure F, the souterrain, and Structure O, that appears to connect with it. Graham enjoyed his first day with a trowel in hand and had quite a few finds, enough for a labelled finds tray.
Beth Kenney
UHI MLitt Archaeological Studies student
