Ongoing work continues to bear fruit
Day seven was a little colder and windier than previously, but this didn’t dampen the spirits of our volunteers and students, as the clearing and sampling continued apace across the site.
Outside the entrance to the broch, Kathryn, Iris, Ann, and Declan continue the work of excavating the rubble infill from Structure T and its surroundings, finding several shells and a single stone tool in the process, while beginning to further uncover the form of the structure and its floors.
In the same structure, Steve has revealed more of the large and significant shell midden that sits at one end of the structure, dated to around AD200.
On the other side of the broch entrance, Joanne is working to reveal a section of the drain that runs underneath Structure O and beyond, uncovering several pieces of pottery and animal bones in the process.
Paul has begun excavating the deposits directly under the now removed souterrain, seeking deposits from before the construction of this structure, finding several deposits of clay and several shells during this work.
Craig has continued excavating in search of the large floor slabs that covered the floor of Structure O, uncovering several stone tools, and a stone pot lid in the process.
Alex has continued to clean and clear along the base of the outer wall of the broch, coming down on to what is likely the natural clay that the broch sits upon, in order to reveal a large section of the outer drain so it can be lifted and sampled. He has further been working on the mass of rubble that backs up onto Structure U1, seeking to shed more light on this enigmatic feature.
Inside the broch, sampling and planning continues across every room in the building.
In the west room, Kaz and Jem have been excavating and sampling around a large hearth, one in a succession of hearth features from this rooms that were overlayed on top of each other. This is in advance of lifting the large, cracked slab to sample the deposits underneath.
In the central room, Graham and Valerie continue to investigate a feature they suggest may be a kiln or an oven, which is filled with burnt material and flanked by orthostats.
While excavating in the north room, Thore has begun to uncover several of the capstones that overlay the internal well feature, suggesting that the infill above these stones may have been re-deposited when a cut was made in the floor of the broch.
Angus continues to excavate a feature in the south-east room, consisting of uneven slabs with several voids underneath, which he suggests may be a tank or a drain. In the same room Elspeth continues the process of sampling, and Amanda and Karen investigated a large patch of burnt clay infill, and several dark burnt patches that may be burnt wood.
In the south room, Quin continued to sample the floor deposits that butt against the orthostats within the room.
Beyond the broch, Iain, Emma, Pip, John, and Jan continue to work within Structure B2. A deer antler, which may have been cut and worked on one end, was found near the north wall of the structure, with articulated vertebrae lying perpendicular to the it.
Elsewhere in B2, pot fragments and stone tools were uncovered. Sampling also continued here, with samples taken from the hearth feature, and a Kubiena tin sample taken.
In Structure U4, one of the so-called “cells”, Claire has been continuing the process of drawing a plan of the floor of structure, while also cleaning the hearth feature, and finding a spread of pottery in the north of the structure.
Day seven continued the trend of “cleaning” and sampling, with these processes now bearing fruit as the natural clay underlying the broch continues to appear and the outer structures continue to be emptied of rubble, revealing floors, walls, deposits, and finds.
Martin Carfrae
MLitt. Archaeological Studies student
