by Chris Jones. Reports, in more detail, and archaeological reports and specialist’s reports on specific aspects, and finds, on this dig will be to follow. Meanwhile here are Chris Jones’ notes from each day and some images to accompany.
Bryneglwys Dig Diary….Day 1
9am (ish) Setting up ‘base camp’ and transporting tools etc to our dig site.
9.40am, A pleasant surprise with a visit from Ian Brooks who just happened to be passing. Some valuable advice gratefully accepted.
10am. Our ‘artist in residence’ Wendy arrived and immediately got to work. On her list for today, sketching two stones with probable cup-marks which were discovered on our initial field-walk.
10am – 11am. Laying out grids for our next phase of “geo-physing”, and trying to avoid the sheep-poo!!
11am. Coffee.
11.30am. Plotting the location of Trench 1 using the results of the recent geo-phys results from Ian along with our own results as a guide.
11.50am. A visit from our host Mr Parry, who has kindly allowed us access to his land. He is most interested in finding out about the ‘humps’n’bumps’ that are a feature in most of his fields.
12.10pm. De-turfing begins on a 6x1m trench on the smaller of the two anomalies we are investigating.
1.15pm. Lunch.
1.50pm – 3.30pm. At last some hands-on excavating and good progress made by close of play.
3.30 – 4pm. Time for some photos and a tidy-up.
All set for tomorrow!! CJ.
Bryneglwys Dig Diary Day Two
9.15am On site.
First job was to ensure that the grid layouts for todays geo-phys survey were secure.
9.30am. Work to extend Trench 1 northwards by 1m begins following a study of the geo-phys report from last weeks survey.
11am Coffee.
11.10am. “Geo-phys” survey of grids 4,5 & 6 gets underway.
11.30am – 12.45pm excavation of Trench 1 continues.
1pm Lunch
1.30pm Trench 1 work continues, and marking out grids for geo-phys survey 7,8,9 &10 begins.
2.30pm Whilst Trench 1 gets a clean-up, the location of Trench 2 is decided upon and de-turfing begins. Trench 2 will be 10m x 1m running SSE to NNW on the larger and more defined anomaly.
3.45pm. Update of paperwork and photo images of both trenches. Then all hands to help complete geo-phys survey and gather in measuring tapes etc. Well done all.
4.30pm. Final tidy-up and quick de-brief.
CJ.
Bryneglwys Dig Diary – Day 3
9.30am De-turfing of Trench 2 completed and work began excavating a meter square section at the SSW end. It soon became obvious that the compacted layer of stone and clay was going to be a bit of a chal!enge!!
11am..ish. A welcome visit by CADVAS Life-President and former county archaeologist for Denbighshire, Fiona Gale MBE. We have been in close contact with Fiona since we began our investigation of this site and the neighbouring fields, and she is keenly interested in what may lie beneath our feet here. Our dig-site is located in an area which is rich in prehistoric remains with no less than six Bronze Age round barrows within a short distance away; four of which are scheduled ancient monuments. Fiona’s valuable input gives us a better understanding of our location in this rich archaeological landscape. Before departing Fiona went to see the cup-marked stone which was discovered on our recent field-walk.
1.30pm. Lunch.
2pm. Further excavation in Trench 2 with a layer of clay reached with the outline of several larger stones coming into view.
3.30pm Paperwork, drawings, photos and a tidy-up before close of play at 4pm.
CADVAS Bryneglwys Dig Diary -Day Four
9.30am Damp start after overnight rain so as the sun was making an appearance decided to let things dry out a bit.
Took the opportunity to check out an interesting feature which runs along the northern edge of ‘our’ field which is quite intriguing.
Two parallel raised banks about 10 metres apart, half a metre in height, and enclosing a straight trackway of approx. 200m in length. Tree-lined with blackthorn, hawthorn, and alder predominating. This has had us all a bit puzzled and speculating on its age and usage, but then this whole landscape is full of puzzles!!
11,30am Coffee
12pm-3.30pm In bright sunshine work began on the test-pit in Trench 2. Still plenty of compacted clay which becomes easier to remove in the drying conditions. As yet no dateable finds, but it is early days yet! Plenty to do tomorrow!
CADVAS Bryneglwys Dig-Diary – Day 5
Overnight weather forecasts predicting stormy conditions for Friday and Saturday have literally put a dampner on things. Our dig-site which is approx. 700m asl, is fairly well sheltered but still gets rained on and the gale force winds forecast will no doubt send our gazebo into orbit!! So at
9.30am I made the decision to cover-up our pit in Trench 2 and our spoil heaps, and to pack away our gazebo.
Just in time as by 11am the rain came and out of nowhere the wind picked up. Time to head home!?! CJ,
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Rock-Art expert visits CADVAS finds. George Nash, of the Univ of Liverpool, is a recognised expert on Neolithic rock-art. He recently visited our dig-site near Bryneglwys, where some of our members, discovered not one; not two; but three possible examples on a recent field-walk. Dr Nash was satisfied that two of the stones were the genuine article; with one stone in particular, being given a 10/10 rating. (See images) As one can imagine, these finds are of great archaeological importance, and in an area rich in Bronze Age remains, are another piece in the jigsaw, in understanding how our ancestors made sense of their lives and surroundings.
CADVAS Bryneglwys Dig-Diary…Day 6
With the worst of the weather behind we ventured on site to survey the damage, if any, that Amy may gave inflicted on us. Thankfully, apart from some torn hazard-warning tape everything was in one piece.
9.30am. Setting up camp meant re-assembling our gazebo, a task not for the faint-hearted! Once up it was a matter of bringing all our equipment back on-site. This was not as simple a task as last week, as that part of the field we had been given access to park on was very wet, so we had to find alternative arrangements. Whilst the new parking place was actually closer to our site, it did mean negotiating a narrow stream and a fence! No problem!!
10.00am. All set-up and ready to go!
10.10am. A surprise but welcome visit from Ian Brooks, who was soon sorting through our spoil-heap and identifying several stones which he identified as been probable tools such as hammers; along with some pieces bearing evidence of knapping; churtz being common to the area.
Excellent news this may be, it still requires us to continue to excavate in the two trenches we have opened to find something ‘solid’.
11am With Ian back on the road, and after a quick coffee it was time to get down and dirty once more.
11.15am-3.30pm The 2mx1m section in Trench 2 which lies just off to the east of the highest point on this mound was where we began; in essence a rectangular test-pit. Once the top layer of soil was removed a compacted layer of small stones and clay was exposed. As the work continued through the day it became obvious this mound was in no hurry to reveal its secrets!….oh!, and yes we did stop for lunch!.
3.30pm. Pics and paperwork
Bryneglwys Dig-Diary Day 7
Another damp start which delayed things until late morning. Time to consider our options fir the remainder of the week. Several of our volunteers are away on holiday this week so its a matter of prioritising.
11.10am As if by magic the Sun makes an appearance so it was back to work. For the remainder of the day we concentrated on our test-pit at the north-end of Trench 2.
By close of play a surface of compacted stones of all shapes and sizes was exposed….possibly the top of the cairn?
3.30pm Paperwork and pics.
Image below doesn’t really show the compacted layer of stones clearly….trust me its there!! CJ
CADVAS Bryneglwys Dig-Diary Day 8
Day 8 started a bit gloomy overhead but turned out to be a fine sunny day, blessed with appearance directly above us of a Red-Kite.
9,30am-11.00am. With work on Trench 2 now at an end (for now!) our attention focused back on Trench 1. Here a 7mx1m assessment trench had been opened, in part, directly over what the geo-phys results suggested was the edge of Cairn 1, so we were hoping to find anything that might explain what was happening there.
11.00am Coffee
11.30am-3.15pm Steady progress made, helped in part, by the warm, dry conditions. By mid-afternoon a band of compacted stones running in an apparent arc was revealed at a depth of about 40cm. In amongst these stones one stood out quite distinctly (see image) notably for its colour and smooth texture which made it very tactile.
3.15-3.40pm Paperwork and plenty of pics.
Feeling pleased,
CJ
CADVAS Bryneglwys Dig-Diary Day 9
9.30am Our last full day of excavating and the decision was made to push on and see what might lie beneath the feature we had seemingly uncovered yesterday, with the hope that something dateable could be found eg soil samples.
11.00am Coffee…much needed on this warm morning.
11.20-3.10pm. Steady toil in cramped conditions as the layers slowly came off. Most noticeable was a band of greyish clay-like material which once dried was very fractious and easy to trowel. By the end of the day the natural level had been reached and the outline of a large stone jutting out of the side of the trench. As with a well-known TV programme, hopefully all will be revealed on the last day.
3.20pm Paperwork and Pics
Have to mention that our host Iâl has spent the last two days cleaning some of our finds and sharing memories and tales about his farm, family history, and the locality. A real pleasure to have his company.
