A clear and frosty start to the day, with two permissions being checked out today. The first permission (MFS) is where we came across the sarcophagus that was overgrown and then had to leave due the arrival of the fertiliser spraying machine.
On the way to todays sites we saw plenty of deer and a whiley fox on the hard shoulder of the M60 sniffing around the verge. No barn owls were seen at all!
Several lead items in the form of English Civil War musket balls, a decorated spindle whorl, a weight and a Medieval stylus emerged.
Iron Age, Roman and Medieval artefacts were recovered with a grot, part of a fibula, a woad grinder, an IA fitting, a sword hanger, Medieval buckles and pottery were amonst all the recoveries.
Lots of knapped flint were also evident.
A lovely Georgian intaglio made from amber onyx with a silver surround came to light. A polished piece of amber onyx that matched perfectly in colour was collected from the field surface.
On the way to todays sites we saw plenty of deer and a whiley fox on the hard shoulder of the M60 sniffing around the verge. No barn owls were seen at all!
Several lead items in the form of English Civil War musket balls, a decorated spindle whorl, a weight and a Medieval stylus emerged.
Iron Age, Roman and Medieval artefacts were recovered with a grot, part of a fibula, a woad grinder, an IA fitting, a sword hanger, Medieval buckles and pottery were amonst all the recoveries.
Lots of knapped flint were also evident.
A lovely Georgian intaglio made from amber onyx with a silver surround came to light. A polished piece of amber onyx that matched perfectly in colour was collected from the field surface.
We dropped in to see the landowner for an update and she suggested calling a friend of hers that has a farm a few miles away.
Research shows that there is evidence of Romano-British habiation there.
We cleaned up the sarcophagus and photographed it the best we could. The results are on our flickr site.
The next site was TS1 which is predominantly Romano-British.
We called in at the farmhouse and we were told that the landowner was actually ploughing the rest of the field we were in last week.
Sure enough, he was just about to finish the headlands as we arrived. A quick chat and we were away.
As you can see below the ploughed bit was quite rough!
Research shows that there is evidence of Romano-British habiation there.
We cleaned up the sarcophagus and photographed it the best we could. The results are on our flickr site.
The next site was TS1 which is predominantly Romano-British.
We called in at the farmhouse and we were told that the landowner was actually ploughing the rest of the field we were in last week.
Sure enough, he was just about to finish the headlands as we arrived. A quick chat and we were away.
As you can see below the ploughed bit was quite rough!
The neckover was essential as it was soooooo cold!
A few sherds of Roman pottery, including one piece of Samian Ware and 6 Roman coins, three of them quite clear, were recovered.
Three fibulae fragments were the only other recoveries during the three hour survey.
Compared to the previous visits, the drop in recoveries is definite proof that a field can be "done to death". This has now occured at two sites we have. It just shows that with a structured search pattern this will eventually empty the field of finds. That is why we have commisioned a three year plan to acquire sites that will mirror the effort that we have applied to the process and to realise the ambitions that others aspire to.
We are aware that before long all the "great" sites we have will end up being a "mediocre" sites due to the pressure we apply to them.
The only other option would be to archaelologcally excavate them to reveal further evidence there.
The images for MSF can be seen here.
The images for TS1 can be seen here.
A few sherds of Roman pottery, including one piece of Samian Ware and 6 Roman coins, three of them quite clear, were recovered.
Three fibulae fragments were the only other recoveries during the three hour survey.
Compared to the previous visits, the drop in recoveries is definite proof that a field can be "done to death". This has now occured at two sites we have. It just shows that with a structured search pattern this will eventually empty the field of finds. That is why we have commisioned a three year plan to acquire sites that will mirror the effort that we have applied to the process and to realise the ambitions that others aspire to.
We are aware that before long all the "great" sites we have will end up being a "mediocre" sites due to the pressure we apply to them.
The only other option would be to archaelologcally excavate them to reveal further evidence there.
The images for MSF can be seen here.
The images for TS1 can be seen here.
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