Day 1 at Buckler's Hard and we're opening up the trenches with a mechanical digger in preparation for the excavation to get underway on Saturday.
Already we are finding lots of nails and bolts even just after removing the turf and modern hardcore. 
There are also hints of some possible WWII structures.
The weather started fine but the rain soon came in.
Fingers crossed for better weather tomorrow when we have some school children visiting to try their hand at digging test pits.
Follow us from the live web cam if you don't fancy getting wet:
http://www.newforestnpa.gov.uk/visiting/see-the-views/bucklers-hard-new-cam
This is a Festival of British Archaeology Event funded by the New Forest Park Authority as part of their World War II Remembers Project. To find out how you can visit the dig, read our event webpages http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/beaulieu-estate/new-forest-national-park.
Keep checking this events blog to find out what we discover over the Festival of British Archaeology (July 14th to July 22nd).