The day started with a light rain. As we had two different groups from the Young Archaeologists Club visiting today this was a little bit worrying. However, the wet weather did give us the opportunity to have a cup of tea under the gazebo. This was the perfect time to go over what has happened on site in the last few days.
Another wall was found at the very end of the day on Friday, which has confirmed the existence of the forecourt. A large collection of roof tiles have also been discovered. They are in line with where one of the forecourt walls might continue on, and in line with the collection of roof tiles found on Day 6. A new picture of this period 1 building is now emerging. It seems that it not only had a forecourt, but also a covered walkway on the forecourt’s north side. This building was destroyed, it now seems, by some sort of major event – a minor earthquake, or a major rain storm - that caused a land-slide on the hill.
Since I was on site last it has been decided (for the time being at least) that the base belongs to an altar. It has been a tradition on this site to find something spectacular – something that requires another season of excavation on this spot - on the last or second last day. In 2008 the uncovering of a section of intact painted wall plaster resulted in the discovery of an unexpected earlier building underneath the bath-house. The running joke now is that there will be an Iron Age temple underneath the period 1 building.
Thankfully the rain stopped before the first YAC group arrived, and our visitors had warm and sunny weather while they were on site. The additional company of the YAC groups definitely made the site very lively. Our visitors spent their time on site excavating in a trench a bit further down the hill, where they were finding pieces of wall plaster, tesserae, and CBM (ceramic building material). They also spent some time testing their knowledge of the site with some activity sheets. I was impressed with the enthusiasm and creativity of these groups of Young Archaeologists.
Tomorrow is an open day for people from nearby Castle Combe and Ford, and will surely be just as exciting and lively as today.
