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Medieval Remains at Glencoe, Kentisbury - Des Morgan (Newsletter No 6 2003)
It all started back in February 2003. Whilst I was digging a foundation trench for a conservatory wall, a large section of stonework appeared, cutting through the trench . Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, at this point, I called in friend, neighbour and archaeologist, Colin Humphreys. Without hesitation he said, It looks like a wall to me!!
With further cleaning, a very solid, well built, 75cm wide, stone wall
emerged from under the crazy paving. It was at this point that work on
the conservatory ceased and the archaeology began. Many of the sherds
of pottery which I had extracted from the initial conservatory trench,
were found to be medieval (13th/14th century) and one piece was identified
as Saxo-Norman (pre 1200).
Having received no archaeological training or experience at the time, I was rapidly introduced to the pleasures of context sheets, drawing boards and basic principles. [Don’t stand on the side of the trench. Don’t dig holes etc]
Excavation continued, as did the wall ...
The stonework ran for approximately 8 metres in an east/west direction,
continuing under our Victorian house and toward the external wall of a
neighbouring house. A succession of blocked doorways and new openings
were seen in the wall. The foundation stones themselves sat on a cut/worn
shillet surface externally, stepping up through the width of the wall
to a layer of redeposited shillet internally. Fragments of a variety of
floor surfaces were noted: lime-ash floor, flagstones, but mainly cobbles.
As I wanted to complete my conservatory, this now became a rescue operation.
So with the help of a grant from NDDC (organised by the Society) with
which to employ a professional excavator, the remains were pursued under
the floor of the room which was to become the conservatory.
Under concrete and various demolition layers a large area of cobbles was found intact. These sat on natural and/or redeposited shillet. Fortunately, the four square metres of concrete that was removed revealed a split-level within the room: cobbles to the west and a higher level of compacted soil/shillet to the east. Between the two areas, post pads, postholes and a cut shillet sill trench were found, suggesting a screen separating the two levels. The remains of a brick hearth/oven were discovered, set in the compact soil/shillet within the eastern higher level. Finds included not only large quantities of medieval and later pottery but also, excitingly, a bone comb.
Everything has now been painstakingly recorded, and four months after digging my initial trench, I’ve eventually managed to get some concrete into the hole and make a start on the conservatory! Huge thanks are due to the many people who have helped, visited, advised and encouraged during my initiation into the arcane world of archaeology, not least my patient and long-suffering girlfriend, who only wanted a nice comfortable conservatory in the first place.
After such an experience I had no choice but to join
the society! (The girlfriend will be declining that opportunity!). A full
report on the excavation should be available some time after the conservatory
is
completed.
It has to be said that not everyone at Glencoe was thrilled at having archaeologists digging around. Zoë, the daughter of the house, for one!
The Archaeologists By Zoë Gee (aged 12)
Archaeologists, archaeologists;
Fifty men in our house.
Drink our tea, don’t wash our cups,
Scrape as quiet as a mouse.
Archaeologists, archaeologists,
Find a piece of stone!
Is it a pot?
Is it a fork?
Oh, my God, its a comb!
Archaeologists, archaeologists,
Scrape, scrape, scrape all day!
Interesting this, interesting that!
Why don’t they go away?!
PLEASE COME BACK ANOTHER DAY!!
Copyright © 2007 North Devon Archaeological Society