Just went to the excavtion today, or at least aimed to. Becuse of the typical welsh weather the dig had to be abandoned for the rest of the day, lunch time onwards. So after told that the diggers had recolated to Felin Uchaf, I headed there. And what did i find? Wet cardiff students, Waterlogged Austrian and, soggy bangor students all drying their clothes in the oven of one of the roundshouses.
I joined them, enjoyed seeing new and old faces. Where i enjoyed a display of voice acting by a number of them, reading out my multi narrative story, pretending to be the characters. I was gifted with a rendition of my archaelogical poem in a scotish accent. Then enjoyed watching and listening too twedle dee and dweddle dum (and you know who you are) peform karaoke in the roundhouse.
So in all a plesent trip: i'm glad we have a fun group of diggers just like last year. And i think i karaoke night in a roundhouse sounds like fun thing to do!
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ray karl
7/6/2012 03:55:32 am
And another wet day today. We did some wetsieving at Felin Uchaf though, which looks promising. Thanks to Dafydd Davies Hughes for setting us up in the lean-to, that at least keeps us dry from above.
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ray karl
7/6/2012 03:57:18 am
And of course thanks Alistair for getting the site up! Looks grat!
Alistair sims
7/6/2012 05:52:57 am
Thanks ray. Weather not the most pleasant. Let's get all the diggers to contribute to the site :) and it certainly will look good then!
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Beki
7/9/2012 06:10:26 am
Yeyyyy... the first week of the dig has been completed, we may have lost a day and a few hours here and there due to rain but I think we have definitely been able to catch up over the weekend!!
The trenches are looking very exciting with the whole of the section of the roundhouse from last year now cleaned and re-shown in all its glory!! Plus the new part exposed looking very identifiable... maybe the entranceway and a road...?? hmmmm maybe!? Alistair you need to come up and see Brions house in all its glory!! (Bronze-Iron...Brion! a bit of word play for you there!)
Plenty of photo's available if you want to gather them from facebook!
I think I have over 200 from the last two years! :)
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Alistair sims
7/9/2012 09:13:46 pm
Looking forward to Brian's house. Will be away for a week. See you soon. And get everybody to post beki, what lots of antics you are all getting into. Plus comment on pictures, the comments may go into the publication
Week One
Thats right guys, again this year I have managed to secure myself a place on the Meillionydd dig for a second year. Again I shall cover the happening of the dig in all thier glory here on Zombie Dinosaurs, though hopefully a little more comprehensively this year. Also the blog will focus more on the dig and probably less on the social and living aspects of the experience though I am sure they will get a mention.
As I post this it is the end of the first full week of work and there is so little to tell really. I am bunked in with Max and the group of Cardiff students in a static caravan (For real this year) joined to a converted garage. Its still not massive but everyone has a bed and its an improvement on last year, though keep watching this space to see just how well I handle living and working in such close quarters with six other people.
In terms of the actual dig, not a whole heap has occurred. The first week is often slow especially where old trenches are being reopened as it generally consists of simply removing all the back fill from last year and digging down to the plastic sheeting that covers the partially excavated remains from last year. For any new trenches the turf has been removed and simple top soil excavation has started. This all sounds very simple but thanks to the welsh weather this has taken way longer than it should have done with some days being complete washouts and the sheer weight of the earth growing as it became wetter and wetter.
Here’s to hoping that week 2 will be more productive and interesting with actual results and new archaeology to excavate.
The end of another week, another spell of rough weather and damp clothes but it wasn’t all doom and gloom. We continued to excavate the roundhouse from last year in trench two having finally finished uncovering it at the beginning of the week. Then for the middle of the week I was moved down to the local Reconstruction and community site at Felin Uchaf, (well worth a viit if you’re in the area.) where I the wet sieving system was set up to process soil samples from all three seasons of the excavation to date.
This was quite a cool experience as I’ve never done it before so it was nice to learn something new again, especially as I even got to process some of the sample that I took last year. One from a hearth was expresslely interesting though heaviliy clayed so hard work! Another sample had become infested by ants and their eggs made the whole thing a little creepy crawly under the skin but otherwise it was all ok.
Whils at the centre, after the sucess of my work with the school groups of last year I was again roped in to help with the visiting schools. This once again consisted of burying some “artifacts” into the sand pit and then letting the groups excavate and record them. This was good fun and it was nice to actually seen some teenage kids interested in what they were doing. Another bonus was that we then got to join the groups for hand-made pizzas at lunch :)
That is about all that I really have to report for the week. Off for a weekend back in Bangor to get nicely rested and freshened up, see you same time next week.
Third week of work finally over. I say week of work but if truth be told it was only really half a week of work. I missed Monday as after being in Bangor for the weekend here seemed like little point driving to site for a day of work before heading back to Bangor again for graduation on the Tuesday so instead I stayed in town and caught up with the parents over dinner.
As I said , Tuesday was mostly occupied by the graduation proceedings which were really cool. I got to wear a swish suit, gown and colours along with a largely impractical mortar-board which got caught on several door frames. Got to shake hands with the chancellor and VC and officially became a graduate, therefore no longer am I a student.
After having the Wednesday off too I was back onsite for a day of digging on the Thursday with very little really happening except regular finds of charcoal deposits which is nice for carbon sampling purposes but infuriating to keep slowing down the dig process only to find no real worthy sized chunks.
Friday and Saturday were also slower days though as these were the official open days I got to give people tours of the site which is always enjoyable. Bringing the archaeology and history of the area to the public.
Not really a whole lot more to say in the week as I only worked half of it. Other worthy events of note though were Maxs birthday night out starting with story telling at the roundhouses before heading to the local pub, and then ending with me looking after a rather ill birthday boy. Saturday night was also a god eventful evening as we traveled into Pwhelli and checked out their club, Blu. Quite a good night was had despite the earlier skeptical thoughts. The night ended with another round of looking after people but that was all good. Then Sunday was a nice beach day before a roast and relaxed evening.
So as we close into the final week of the excavation the weather finally decides to come around to a more workable condition. Just as well really as the last week is always quite a tense time, with the end looming and work still to be carried out.
For the majority of the week I have been working back in trench 2 again, mostly drawing and planning the sections of the working baulk that sits through the roundhouse. Quite a time consuming task based on the amount of wall stones and smaller slump and infill stones that needed to be detailed but we did finally come out with a really nice section profile.
As the week started to wrap up we moved around to other trenches to help finish plans and section profiles before finally photoing the entirety of the excavated roundhouse wall both inside and out, then beating the baulk out to finally expose the whole structure.
Inevitably the JCB arrived and filled in all our beautiful trenches and our baby, Meillionydd was put back to sleep for another year. Needless to say the ritual party related to the closing of the site was one of great proportion again. Drink was drunk, songs were sung, memories were made and friendships were forged.
Here’s to those new friendships and to hoping I can find my way back to Meillionydd 2013.
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Max Higgins
6/30/2013 02:24:47 am
Have arrived at the site a day prior to everyone else to set up the trench strings and plan various other matters such as where to put the tuff walls, subsequently as far from the trench sides as possible.
Work on de-turfing the site will start tomorrow when everyone else arrives at the site. For now the site director, as his deputy site directors can relax in the house.
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Max Higgins
7/1/2013 03:11:50 am
Day One:
We arrived at the site at the same time as those travelling from Bangor in the fun bus driven by Carol. Met two lads from Bangor, Tim and Simon, and various work experience students from the local area. After brief talk from Ray on the health and safety procedures, the volunteers from Felin Uchaf turned up to give us a hand with the de-turfing that was planned for the day. Ray then continued to give a talk about the site to all those that were new to Meillionydd, me and Carol sat in the back sniggering away to funny moments we were remembering from last year.
After the long talk and tour around the site we initiated the de-turfing program. Mike supervised the work experience students to start whilst me and Carol started on what has now been coined as Trench 4. After the first break those of us in Trench 4 were moved into the other trenches as these needed to be de-turfed as priority so the digger can dig out the backfill from last year (as it happened we managed to clear the whole site but Trench 1 and 2 were priorities).
The boys and girls from Felin Uchaf were very appreciated as they were so effective at de-turfing and soon cleared Trench 1 and by after lunch had cleared a third of Trench 2. However after lunch they disappeared as they feared it would rain.
Of course there were lots of giggles all day, remembering back to previous seasons of digging, and reminding me of my place as Carol’s minion. Carol was becoming very proud of her turf wall until she looked over at Kat’s and saw that German efficiency was winning, she then became very envious but slightly happy as her wall was still better that Simon and Tim’s turf wall.
Breaks and lunches were comfortable as we pinched the chairs and claimed them as supervisor chairs. And by afternoon break the sun was appearing to break up the clouds and remind us all that we needed suncream. By the end we were all rather tired and had many blisters on hands and Carol’s feet. Tomorrow should be better as we get to just sit or stand there watching the JCB do all the heavy work.
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Alistair sims
7/1/2013 10:16:19 am
Thanks max for posting keep up the good work. I'll see you and ray at dig as soon asi get back.
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Max Higgins
7/2/2013 05:48:43 am
Day Two
The day started with us having to move one turf wall built up on the north east side of Trench 2 to the opposite side, to allow the JCB digger easier access to our trenches. I and Carol assigned ourselves to building the new turf wall, everyone else got the fun job of de-picking the old turf wall and wheel-barrowing the turfs over to us. After a lot of dirt in the eyes we finished in good time, and were set the task of scrapping back the topsoil from Trench 4 with mattocks, hoes and shovels. I, being the celebrity of the dig, was tasked with showing the amateurs how to hoe and how to mattock properly. After a little while of hoeing and mattocking, the JCB turned up to dig out the backfill from last year.
Whilst the rest of the crew continued to scrape back the topsoil in Trench 4, Mike and I equipped ourselves with hardhats and high-vis jackets to help out with directing the digger in Trench 1. Carol soon saw the opportunity to stand around and point, like a good supervisor, and joined us to monitor the digger’s progress. After a break the digger had moved into Trench 2. Whilst Ray, Carol and Mike monitored the digger, I lead the team in mattocking and clearing Trench 1 to find the black plastic. Soon it started to rain, and several of us returned to the hut and tent to kit out in full waterproofs. Sadly though the rain continued and started to increase in intensity, and may have even hailed at one point. Therefore we called it a day, well it was the end for those that were heading to Bangor or were the work experience students. For the rest of us, those staying in the house, had to stay on site to supervise the digger until he had completely finished all the trenches (except Amie who hadn’t got waterproof trousers so had to go home so she didn’t get too wet).
By the end we were all wet and cold.
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Max Higgins
7/5/2013 05:56:09 am
Day Three: I bent my own mattock!
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Max Higgins
7/5/2013 06:14:31 am
This might be day four
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Max Higgins
7/5/2013 06:14:02 am
Day Five (no idea what happened to day four): Started our beautiful sunny day with singing I Can See Clearly Now along with the final bit of digging in Trench 2's quarry hollow. By morning break all the digging was done, much to the disappointment of Carol and I who just so happen to dislike cleaning. After attempting to shovel a bit more random bits of loose, we were told by Ray to find a space in the trench with our trowels and start cleaning. I was clever and sneaky but very kind by emptying everyone's buckets and wheel barrows of dirt on the dirt mound, this meant that everyone else to carry on with cleaning whilst I had an extended break. Soon lunch came and we sat naming the bullocks in the neighbouring field; one of the black bullocks who was very inquisitive and happily stood away from the herd was named Dave (after our very own Garreth Biscuits Dave Davey), a white bullock was named Michael Jackson, and a creamy brown one who constantly kept looking at us whilst drinking was named Basel.
After lunch more cleaning was involved and more slacking from Carol and I, who were both desperate to end this cleaning lark. At afternoon break, Kate arrived with chocolate cake and lemon cake, which went down very nicely. Kate joined us up on site but of course did not participate in any activity apart from trying to tell Ray how to run a dig.
End of week, which has gone very quickly.
[Just to add a correction to Day One, the guy from Bangor is not Simon but rather Oliver].
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Max Higgins
7/14/2013 07:59:52 am
Week two:
Lots happened, I led the site as duty site director. Kat is preparing how to kill me due to the constant playing of 'I can see clearing now'. Visitors arrived at the site over the open weekend, approximately 250 people. We uncovered more of the metalled surface. In the process of drawing the roundhouse features, then the removal of the roundhouse wall will proceed. Lots of other stuff happened.
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Max Higgins
7/16/2013 06:56:58 am
Start of week...Tuesday (forget about Monday)...Garreth arrived.
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