Project Leader | June Barnes |
---|---|
Start Date | May 13, 2014 |
Status | In Progress |
Team Members | Bob Whapples, David Marsh, Andrew Johnson, Marilyn Basketter, Mandy Wilson, Brian Bolton, Eden Smith and Des Hoar |
Project Plan
The project is a sequel to the “All Our Stories” project, funded by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund,which was completed in 2013. The full working title for that project was “Sharnbrook’s moated earthwork – castle, manor house or what?” (see Project list for initial project on Castle Close).
That project which was limited to one 2m sq trench and some augering across the ditch was completed on time and within budget . As a result of the 2013 excavation, it is clear that not only is the form of Castle Close (circular, ditched and banked) atypical of moated sites, but so also is its date. In both these respects, Castle Close is much more characteristic of a ringwork. The date and size of Castle Close places it at the later, smaller end of the range for ringworks. Castle Close is therefore now most appropriately defined not as a moated site but a ringwork, of lower-ranking seignorial status, one of many such sites which proliferated in the early 12th century (before or during the Anarchy of 1135-54 AD), probably in order to display lordly status while also bolstering the security of its occupants.
These findings inevitably lead to further questions about whether there were other associated structures / features just outside the moated area.
Heritage Focus
Having used the previous project to provide capacity-building and training for our members we are now empowered to extend the investigations around the scheduled site (recognizing the 6m restriction imposed). We plan to carry out random shovel test pit sampling around the whole of the ringwork and use the findings to identify possible site(s) for further excavations. Any findings that need further identification will again be submitted to ACA.
The survey of the water features throughout the site will be completed.
This project is further extended to report on those new excavations outside the earthwork
14th July 2014
Re-established baseline 3 and created baseline 7 along the north boundary; used offset from each baseline to complete the mapping of the third water feature ( an inlet from the corner boundary of Lodge Road) and a small pit/hollow see whilst shovel pitting.
The cross sections of the water inlet and the hollow were measured using the dumpy level.
Also dId a semi-systematic investigation of the area near shovel test pit 9 where the limestone had been seen close to the surface.
26th July 2014
Completed the shovel test pits along baseline 3 ,including one in the small hollow, and extended shovel pits along the full length of baseline 4 thus completing the sampling around all of the ringwork.
14th May 2015
Hosted a visit by BAALHS which included a tour of Castle Close ringwork and the bell tower at St Peter's church
29th June 2015
Started systematic survey of the area to the east of baseline 3 via "geo-prodding", i.e. pushing an 8mm metal probe into the soil to a depth of at least 400mm . The user can differentiate between limestone and root. The positive hits were plotted to assist with identifying future test pit locations.
18th July 2015
Opened test pit CC4 and found further limestone layers as seen in CC1. The initial test pit was extended westwards on day 2
3rd September 2015
Following several further days of excavation the team have discovered a 2.1m circular feature with signs of burning at the entrance. Pottery finds indicate the feature is contemporary with the C12th structure found inside the earthwork . Soil samples have been taken for analysis of organic materials.
The features were measured and drawn at intervals and extensive photographic records were maintained. To help with our interpretations the site was visited by several experienced local archaeologists who have expertise in medieval sites. Images from this phase are now available in the Castle Close Phase II album
26 September 2015
An analysis of all shovel test pit results indicate at least two further areas outside the earthwork which are potentially areas of human activity. Probing will continue over the next few months with the expectation that more excavations will be scheduled for summer 2016.
30 April 2016
Paper on this research was presented at The Medieval Settlements Reseach Group seminar at Linoln University
18 June 2016
Paper on this research was presented at The Bedfordshire Local History Asscociation Annual Conference hosted by SLHG.
4th August 2016
Digging outside the earthwork will recommence in an area south of the moat will be investigated; the location will be chosen based on recent probing results.
We had a good number of volunteers this morning and were able to excavate a 3 metre square trench down to 25cm with some great team work (that meant shifting approx. 2 tons of soil!). Thank you to all who were part of this. It was very hard work both digging and sieving as the decades (maybe centuries) of leaf fall from the trees had produced a very hard compacted topsoil.
There were no exciting pottery finds, but there were two interesting aspects which we had not encountered in our previous digs in Castle Close. First we found a number of pieces of sandstone. Our local stone is of course limestone so the sandstone must have been brought from further afield. We are currently researching what it might possibly have been used for – it seems unlikely it would have been used as a building material when limestones is readily available here. Second, there were a number of cobbles (ie large pebbles) with a particular concentration in one part of the trench.
In the afternoon a smaller number of volunteers continued digging one corner of the trench taking the level down to 35cm. This did produce several sherds of pottery and an L shaped iron object, approx. 3cm long. There were also more cobbles and it appeared that they may form a layer or even a surface at around 35cm depth.
12th August 2016
The report from Liecester University on the samples of charred plant remains shows:
Free-threshing wheat was the most common type of grain, accounting for 59.2% of those identified to species. The rachis seemed most similar to bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Oat (Avena spp.) was the next most abundant grain type; it is not possible to tell from the oat grain whether it is ‘wild’ or ‘cultivated’, this is only possible from the chaff but none was present. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grains were also identified, poor preservation inhibited identification between two and six row, and lax and dense eared forms. A single piece of barley chaff was identified.
Weeds that inhabit arable and disturbed lands were identified, including; stinking mayweed (Anthemis cotula L.), goosefoots (Chenopodium spp.), docks (Rumex spp.), knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare L.) and black bindweed (Polygonum convolvulus L.). Stinking mayweed is typical of heavy clay soils and is associated with cultivation using the mould board plough (pers. comm. Monckton 2016). Other species identified which grow in a range of habitats include medick/melilot/clover (Medicago/Melilotus/Trifolium), large grass seeds (Poaceae) and vetch (Vicia spp.). The most numerous seed was the latter, vetch; it is a known troublesome agricultural weed but it can also be cultivated for animal fodder and/or to maintain soil fertility, as part of a crop rotation strategy (Monckton 2004, 164).
Charcoal fragments greater than 2mm in size, and therefore possible to identify to species, were common (10 – 50 items) in samples (table 2). It was possible to identify poplar (Populus spp.), Rowan type (Sorbus spp.), ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.), field maple (Acer campestre L.), oak (Quercus spp.) and hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna L.). The species are typical of woodland, scrubland and hedgerow environments which naturally occurred in the surrounding environment of the site. It was possible to obtain an age from one fragment; a piece of maple which was approximately seven years old and therefore can be classed as a ‘round wood’. This provides an intense short-lived heat which is good for starting a fire.
Discussion
It is plausible that the bread wheat, oat and barley grains in the deposit were heated in the kiln. This could have been done prior to bulk storage, to dry the grain sufficiently to prevent spoilage (germination, insect and fungal attack); or to harden the grain for milling as soft grain can clog the querns (Van der Veen 1989, 303). There is no definitive evidence for malting, none of the grains showed clear signs of germination. It is possible that the crops were grown together in the field as dredge (spring barley and oat) or mixtel (winter wheat and barley). The benefit of mixed cropping is that it buffers the risk; if one crop fails or does poorly the other may still produce a yield. However, this practise is hard to ascertain from the botanical record (Moffett 2006, 50). The cereal grain may have trickled down through the raised surface in the kiln onto the floor; the remains would have been raked out when the kiln was cleaned. During this process the grain would have become incorporated into the ash from the fire. It is thought that the preferred fuel for kilns in the medieval period was straw, chaff and wood. Fine sieving residues from processing the grain (typically weed seeds) were also used as tinder (Van der Veen 1989, 305). This is consistent with the sample under consideration. The wood used as fuel at Castle Close would have been chosen for its burning qualities as well as its availability.
5th August 2016
Today we have effectively divided the 3m square trench into four quadrants and worked in different ways on each. The South East quadrant, which had been excavated to 35cm yesterday afternoon, had some more work done on it to clean up the surface and reveal more of the cobbles. The North East quadrant, where the cobbles had first been found in the topsoil above 25cm, was excavated by trowel and many more cobbles have been revealed in loose soil. The South West quadrant was then excavated to the same depth as the South East (35cm) and more cobbles were found across the whole area. It became apparent that there was a brown clay layer associated with the cobbles, and we speculated that this represented a surface (with the cobbles bedded in the clay) which was no longer very flat partly because of the root action (we have had to deal with quite a few tree roots, not surprising in an area that has been a wood for 200 years!). We know that cobbles do not occur naturally in this area, so they must have been brought to the site for some purpose, maybe from the River Great Ouse. The fourth quadrant – North West – we have left at the 25cm level.
At the end of the afternoon the Bedford Archeological Officer visited the site, and confirmed that we appear to have a metalled surface, probably of either a yard or a track. We won’t be able to date it securely until we have had the pottery identified, but in view of what we already know about the site it seems likely that this is connected with the occupation of the earthwork in the 12th century.
We would like to establish the extent of the cobbled area, or at least get enough evidence to decide if it is a track or a yard. So tomorrow we plan to excavate the North East and North West quadrants to 35cm, and – if we have enough spade-power – extend the trench in at least one direction to try to find the edge of the cobbled area. It would of course be a bonus if we could find any evidence of buildings around the yard!
In terms of finds, there were a few more sherds of pottery, some charcoal and a possible piece of slag. Brian Bolton also brought his metal detector and explored the area around the trench. Apart from a few inevitable bottle tops and drink cans the best find was a small horseshoe – pony or donkey size!
6th August 2016
Today we started by excavating the North West quadrant from 25cm down to 35cm, and found some more cobbles spread around at the same level as in the rest of the trench. We also worked on the North East quadrant removing the loose soil which contained cobbles and again found a cobbles and clay layer. We also dug a new slot extending 2m x 0.5m out from the South side to see how far the cobbles extended beyond the original trench. There were again cobbles in the soil, though possibly not in such high concentrations. As we seemed to be finding cobbles in all parts of the trench, we dug a small pit approx. 3m to the west to see if we could find an edge to the cobbled surface. This pit again contained cobbles, although not in the quantities found in the most concentrated area of the trench, and clay. There were also a few small pieces of limestone. This pit was dug to a depth of 50cm and reached the natural boulder clay.
So we seemed no nearer to working out if we have a track or a yard, or something else, and what its dimensions might be, as the cobbled surface seemed to extend to all parts of the original 3m square trench, and beyond. However late in the afternoon we did find that there was no cobbled surface in the North East corner of the trench, so tomorrow a priority is to excavate this area more to ascertain where the cobbles start. Although we have no evidence as yet, it does seem more likely that we have a cobbled yard rather than a track.
Finds were thin on the ground today – some more small sherds of cream ware and Victorian blue and white ware and a piece of claypipe. There was one pottery sherd with a rim in the small test pit – probably medieval.
A postscript on the “pony shoe”. An alternative identification has been suggested – that it is the iron strip on the heel of a man’s heavy duty boot. Did the man who broke his claypipe also lose his shoe here!?
End August
Will tackle a grid of shovel pits to determine the extent of the cobbled yard. Having set out a new baseline and marked the target positions we dug mini-pits in 10cm contexts and found cobbles at even the most outlying locations!
August 2017
We have re-opened the corn dryer trench from 2015 and re-excavated a square metre in the area where we had found burnt plant material and a spread of limestone. We have also extended another metre (CC7) to try to establish the extent of the stones – as yet we have not found the edges so we will be extending the trench further tomorrow. A possibility is that this spread of stones, many reddened by heat, is the remains of the flue that carried the hot air to the corn dryer. No pottery finds yet, but we have one intriguing metal object.
We have also opened another small test pit (CC8) a couple of metres to the north of the corn dryer trench, where probing had indicated there might be some limestones, and sure enough we have found some. No idea yet what sort of feature this might be, but we will be extending this pit also tomorrow.
We had another good day digging today. We even had some pottery finds – our familiar Early Medieval Shelly Ware!
The biggest pieces of pottery were found in the small test pit along with a number of pieces of limestone. However these did not appear to be part of a feature so we decided to backfill the pit and concentrate our efforts on the extension to the corndryer trench. The spread of limestone now extends from the corndryer for several metres and we are still trying to establish the extent.
After Wednesday night’s rain the area around the trench was rather muddy, but the trench itself was mostly dry as we had taken the precaution of covering it with a tarpaulin. We continued investigating the area a couple of metres from the corndryer and this continued to turn up more limestone, but generally much smaller pieces. Later in the day we focussed our efforts on the spread of stones nearer the corndryer. At one side where there appeared not to be any stones, we decided to check if there might be anything at a lower depth by probing with the metal pole. This produced a number of positives indicating stone approx. 20cm lower. So more digging! The result was somewhat of a surprise – not limestone but a layer of cobbles similar to that found in the trench on the other side of the ditch last year!
With limited time available we decided now to turn out attention back to the area of burnt material that we had found in the 2015 dig (CC4) that was interpreted as the remains of the plant material used for fuel. This appeared to continue below the spread of stones so we want to find its extent. We started to carefully remove some of the stones, with Des drawing and photographing the results as we went. We will be continuing this process tomorrow – so far we have found a very charcoal rich area under some of the stones, and other areas with no burnt material but a thick layer of clay mortar. There are still a lot of questions we have to answer – and only one day left!
June 2018
Previous shovel pit tests have shown 3 sites in the north east corner of the plot where 12thC pottery was found. We have recently established a new baseline #10 and conducted systematic probing to the east of that line. The results have given a clear indication of a target area for this year's excavation.
July 2018
The trench CC9 was located approx 2m east of baseline 10 and included an obvious depression in the surface. An unusual area of compacted clay and chalk (similar to Natural) was soon unearthed . Working down and around this plug we established a layer between 20-40cm where multiple pieces of 12th century early medieval Shellyware was found. This was a repeat of our other trenches on and around the earthwork.
No pottery was found under the plug and further investigations established that the plug, depression and an organic layer were the result of a treehole.