For regular updates of our Experimental Archaeology

research through the winter and last seasons dig go to our Facebook page link on the bottom of this page.

 

Over the last few seasons we opened up a completely different areas and as usual at Saveock were amazed and baffled at what we found. Underneath an ancient soil layer dated to the Bronze Age we excavated part of a furnace which indicates it was used for tin smelting. We have a Bronze Age furnace on another part of the site and when it is hot the area is covered with copper sulphates but this furnace has no copper residue in it. Also above this furnace is a hearth like feature that has large clusters of clear crystals set into it you can see pictures of it on our face book page Saveock Water Archaeology. We excavated an extensive stone feature possibly a drip gully for a dwelling or a path..

 

Again I feel I need to emphasise that this dig is a training dig,
but it is training out in the field not in a lecture room. Novice
diggers will for the first few days be digging topsoil, but it will
be topsoil we have not dug before so you will be doing real
archaeology from day one. If it is wet we will do post excavation
work which is just as important to any dig as trowelling is. We believe that the best place to learn is in the field doing what professional archaeologists do. Class room teaching is no substitute for getting your hands dirty and emptying buckets 

There is a tour of our facilities page, so you can see we are not a Porta cabin in a muddy field. We are a well equipped research excavation that believes archaeology should be available to anyone who wants to learn how to dig. For those of you new to the site for the first time here is a brief synopsis of the earlier phase of the excavation in this sheltered river valley in Mid Cornwall. The site covers a period from the Mesolithic to 17th century Pagan Swan feather pits (more information about these can be found by clicking on the link in the Feather Pits, and Goat pit sections on the right of this page).

 

In the Mesolithic the main site trench was over a south facing peat bank on the bend of a river that was between two shallow lakes. This entire site has been purposely covered with various different coloured clays in an attempt to make the river bank a suitable place for dwellings. In

the area A/2 the first phase of the site, is what we believe to be a Mesolithic dwelling platform covered with dense green clay surrounded by stony yellow clay in which the stakes to support the dwelling were driven. The next phase we believe (and the jury is still out on this) is the use of the constant spring line to make some sort of Neolithic ritual area. We say ritual because we cannot think of any conceivable reason why people would make stone lined drains covered with 30cm of green admix clay. Then manufacture a large rectangular pool lined with white quartz cores, unless it was for some ritual purpose. In season five (2005) we found another rectangular pool next to the original this one only fills with water from a spring in the bank at the back of it in mid Winter. 

 

These features are at present unique in Cornish or from what we have researched British archaeology. The only similar feature we have found is the Neolithic clay platform that is underneath the Maeshowe monument on Orkney. A trench put into this platform revealed a stone lined drain almost identical to ours. So if you feel like a bit of adventure and learn how to dig at the same time come and join us.

 

All the information you need to join the Saveock experience is on the Education pages. 

 

 

     Jacqui Wood

 

 

 

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