Holyrood Archaeology 2023 – Day 4
The sun was shining on Dunsapie hillfort today, as the students went to work removing the final topsoil layers and cleared onto the new layers below. Read all about the work in each of the trenches below and the experiences of the students!
Trench 3 – Paulina
We started off our second day in trench #3 by continuing to remove the topsoil after deturfing yesterday. We began working with larger tools such as mattocks and shovels, and then transitioned into smaller tools such as trowels and brushes. Today’s goal was simply to reach the first archaeological layer, which we did! We got down to a new stratigraphic layer that consisted of more compact, clay-like, bright orange soil – likely colluvium, or river wash, which may indicate some well-preserved structures or finds underneath the soil. While digging through the topsoil, we started uncovering a large collection of stones on the eastern end of the trench, and we attempted to figure out if the stones made up parts of the hillfort’s ramparts, or if they are simply pieces of bedrock that were naturally broken over time. Although we were unsure exactly what the stones were used for, we aim to gain more insight over the next few days. We also uncovered a few larger stones on the other side of the trench, which presumably make up the outer ramparts of the fort (the remains of which are visible on the side of the hill). Some of these stones have circular divots and suspicious-looking line markings, which may have come from modern plows. While digging the topsoil, we discovered a well-preserved sheep tooth, which – interestingly enough – was charred black on one side and bright white on the other side. This may indicate that the tooth was burnt, with the white side being face-down in the hottest center of the flame and the charred end being face-up in the less hot edges of the flame. We also found a few pieces of modern glass (we believe from around the 1950s), a piece of white quartz, and a metal shell casing from a bullet (potentially related to a World War II training camp on the other side of Dunsapie Hill). Throughout the day, I learned that there is a lot of questioning and interpretation in identifying features even as unassuming as stones, because there are a plethora of reasons for why they are positioned the way they are and have the appearance that they do. Speculating what the markings on the rampart stones might be taught me to think critically and creatively, and to differentiate the ancient from the modern. We also learned how best to work as a team in a smaller trench, assigning roles such as troweller and bucket transporter and learning to manoeuvre around each other in an efficient way.
Trench 5 – Ella
Today our aim is to continue remove our second soil context and further define the slabs of rock that were uncovered yesterday. In doing this we have discovered a straight line of stones stretching down the trench which could possibly be a wall. Amongst our finds have been animal bone, a rubbing stone, burnt bone and a possible hammer stone. Today was mainly spent trowelling and sieving through the soil taken from the trench but I have enjoyed having a better understanding of my trench and seeing evidence that prehistoric people did build a structure there.
Trench 6 – Ryan G
The trench goals today were to complete defining the rampart and continuing to remove colluvial deposits from the west of the trench. We made progress in defining the extent of tumble from the wall and now a larger portion of it is visible. After removing the colluvial deposits from the west of the trench we uncovered more stones which could possibly have rolled back from the rampart wall.
Trench 7 – Chloe
Today in trench 8 the goal has been clearing away excess soil around the stones in the trench so that photogrammetry could be done. This is all so that we can hopefully begin removing the stones that had been unearthed last year and see what may be underneath. It has been a very successful day as we managed to nearly complete the cleaning and defining, took photos for the photogrammetry and took general photos. Trench 8 also had three finds today, a single cannel coal flake, a round stone and a pebble that could have been a hammer-stone as it had scratches and signs of bashing on it. Personally, today was a lot of fun as I made my first find, which definitely improves my confidence in my ability to differentiate finds from normal rocks. I also enjoyed learning more about how the photogrammetry worked, it’s a very interesting process and the ability of computers to photos and make a 3D model is super interesting and cool.
Trench 8 – Mack
The aims of today were to complete the photogrammetry of the sites trenches so that a 3D model of the site could be created. We need the model because we will begin to remove these stone so studying it further in situ will not be possible, however with photogrammetry we can revisit it. Also, we completed cleaning the remaining topsoil off the mounds of rubble we found (which we believe to be either a wall rampart or perhaps a roundhouse) which means we can start excavating as of tomorrow. Personally, I think it was a progressive day in addition to myself learning to use a piece of important GPS survey equipment to efficiently map the site and our findings.
We are excited to see how the site progresses tomorrow, especially since trenches 7 & 8 may start to remove the rocks and stones. The students are making great progress – it’s hard to believe that we are almost at the end of week one!
