Our first week of the Holyrood Field School was split between training and beginning our excavation on the Salisbury Crags.
On Monday we were given a tour of the archaeology of the park and where previous excavations had taken place. This allowed us to have a better understanding of what we could expect and what our dig would entail. On Tuesday we used GPS to mark out our trench on the Crags and began to deturf it.
This was our first full day of digging, it was tiring but efficient as we completely deturfed and began to dig the trench. We also found some amphibian friends.
Wednesday was split between digging and our first day of classroom training which introduced us to some general archaeology concepts important to the dig. On Thursday we had two more training workshops; GIS and archaeological mapping training, as well as artefact identification training where we were able to handle artefacts from previous excavations in the park. Friday’s digging concluded the first week’s work on the trench. We found a couple objects of interest in the first week, including some kind of copper artefact.
We were also introduced to different survey techniques– we started by making an archaeological sketch of the notable features after taking off the topsoil. We also did some photogrammetry of the trench to get a 3D model of it. At the end of week one we have revealed three contexts within the trench: the earlier rampart, the later wall, and the inner rampart enclosure. The last context was important in investigating the effect that increased footfall and erosion has had on the archaeology of the park. The first week was a learning opportunity and allowed us to become comfortable with the concept of working on an archaeological site. Although tiring, it has been a great opportunity to meet new people in the archaeology course, listen to good music, and have interesting conversations.
