The Glebe Field Dig
Newsletter – 3
Welcome to our third newsletter.
Since our last newsletter, in the continued search for a Glebe Field timeline narrative, the latter part of the 2022 dig was spent expanding our existing trenches and digging several test pits. With promising resistivity responses we dug westwards from the structure found earlier in the year expecting more wall foundations. However, as can be seen in the attached vertical below something possibly more interesting but to date unexplained has been uncovered.
At the west is a stone lined pit structure with a natural bedrock plinth at its east end and large rough cobbles at the other. We have researched this extensively and unlikely explanations range from saw pits to plunge pools? Leading away and curving is a V shaped gully covered with small slabs of limestone. It is not clear whether or not the three elements are contemporary but all finds are Medieval. However, two Romano British coins have been found in contexts above medieval layers.
During 2022 we commenced investigations in the East Glebe and quite a startlingly strong response has shown up on both Res. and Mag. Surveys.
For 2023, we plan an exploratory dig on the large anomaly.
STOP PRESS Last year we applied to the ‘CARD’ Carbon Dating scheme and received funding for one sample. The only complete bovine tibia and fibula found on site about 20mts to the west of the trench shown above, has returned a date of 741 ADplus or minus 23 years. We are of course very excited especially as the impression given is of it being buried as a joint of meat so the ‘R’ word has been bounding around!