This weekend I have volunteered to help out with a dig organised by the landowner and Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust to explore some extensive earthworks, lumps, bumps and mysterious embankments in woodland around Caerwys where I live. I walk through these woods a lot and love to wonder about the strange unnatural shapes that I walk over and who built them and how they lived.
The woods are simply beautiful and the man who owns them has spent years clearing out much of the trees and overgrowth to uncover the archaeology and after years managed to persuade the archaeologists to pay attention to what is there to discover.
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| The clearing has allowed light to get to the wood floor and all sorts of wild flowers have grabbed the chance to do their thing and fill the place with colour. |
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| we removed top layer of vegetation using mattocks ( a heavy pic), shovels and hands-hard work! | This is thought to be a medieval house and there are 3 or 4 houses in a row overlooking fields |
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| section of trench with limestone rain sculpted paving (though to be natural surface) Cleared this using trowels and brushes |
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| higher manmade huge embankment made of limestone enclosing a massive rectangular area- may be roman or iron age |
Nothing has been found on this dig apart from a piece of flint and a bit of red brick or pot but the uncovering is amazing to be part of and it's fascinating to listen to all these experts surmise about what is the story of this huge area of human habitation.
I'm back for a full day of digging tomorrow and day after...I'll have muscles on my muscles after!
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