Field School 2023: 17/08/23 – 18/08/23

Today our teams enjoyed their last full day in the field before we begin backfill on the 18th. In the excavation team we worked through the remaining records sheets and completed plan drawings for the entire excavation area. Soil samples were taken for micromorphology and phytolith Analysis. We also welcomed a visit by ACFA members to our excavation site for a tour. Our survey team investigated a possible shieling cluster on Rannoch which turned out to be a small farmstead site. The digital media team worked on finalising their projects, which were presented to the Glencoe Folk Museum redevelopment team and curator on Friday.

Excavation: Ellie Brown

17/08/23

Today was the final day of work on site before we backfill tomorrow. It was a busy one, with lots of context record forms to be filled out and site drawings to be completed. I found this quite challenging as the context seems very open to interpretation, which leaves a lot of room for human error, and yet the forms are important so I was worried about getting it wrong. It was certainly a learning experience though, and a valuable skill for future excavations. I also had a go at a plan drawing of section F, using a line planning frame placed against the trench edges as an aid to get the correct scale. The flat flagstone floor made this a relatively easy task for a first timer, and so my lack of artistic ability wasn’t too much of a problem. By the end of the day, the recording work still wasn’t finished, so Eddie and Hannah stayed behind to get as much as possible done before the backfill tomorrow

18/08/23

Today was our last day on site, and quite a nice one in terms of weather. In the morning we finished off the last of the site recording, and I learned how to use a dumpy level to take and record readings that can then be reduced to absolute heights. During our tea break, we put together a message in a bottle to leave behind for future archaeologists who may one day excavate the site again. We included a description of our dig, a polaroid photograph of the team, and a short message from each of us. We buried it under the hearthstone before we began to backfill. This didn’t take too long with all of us working together, and we finished the day by lugging all our tools back down to the van at 3pm. It’s hard to believe that the field school is over already, but the excavation was a success and we all had a fantastic time. I’m already looking forward to my next dig!