Day 1 - July 17th

The geophysics survey which was carried out before we started showed a large number of anomalies and possible areas of archaeological activity. We were anxious to see what these were, so we opened up five trenches at key points across the site. Two are in areas away from the cemetery enclosure, which may - or may not - represent domestic settlement. Two more cross the boundary ditches which the gradiometry and resistivity surveys showed up, and the final one is within the cemetery itself. We hope to answer all sorts of questions about the sequence of events here at West Angle.

Day 2 - July 18th

Despite the mini-heatwave we have been hard at work. So far, the two trenches in the south of the field have not shown any archaeological features, and we hope to close them down again very soon. However, trench 15, across the two enclosures, has come up trumps! We can clearly see a large ditch cut into the bedrock, which was highlighted by the geophysics. Even better, we can also see what we think may be another ditch, cutting across it. If that's the case then this would form an enclosure around the burials which we can see eroding from the cliff face.

Day 3 - July 19th

We had high hopes that trench 15 would contain not just the large rock-cut ditch enclosing the whole area around the cemetery, but also evidence for a second enclosure. The resistivity survey suggested that there may be a bank and ditch surrounding the burials in the cliff face, but it is now looking as if the feature which was picked up here was geological, rather than archaeological. West Angle Bay has very complicated geology – it is a site of special scientific interest for its geology – and this has made interpreting the geophysics results very difficult. Still, we clearly have one very large ditch which we intend to excavate over the coming days.

Day 4 - July 20th

In trench 13, within the cemetery itself, we have been trying to resolve the relationship between the burials and the surrounding stone bank. The form of the bank is now becoming more understandable too; it seems to consist of an earth core faced with stone on either side. Once we have photographed and planned the whole trench, we will start dismantling some of the structures. Meanwhile, in trench 15, we have continued digging out the ditch in the hope of finding some dating evidence.

Day 5 - July 21st

Another very hot day, and the ditch is still getting deeper… Trench 13 has now been planned and photographed, and we have started to examine the structure of the stone bank. Trench 1 has also given us a bit of a surprise. Last year this trench proved inconclusive, showing some evidence for activity but never really being very understandable. We re-opened it this year, after the geophysics also indicated activity here, and today, at the west end of the trench, we found a rather nice flint thumbnail scraper. This is probably Bronze Age.
By the end of the day the ditch was still going down. With its V-shaped profile, depth and rock-cut sides, bets are being laid that it’s Iron Age. All we need now is any kind of dating evidence.

Day 6 - July 22nd

An easier day today – after all, it is Saturday!

We spent the day recording the trenches, and cleaning up trench 1. Most of the empty trenches have now been recorded and can be closed down. The west end of trench 1 seems to contain evidence for some kind of prehistoric activity – there is some charcoal turning up and some possible post-holes – but the ground is so incredibly dry that we are finding it hard to see anything.

Day 8 - July 24th

After a Sunday spent on the beach, everyone is back to work. Our ‘prehistoric’ features in trench 1 have been disappointing – we think now that they are all natural, and have decided to close down trench 1 and concentrate on trench 13, which contains the cemetery, and trench 15. The ditch in trench 15 has been getting deeper and deeper – but we’ve finally found the bottom! This is a massive, rock-cut feature and it does seem very likely that it’s prehistoric (probably Iron Age) but unfortunately we haven’t got any dating evidence from it. Re-use of prehistoric enclosures is known from other sites, so this is an exciting development.

In trench 13, the bank around the cemetery enclosure has shown itself to be very well made and substantial. In order to dismantle it, we need first to excavate a burial just inside it, and see whether the burial is actually cut into the bank. The grave proves to be stone-lined, but the cist is quite different from the others we’ve seen so far, formed from lots of small stones rather than a few large ones.

Day 9 – July 25th

Today we continued to excavate and record the burial in trench 13. We also started work in earnest on dismantling the boundary bank or wall. Many of our visitors comment on the contrasting activities in this trench – the bank is taken apart with a pickaxe, whilst the burial is delicately excavated with a trowel and paintbrush!

In trench 15, the ditch sections are cleaned and recorded. This ditch really is an astonishing feature – the size and scale of it are much more impressive than we imagined when we first started work here. We are taking bulk environmental samples in the hope that there may be some evidence in the waterlogged soil to help us reconstruct the environmental conditions at the time. This may even help us to date it - there’s always a chance that some charcoal may be recovered whilst the samples are being processed.

Day 10 – July 26th

Now that we are nearing the end of this season’s excavation, it seemed like a good plan to open another trench. Trench 18 is a small ‘slot’ which lies over another linear feature picked up by the geophysics. This may be a narrow bank and ditch which runs east-west across the middle of the whole field, but it would be interesting to find out a little more about it.

In trench 13, we are working on a few of the cists which were partially or completely excavated last year. Some of these seem to be infant burials – which could be very important in understanding this site.

We had a ‘taster’ session this afternoon – a chance for people to come and visit the site and try their hands at digging. Whilst it makes the site very busy, it’s great to see how interested people are in what we’re doing, and it’s a chance to explain why West Angle Bay is so important – not just locally, but in the much wider area too.

Day 11 – July 27th

Trench 18 seems to be resolving itself into some kind of hard, compacted surface with ditches either side. The best explanation that we can come up with at the moment is that this is a trackway of some description, perhaps giving access to a field system which is hinted at in the geophysical survey.

The boundary bank in trench 13 has now been taken out, and underneath it is a small ditch, cut into the bedrock, and running along the same line as the cemetery boundary. This is very intriguing – could it be some form of prehistoric feature which has been re-used for the cemetery? Or is the ditch the earliest cemetery boundary, which was later reinforced and re-shaped with the building of a large bank or wall? Either way, it all points towards this site being in use for a long time.

Day 12 – July 28th

Our final day on site, spent finishing up odds and ends – cleaning and recording all the remaining trenchs. True to form, West Angle had one last surprise for us.

A section cut through the dismantled boundary bank confirmed that there was a ditch underneath it – as we already knew – but also that there was a bank or mound on the inside of the ditch, sitting underneath the cemetery itself. A flint core was recovered from this mound, which MAY indicate a prehistoric feature which was re-used as the boundary for an early medieval cemetery. What has become clear this year is that West Angle’s early medieval site is a far more complicated site than it appears on the surface!

A summary of this season’s work will appear on the website in the next few weeks.