SERF blog

Hey Stuart here from Aberdeen University and I am part of the trench 2 team at Leadketty (the best trench)! Leadketty continues to reveal the secrets of the past with the exciting discovery of grooved ware pottery in trench 1. Trench 2 however, may be short on material culture finds but possesses some of the best features at Leadketty (quality over quantity!).  We currently have an excellent example of a Neolithic/ Early Bronze Age Henge. This is identified by the presence of a ring shaped ditch feature with an opening about half a metre wide as well as a circular feature inside.

The day started off rather overcast which was a welcome interruption from the scorcher we had last week. The banter of trench 2 was less intense than usual due to the fact that a couple of comrades had been enlisted to carry out a walkover survey at WesterKeltie. Nevertheless, the spirits of the strongest trench could not be broken and under the watchful and sympathetic eye of Professor Wrightwe eagerly continued excavating our features. I am really excited about my feature as this is my first archaeological excavation and I am curious to learn about what might have happened around the Henge monument. My feature consists of an outcrop of stones which cuts into the Henge Ditch. We are not entirely sure of its function but I am excited about excavating it as this will potentially reveal more about its purpose and will help towards understanding the site as a whole.

We had forgotten to carry out our daily routine of the ‘Trench Dance’ in the morning which wards off rain and evil spirits and is supposed to help us find things. Doing it in the afternoon when we remembered unfortunately did not ward off the torrential downpour and thunderstorm in the afternoon but it did help me to find a flint shard lying on the ground, my first find as an archaeologist!

Trench 2 has yet to reveal all of its secrets but patience is a virtue and the best trench team will be ready when it happens ;-)