Early foundations and medieval structures at St Serf's

Earlier foundations beneath the square tower of St Serf's

Amazing things are happening in the St Serf's trenches. Trench 07, a small architectural slot at the base of the 12th-century square tower, has revealed the foundations of an earlier stone structure! In the photo above, you can see the mortared rubble foundations of the 12th-century tower as it joins the nave. But about halfway down the trench, the foundations change to a setting of stones on a slightly different axis, set into a trench filled with rubble. What's more, this rubble contains flecks of disarticulated human bone, meaning it has cut into earlier burials. Whatever this all relates to, it is earlier than the 12th century, so this is where it gets exciting!

The mystery medieval stone setting in Trench 04 outside the churchyard wall

Meanwhile, outside the churchyard wall (and some 30cm beneath it) we have finally gotten through the garden soils filled with medieval ceramic (see below). At a depth of over a meter, our students' quality troweling skills have revealed numerous stone settings, including the one pictured above. This feature in particular has turned up bits of burnt bone and charcoal so far, so we may be seeing in situ settlement evidence, predating the modern extension of the churchyard ...stay tuned to find out what it is!

Medieval potsherds from Trench 04 and 05

Meanwhile, our Open Day today included brand-new 'Churchspotting: How to Read a Medieval Church' tours of St Serf's led by Dr Adrián Maldonado, which were a big hit with the locals and will hopefully run again next year. Week 3 at St Serf's is going to be a big one!