Week 2 of our archaeology excavations are underway at Blanchland Abbey.
Have a read of our Daily Dig Diary by Dr Sheila Newton:
Day 6: Monday 3rd June 2023
With a good group of diggers today we were able to push on and open the trench to the east of the Abbey tower. This meant that visitors had to negotiate their way around it because the path on the west side isn’t yet ready to be used. There aren’t as many visitors during the week as at the weekends (and school holidays), so it wasn’t a problem. The trench isn’t deep and there were people working there, apart from at lunchtime. The only things of interest found so far are changes in the material below the surface which suggest they might be associated with lost buildings. We shall see – we hope!
The top of the drain is cleaned, planned, levelled (heights at different places) recorded but not photographed. The sun was casting shadows into the trench, so the photos would have been unclear. We did manage a couple of mobile phone pictures along the drain itself which helped to show where the blockages are.
We’ve established that there is a drain around the north side of the tower, so don’t need to go any deeper in that small trench. It has all been fully recorded, so that can be closed up.
From time to time we were entertained by the chickens that roam around and the antics of the cockerels, standing on the remains of memorials to crow. At one point they all settled down for a snooze in the sun but were soon off again, scratching around. They were no help, though with the digging…
Day 7: Tuesday 4th June 2024
Today the rain caught up with us – we’ve been quite lucky so far. When you’re trying to trowel soil off stones, you want to end up with nice clean surfaces. You can’t really do that when it’s raining because you just end up with mud. So there were times today when digging wasn’t all that pleasant. Nonetheless, Phil and David did an amazing job on the drain, eventually removing some of the capstones and cleaning out the collapsed bits that were causing blockages. They revealed a beautifully-built structure – a drain with drystone walls and stone floor which even curled around the little buttress-like feature – quite stunning!
Abby worked on a stretch further along to see if the drain continues and Martin was busy in the trench where the kitchen extension will go. The top layers have been removed and the excavation has come down onto a layer of compact jumbled stone which doesn’t tell us very much at all.
When, on a couple of occasions, the rain came down really heavily we took a brief break. Discussions in the chapel, which is acting as a site hut, range from cricket to archaeological experiences and is often both entertaining and enlightening.
Towards the end of the afternoon, Michael and Dan came back and filled the holes in the path with concrete, leaving just enough space on the top for the sheets of tarmac to be replaced. We had already backfilled the holes almost to the top and the concrete replaced that which had been there originally. When it has all set we’ll be able to re-open the main entrance to the Abbey and folk won’t have to go around the long way through the newer part of the churchyard.
We’ll still have work to do, so will have to mark off where we’re digging so that people don’t accidentally fall down holes.
Day 8: Wednesday 5th June 2024
Today was rather special. As you know, we’re digging adjacent to the Abbey and it’s necessary to bear in mind that the churchyard has been used and re-used for some 900 years. We haven’t found coffins or skeletons – if we had, we’d have had to stop our work. However, over the centuries the ground has been disturbed on many occasions, not just for burials but by building work or even simply by rain washing the soil around. So it was inevitable that we would find some small pieces of bone, all very decayed and certainly well scattered, making their original locations impossible to discern.
Finds of this type are not an unusual occurrence in such circumstances but people often wonder what happens to the fragments. Our day was special because it was the day that we re-interred the bone we had found. Revd. Barbara Wheatley officiated, with the approval of the Area Dean, and carried out a burial service which was attended by all the the volunteers on site today, and one of the churchwardens and a PCC member. So the remains were returned to the churchyard with all due respect.
The sun was shining brightly when we began the service. Just as we finished – as you can see in the photo – a sudden squall brought wind and heavy rain for a few minutes. Maybe there was a message in that for us. Who knows?
We re-opened the main entrance today. Visitors no longer have to go around and enter by the back door, which is much better. It also means that the excavations to the east of the tower aren’t in the way of them getting in. That trench hasn’t yet provided any definitive answers about the archaeology; there’s certainly something there, but quite what it is isn’t clear yet.
The search for the drain at the corner of the tower produced a metal pipe instead. It looks like a water pipe but what it’s doing just there is a mystery. The beautiful drain received a lot of attention. Some of it was pure admiration from people who hadn’t seen it before. A lot of the attention, though, was concerned with recording it with drawings, photographs etc.
Day 9: Thursday 6th June 2024
Today we had visits from the architect and the Diocesan Archaeology Adviser. This was really useful because we’re essentially finding out information for the former and working within the approval of the latter.
The trench to the east of the tower needs to give information about the ground the kitchen extension will go on. The architect was able to give us guidance about how deep he needs us to investigate. The archaeology adviser was able to approve what we need to do and could see what we’ve already discovered as well as that we’re doing the job properly.
Abby and Steve did a good job of drawing a section of the drain wall this morning. This is a tricky job which involves a lot of accurate measuring and equally accurate drawing. It’s really a job for two, one measuring and one drawing. So this afternoon Steve relocated to the “kitchen” trench and worked one end of it while Philippa did the other. Things are beginning to appear in there, but it’s still not entirely clear what has been going on.
A lot more planning, taking of levels and other administrative stuff went on today, too.
It would have been nice to join the Blanchland folk at their commemoration events for D-Day this evening. However, we had our own church bell to ring and, after a hard day digging, an early night beckoned insistently.
Day 10: Friday 7th June 2024
Well, we’re getting towards the end of what we have to do, although there’s still plenty to keep us busy.
All the planning, photography and levelling on the small trenches along the north side of the tower has been completed, so Andy and I (mostly Andy) backfilled them and re-laid the flagstones.
The beautiful dry stone walls of the drain are in the process of being drawn – to scale – but this job isn’t finished yet. Philippa and Mark made a start on the next part, Abby and Steve having done the first bit yesterday.
Today Abby was a good help with recording the “kitchen” trench while Joan carried on cleaning it up. This trench has come up with a bit of a surprise. We know that it’s probable that there was at least one earlier building in that area but weren’t sure where. Now the evidence of walls has become quite clear. We’ve recorded what we can see so far and will do a bit more tidying up to see if we can work out just what the walls are doing.
We had a bit of rain today and a fair bit of sun, but it was still chilly. The east side of the tower is warmer than the west side of the building, even when the sun comes out.
Much of the work left to do, apart from recording, is the backfilling. The capstones will have to be replaced carefully on the drain so that it is functional and all the soil shovelled in before the flagstones are replaced. Backfilling the “kitchen” trench won’t be as technically tricky.
Day 11: Saturday 8th June 2024
No pretty photos tonight, I’m afraid. I was so involved all day with the work that I totally forgot to take any!
Rob picked the warm, sunny side of the Abbey this morning, to continue trying to find out what’s in the kitchen trench. We got the cold side, and a cold job. We had to draw the sides of the drystone drain. Oh joy! a job I hate. I had to do the measuring as the space was too small for Andy. It wasn’t much better for me as there wasn’t room for me to get down level with the tape measure. I was head down, calling out measurements that Andy couldn’t hear, having to repeat them so that he could mark the stones on the drawing. Nonetheless, we made good progress and had the first drawing done within an hour. Then we had to do all the other side, but we were getting into our stride and finished with enough time left to backfill the smaller part of the drain trench.
Rob had help this afternoon from Jane and Tara. By that time the sun had come round to the west side of the Abbey and it was feeling a bit warmer, despite the usual breeze, and the east side wasn’t as warm as earlier. Jane and Tara worked hard though and the “kitchen” trench was soon ready for photographs. While Rob did that, they came and helped with the backfilling. It didn’t take long to reach the stage of putting the flagstones back. A quick check of the first plan drawn of the flagstones made sure that we put them back correctly. The extra pairs of hands made the job much easier.
Despite that, we didn’t manage to leave any earlier than usual!
Day 12: Sunday 9th June 2024
It was a half day today, partly because I had to play the organ for our church service this morning.
We had a number of helpers today and consequently soon got things done. Firstly Rob finished recording the “kitchen” trench, by which time everyone had arrived for the afternoon session. Then we set to, putting membrane into the bottom of the trench, held down by the stones that had been unearthed and shovelled in all the soil that had come out. Finally we replaced the gravel that had come off the top. The pieces of turf from one side went back in place as the soil went in. Before long you won’t be able to tell that the area was disturbed – the trench we dug nearby in 2023 has totally disappeared.
Today’s photos are “now you see it, now you don’t” because after lunch we dealt with the drain trench. The capstones had to be replaced carefully where they had been removed to expose the drain and all the way along the small gaps between them had to be covered to stop soil falling through the cracks. Then the membrane went down, held by more stones, after which the shovelling of soil began. As with the other trench, the soil had to be tamped down using feet and a very useful, very old, tamping tool found in the sexton’s shed. They must have been determined in the past that burials should be firmly packed down! The last part of the job, the one that had to be done with care and which was helped by the drawings done at the beginning of the dig, was to re-lay the flagstones. It wasn’t possible to lay them perfectly but, then, they hadn’t been perfect in the first place. I hope we made a pretty good job of it and, given a little time, they should settle into place.
All we have to do now is to clear up all the kit and mess from the chapel which has been acting as our site hut.
I would like to thank folk for reading this diary and for their kind comments. Most of all Rob, Andy and I would like to thank the fantastic band of volunteers we’ve had. They’ve unfailingly worked hard, used their skills or learned new ones and remained cheerful and good company.
We couldn’t have done so much without you!
