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| Wednesday 16th June – Week 2 Day 1 [Day 6]
A new lot of volunteers turn up at 08:30, EH have their full compliment of professionals and this week they have their “trainees” starting. The local schools don’t start on the mock excavation until next week – but the more I think about it the more I am impressed with English Heritage’s and Swindon Borough Council’s vision and ambition for this site.
1) It’s a 7 week dig on a scheduled monument.
2) They have actively encouraged “non-archaeologists” to volunteer and dig (on a scheduled site  )
3) “Time shifted” the weekend to accommodate volunteers committed to Monday-Friday work patterns. 4) They are training and mentoring these volunteers, and believe me, this is not just using the members of the public to pot wash and make tea. These people are digging and being treated as part of the team. 5) They have an onsite education program for their trainees with guest experts in archaeological techniques turning up to teach on site. 6) The local primary schools are going to “be archaeologists for the day” and are going to “get down and get dirty” in this superb exercise in hands on archaeology. 7) The public are allowed on site and mingle with archaeologists and volunteers. 8) There is a “hands on” finds office that gives you info on the site and encourages you to handle pot, tile and other finds. And opportunities to use the microscopes to view finds coming off the dig. 9) There are expert guided walks/talks of the site twice daily.
10) All of this is FREE of charge.
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Conditions:- Hot, Sunny and Humid. Steady progress today and tentative talk of a multi-phased site.
Op. Sig. is coming out in lumps and wall plaster is being found. I keep on having to remind myself that it is only the start of week 2 and had to have a word with David Hunter (dig director) to make sure that he keeps me something special to work on in two weeks (else I won’t let him use my internet connection again 
)
Bryn Walters (he, with Bernard Philips, did the original evaluation after the developer found the complex) is going to spend some time on site tomorrow as he’s got a meeting with Dr. Pete Wilson. I haven’t seen Bryn for a month or so and it will be great to catch up on gossip (Bryn is a great gossip and a wonderful character) I expect he’ll pop in for a cuppa or a Guinness, depending on what time it is.
The finds specialist bottled it today and will now be turning up a week this Friday. I want to talk to him about the ring with the star and crescent design.
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Designed by Corinne Mills 2005
email [email protected]
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