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Epiacum Operation Jericho Diary #4 — The Wall Comes Down, The Wall Goes Up, The Master Returns, and Rain Stops Play

Well, where do I start?  So much to tell you!  When the last Diary went out, we had completed about half of the wall removal.  And Oh!  The finds!  Some amazing pieces of stone and other items will keep our Finds Gurus busy for quite some time.  Our Chair, Dave Wilkinson, has been posting a mostly-daily blog, detailing all the finds, which you can read all about on the Blog page at the Epiacum website (https://epiacumheritage.org/blog/)

So — the wall comes down.  Now we are about 3/4 of the way done, as per the plan:

Not too shabby, eh?  Nice to be ahead of schedule.

But the wall coming down isn’t the only event happening at Epiacum right now, no siree — we also have a wall going UP!  All the Roman and medieval stones have been set aside for a more thorough evaluation; the rest have been returned to the farmer.  Since we have so many willing hands on site, the Edgars have taken advantage and have asked the team to make some repairs.   Wall going up looks very similar to wall coming down — but with a straight edge-string for guidance!

The other Really Big Thing this past weekend was the return of the Master — Professor Stewart Ainsworth not only came back to check on our progress, he also completed his most recent course at Epiacum!  He and his students visited 9 local sites in an advanced Landscape Archaeology-type training session, and the 9th site was right here.  It’s a natural sequel to his Intro to Landscape Archaeology Masterclass, which was held at Epiacum last May.  For those of you who have ever wanted to learn more about “reading” the landscape and practice non-destructive archaeology, this Intro weekend class is ideal.  Stewart takes you all over the fort (better keep your gym membership up!) and shows you the history of the site — bronze age, Roman, medieval, and modern — all without turning over a single blade of grass or clump of dirt.  It’s truly amazing what can be seen just by knowing where and how to look.

Stewart’s students and the Second Nervians all met in the pub — but you knew that!

Today’s favourite find was a big quern stone — the grooves cut into it are very clear.  You can see the channels where the newly-ground flour would be pushed to the outside edge of the stone.  Early milling on a very personal scale!  Here’s Al Oswald proudly showing the quern:

If you have ever been to Epiacum, or the North Pennines, then you know about the weather.  Mist, rain, wind, and beautiful sunshine — all possible in September.  Well, we’ve had our share of all that during Operation Jericho!

The last big tent standing — an old US Army tent (probably from M*A*S*H!), used for storing tools.  It was taken down shortly after the photo was taken to be sure it didn’t cause damage or injury.

Don’t blow away, Fenella!

 

But for the most part, we’ve worked through it and brought the wall down…

We celebrated in true British style with fish & chips!  (and mayo!  Ummm.. Okay?)

However — we got more than the usual weather, which has sadly stopped play.  Torrential downpours and ultra-high winds have destroyed the campsite and have made the ground unsafe.  Two of the big tents have actually blown away.  So sadly, the decision was made to close the fort to volunteers and visitors, in the interest of everyone’s safety.  The remaining part of the wall will be brought down by the core Epiacum team when it’s safe, so the project will be completed without any risk to the archaeology (or themselves).  Disappointing, but the job will be done and that’s the best part.

We hope to have a final Diary, giving you all the final details of just what we found and how the site looks now, so please be on the lookout for that.  Your support is what has made this project happen, and we are so grateful for you and your contributions, likes, shares, and comments.  Three sheers for the Second Nervians!

Epiacum Operation Jericho Diary #4 — The Wall Comes Down, The Wall Goes Up, The Master Returns, and Rain Stops Play Read More »

Epiacum Operation Jericho Diary #3 — The Wall Continues to Fall!

Our volunteers are amazing!  We have made great strides in getting the stones down, and the finds are coming thick and fast.  We can’t wait to show you what we’ve found!

 

But first, we must thank Al Oswald from the University of York for his help and archaeological oversight in the wall removal process.  He’s brought several UofY students to help  and learn, and we couldn’t be more appreciative.  The generosity of everyone associated with Operation Jericho has just been humbling.  A very heartfelt Thank You from all the Epiacum Heritage Trustees to everyone for their help!

 

As always, we are happy to get the word out about Epiacum via the media.  Here, Al is interviewed by the local press who are covering our demolition.

 

So how do all those stones get off the site?  With the help of a cart on treads, rather than wheels.  The treads spread the weight out and protect the fragile site much better than a wheeled cart would.

 

 

 

Progress the last two days has been exciting to see — the wall is noticeably smaller and in some places has been brought down to the footings:

 

We have even acquired a mascot!  Here is Chair Dave Wilkinson’s dog Sam with Dale in front of the command tent.  Sam may have spotted some wooly visitors!

Dale and Sam the camp dog

And now on to the finds.  The first one has everyone excited, as it’s a rare thing to see in Victorian-era wall fill — Roman glass!

 

We have also found more interesting stones and have set them aside for expert evaluation.  The one on top is a roof tile (with a square hole), and the other is a stone plug.

Volunteers hard at work — and at play!

Tracks

 

Sam DID spot some wooly visitors!  He made sure they kept their distance.

 

 

As the day ends, the sky begins to darken, and it’s time for some well-earned supper.  Plus a cheery bonfire!  We’ll be back again tomorrow.

Epiacum Operation Jericho Diary #3 — The Wall Continues to Fall! Read More »

The clouds frame the valley

Day 2 – the weather is looking better today …

Good morning from Epiacum.

After yesterdays deluge the weather is looking better for today – and tomorrow. A chance, hopefully to dry out… however the forecasts can change rapidly around here, which is why so many hill walkers get caught out.

The clouds frame the valley
The clouds frame the valley

 

But things don’t look too good on Thursday and Friday. Let’s see what we can get done today – Fingers crossed.

I am just taking the dry(er) boots back to the troops…

Stay tuned for todays news and finds oh, I forgot one very interesting find yesterday… more about that one shortly…

In this series:

 

Overview of the project:

DW

Day 2 – the weather is looking better today … Read More »

Carving

Operation Jericho – the set up

The weekend has been busy for the Trustees, volunteers and archaeologists. Firstly Stewart Ainsworth and a small group of volunteers had to survey and record the wall so that an accurate digital copy can be re- constructed. This involved a lot of photography and very accurate GPS location data.

GPS of targets
How many archaeologists does it take to mark the GPS of a target centre?

The next task was to mark out the wall so that finds can be accurately referenced and to act as a guide for the wall dismantlers.

The following day there was a detailed survey of the wall to see what stones had archaeological detail…

Survey
Fran and Steve looking for interesting stones

And recording them…

Stewart recording interesting stones whilst they are in situ

And we found quite a few of interest such as…

Shaped stone

and a broken Quern Stone …

A broken quern stone

And this carved ‘Serpents’ head (possibly!)…

Carving
‘Serpents head’ carved stone

And down below the fort the camp was being set up…

 

Elaine and Fran planning..

Later…

The camp starts to take shape as the local steam train passes by…

and Stewart leaves with his kit…

at the end of the weekend.

Next post >>

 

In this series:

 

Overview of the project:

Operation Jericho – the set up Read More »

48 hours to go… help us get the last £1793.90

As we prepare for Operation Jericho (starts tomorrow) to remove the wall the victorians built over the middle of Epiacum Roman Fort…

 

 

our crowd funding efforts have progressed to 82% of the funds we need.

We need only £1,793.90 more to reach our target.

….we have 48 hours to go.

Please help us to reach our target and open up the fort for everyone to enjoy…

It’s a race against the clock…

 

Anything, even that pesky 90p will help!

 

Donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/epiacum-heritage/operationjerico

Or via Paypal:




Please help us beat the deadline…. every penny helps us get closer…

 

48 hours to go… help us get the last £1793.90 Read More »

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