The Joy Of Flexibility – aka. The Best Laid Plans Of Mice & Men

Pendle’s Hidden Valley Field Walk (14 April 2018) Upper Craggs The Joy Of Flexibility – aka. The Best Laid Plans Of Mice & Men Alex Whitlock   The intention had been to look at possible prehistoric features between the Nick Of Pendle and Ogden Clough. And for the first few hundred yards we stuck to

PENDLE’S HIDDEN VALLEY DIG – DAY 17 – TIDY UP TUESDAY

Yesterday we finished digging, so today we had a few things to do before we could start throwing all the stuff we had taken out over the last fortnight back in again. Sooooooooooo in the morning we photographed and recorded all the sections (the sides) of the trench. Only then did an elite task force

PENDLE’S HIDDEN VALLEY DIG – DAY 16 – MARVELLOUS MONDAY

Last day of digging today. Even hotter than yesterday so regular retreats to the shade with bottles of water were necessary. A bit more Context 3 was peeled back & Features 1 and 2 were recorded and excavated. The trench photo was taken at close of play today. Find Of The Day made up part

PENDLE’S HIDDEN VALLEY DIG – DAY 15 – SUNNY DAY SUNDAY

We had more fathers than mothers on site today and it was scorchio. Sondage D has been taken down to ‘the natural’, Feature 1 has been cleaned up and recorded, ditto Feature 2, and elsewhere more of Context 3 is being peeled back. Judging from the pottery found in it, Context 3 looks like it

PENDLE’S HIDDEN VALLEY DIG – DAY 13 – FEATURE FRIDAY

We have been concentrating on the feature previously known as Idris’s Doughnut and trying to find ‘the natural’. The Doughnut continues to grow and now seems to be a made cobble platform of some sort & probably pre-dating the existing buildings in the area. The surface a short distance below it certainly pre-dates them –

PENDLE’S HIDDEN VALLEY DIG – DAY 12 – TAUNTING THURSDAY

I’m sure the site’s archaeology is taunting us. Sondage A revealed what looks like the rest of the Doughnut. It’s a feature built of medium sized pebbles and it may well be a pad to go under a wooden post. After a day of finding mostly worked stone, today continued in much the same way

PENDLE’S HIDDEN VALLEY DIG – DAY 11 – WORKED CHERT WEDNESDAY

We returned to the past today. In order to make the most of the time we have left we are opening three sondages in the existing trench. A sondage is basically a trench within a trench. We must be getting further back in time as today was aceramic. Our finds trays were all devoid of

PENDLE’S HIDDEN VALLEY DIG – DAY 10 – MANIC MONDAY

Just another Manic Monday. Started off trying to make sure the small finds (individually numbered and measured in because they may be important) & bulk finds (recorded in bulk by context) were bagged and labeled properly and that all the paperwork matched up while the others started attacking context 3 in earnest. Its been an