Shoot three navigation
It's hoped that some of the anomalies the Team is investigating will identify the other components of the site. There should be another separate house for the nuns and a church here somewhere. Mick Aston heads the conference, held around a map of the site, with the other specialists. It’s decided to open two more trenches for starters.
Trench Six is opened at the front of the officers' mess, close to Trench Three, by excavators from the army and local archaeology unit. Trench Seven is planned for the rear of the officers' mess.
Over at Trench Two (the geophysics anomaly), Phil has had a bit of luck locating what could be part of a building. ‘I’ve got my first piece of architectural stone,’ says Phil. ‘It looks like part of a small pillar.’ The piece of worked stone, about the size of a baked beans can, could have been from the side of a door jamb or mullion from a window.
Trench Three (investigating Stewart’s aerial photograph anomaly) has been closed after finding a range of later pottery. The new Trench Six is situated close by to investigate the area further and hopefully identify some evidence of a building.
Trench Five sees Katie Hirst digging away trying to find some evidence just in front of the existing cloister. ‘So far we’ve discovered a lot of modern services, but I’ve just hit what looks like stone cobbles,’ she says.
Observing all of the activity is 12-year-old Alice, daughter of base brigadier Chris Holton: ‘I’ve met Tony and he’s nice. I’ve also met Phil and Mick. My dad is a bit of an historian and he told me all about the history of the monastery on the base. I’m also doing medieval history at school, so I was really excited when I heard Time Team were coming. I’ve had a look at the website and think it looks really good.’
Is there anything she would like to change about the Onsite web pages?
‘I think it looks great just as it is.’ (Thanks Alice.)
By midday things are starting to get complicated as so much excavation is under way. Stewart Ainsworth and Robin Bush shoot some scenes in the incident room with Tony to get things in perspective. ‘A monastery is so much more than building fabric found in trenches,’ says Stewart. ‘You really need to look at maps to get the bigger picture.’ Another way to see the big picture is by helicopter, and that’s after lunch.
