The first three test pits have been excavated in Bainbridge and with them a wave of finds has emerged. The most exciting of these finds is a piece of pottery that is probably Roman in date!
Our other finds include lots of (more modern) pottery fragments, animal bone and plenty of clay pipe stems, which are all to be expected from excavating on a village green and within people’s gardens. Unusually though, the majority of the finds that our test pits have produced are post-medieval in date. This is interesting because Bainbridge is considered to have medieval origins, and we therefore thought that we would get earlier finds. It is, of course, too early to draw any conclusions from this, but it brings up lots of questions that have yet to be answered!
This weekend our Young Archaeologists Club had their first session excavating on the green and had a great time! They all had a go at digging in the test pit, sieving the spoil for finds and washing the finds that emerged. They particularly enjoyed learning to use tools that they had not used before and guessing what the finds could be!
Unfortunately, sometimes our young archaeologists have to go to school and therefore can’t dig all the test pits themselves. If you would like to get involved with ‘We Dig Community!’ and help out with this exciting archaeological project then get in touch! Contact Rebecca, our Community Heritage Officer, on rebecca.cadbury-simmons@yorkshiredales.org.uk or 01969 652353.
You can make use of the space for a small workplace.
There’s definately a great deal to find out about this subject.
I really like all of the points you made.