One segment excavated through the ring ditch was completed today, the cut photographed and the section drawn.

This segment proved difficult to interpret, with the platforms either side of the cut and the V shaped gully at the base, the profile is unusual for a round-barrow ditch in Thanet. The fills were fairly undifferentiated making the stratigraphy harder to work out and the working theory is that a flat based ditch was recut by a later V shaped ditch on a similar alignment.

More complicated is that a second segment  meant to show us more of the ditch, has a very different character. At the moment it appears that two very deep cut features, pits or deep ditches, are present not far from the relatively shallow profile to the south.

The excavation continues in this area and we hope to work this one out tomorrow…

Work is also continuing on the later pits that cut the ring-ditch on its southern side, with a very complicated picture emerging of small intercut pits, perhaps associated with a larger cut feature. These are perhaps medieval or possibly Roman in date, but dating evidence has been sparse to date. We hope to get a clearer idea of this (and some pictures) tomorrow.

For anyone who appreciates Umberto Eco, here’s an example of a journey into hyper-reality, a ‘real fake’.

A collector’s replica of an ancient Athenian coin (read about the real thing here) found on the spoil heap at our site with a metal detector (the field was used for car boot fairs).

Simultaneously the most historic and iconic image and yet absolutely artificial and completely out of place. Now where else have we heard of an artificial owl. Just look into my eyes…