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Open Day at Sedgeford
Sunday's Open Day at Sedgeford was an excellent
chance for members of the public to see a real archaeological excavation
in progress.
Judging by the large audiences received by Channel
4's Time Team, and the BBC's Meet the Ancestors, there is a lot
of popular interest in our past.
Many people took the opportunity to visit the exhibition
of human remains. Here, evidence of poor dental hygiene was on display
alongside several skulls exhibiting signs of 'trauma' - in other
words, bearing injuries from blunt-edged instruments.
A woman demonstrates how to use a tablet loom |
One skull belonged to an individual who had survived
a head wound bad enough to leave an indentation along the centreline
of his cranium. Despite this, the man apparently reached the ripe
old age of 40 to 50 before he died!
It wasn't all serious - in a nearby field, a group
of people carried out history re-enactments. A "sergeant" keeping
an unruly squad in order, repeatedly informed the crowd that one
young man was a 'rookie' and needed a wife!
Any young woman of 13 to 17 years of age, who was
'able' and 'fit' and willing to put the poor rookie in order, was
invited to step forward. "We pay," said the sergeant, "top dollar
- half a chicken!" Not surprisingly, there were no takers.
Nearby, a woman in a bright costume was weaving
on a tablet loom, explaining to interested parties that it was used
to make the braid with which cloaks were edged.
Without it, the stout pins which were used to clasp
the edges of cloaks together would have frayed the cloth quite quickly.
Children were amply catered for, being given the
opportunity to examine and identify some of the finds and in one
corner of the site, were being guided in digging a test pit.
Near the site entrance, the weary visitor could
refresh themselves on a collation of Hot Dogs, cold drinks, and
ice cream.
Archaeology buffs' heaven!
Back to the beginning: Archaeology
dig reveals Bronze Age past »
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