Vindolanda 2014 Day Nine

Short post today I think.  Archeology is not all gentle troweling and whisking.  The last two days have been plenty of wheelbarrows full of mud and boulders.  I am "knackered" as they say here in the U.K.

Our nice layer of laminate, packed with tasty organic bits, proved to be only two inches thick.  Underneath we have the surface of a road.  This had to be cleared, plotted and photographed before we could go deeper.  And under the road we have another layer of clay and rubble.  But a few interesting structures are peeking through.

We "might" have the top tier of a wooden fence.

This surely is one whopping wooden post.  Presumably it once supported a timber building.  Circa 120 AD?

Lots of grunt work today with not much for interesting finds.  This is a partial shoe found in the trench next to us.  Vindolanda has what I believe is the world's most extensive collection of Roman footwear.

And look at this bit.  When I found it I was certain that I had something.  A mirror maybe?  A painted bit of wood?

Nope, not an artifact.  Just  a  little bit of silver birch wood with its nice shiny bark.