Vindolanda Day Four

An interesting day and with much improved weather.  The plan was to simply bash out the remains of the 17th century farm yard and move on to the layers below.  But of course plans always are subject to change.

In the photo above you see a surface of packed yellow clay.  This is capping the fort ditch we are aiming to dip down into.  But what is going on with those stones embedded in the clay?  Up by the trowel we have a clear straight line of them, and in the foreground a more random looking batch that are trying very hard to "be" something.

And end of day.  Three parallel lines of stones.  Maybe drains?  But why three?  We have in our little crew of workers not one but two people with voice training.  I've proposed that tomorrow, for posterity, we have a chorus of "Singing in the Drain".  I got the peculiar looks that I have come to know so well.

Still not much in the way of small finds.  And what there is remains a mixture of items from the much newer layer above and the older layers below.  I found a Roman era implement thought to be for applying makeup.  And next to me came up this item.

Well look at that.  A button.  These seem to be unknown to the Romans and so is suspected of being 17th century.  Here's a view of the other side for those very interested in such items.

Certainly this tells us nothing at all about the Roman era in Britain.  But it is interesting to note that while the time separating this artifact from the Roman one I found is perhaps 15 centuries, the distance separating them is mere inches.

Fair skies predicted so more digs on for tomorrow.