Cocksbank Farm, 18th June
Several weeks of hard slogging seemed to be paying off at the end of Sunday 18th June, when trench A seemed finally to be bottoming out and the suspected trough area, D began to look very promising. In the photos of area A, lighter brown can clearly be seen showing through the black material in the bottom of the trench. In D, the cut on either side of the black is now quite visible and tentative explorations would indicate that the sides are indeed cut, rather than simply overlaying the black. More should be revealed next week.
19th June, 2006
Sunday June 11th Cocksbank Farm
The first two photographs below show area D where we thought we might have found the trough of the burnt mound. Although excavation was made difficult by the ingress of water, interestingly we discovered what would appear to be two sides with the black material continuing in the middle. You can see this in the middle photo. Work on area A continued where the piece of wood was found among masses of shattered pebbles. Although small it is significant and can possibly give us a carbon date.
13th June, 2006
Saturday June 3rd Walk on Stanton Moor
Under wide, blue skies we gathered at the Cork Stone on Stanton Moor to begin a journey from the Neolithic to the Industrial Revolution – not bad for half a day! Some of us faced the challenge of trying to discern ring cairns and burial mounds among the heather and bilberry cover, while others sought excitement in different ways. Although the Nine Ladies stone circle proved absorbing, we were equally fascinated by the tree village inhabited by the Swampy Crew, camped out for almost seven years as a protest against further quarrying in the area. After lunch at the Reform Tower, we took a short detour to visit the atmospheric Doll Tor circle, hidden among pine trees adorned with tokens and offerings, which added to the sense of specialness. Many thanks to Winston and the Thomases for their recce and research, which made the visit easier and much more interesting for the rest of us.
Janet Carnes
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Cocksbank Farm, 28th May
The photos show the excavations on Sunday, 28th May.
The work on Trench A involved taking down the baulk to find the depth of the burnt area in the stratigraphy. At the end of the day we were about 15 centimeters down, with no sign of coming to the end. The fill remained very black with huge amounts of shattered stone.
Trench C was opened and digging eventually came down on the surface of the blackened area. The photograph shows that the dark matter runs out roughly half way along the trench, but we don't yet know whether that is the extent of the mound, or whether it goes beneath the lighter soil.
A further trench (trench B) was opened, but findings are inconclusive as yet and further investigation is required.
29th May, 2006
Friday 19th May – An evening of Forlorn Hope
Not quite the disastrous Social Evening that might be imagined! Members were treated to an entertaining and very unusual demonstration of music from the past by the Forlorn Hope ensemble.
Six musicians played and spoke about their instruments for almost two hours: time which went too quickly as we were all enthralled by the talent on display - not only of musicianship, but of skill in making many of the instruments themselves. As if the music weren’t enough, there were many anecdotes and explanations of past practices. For example, we learned the origin of phrases such as ‘straight laced’. This came about by one particularly attentive male paying a little too much attention to the bodice of the only female player. Each to his own and all good fun! The band were happy for us to take a closer look at their instruments and even have a go at playing. So, I not only got to see my first hurdy gurdy, but I also strummed out a passable bar or two. It gave a whole new meaning to the old song by Donovan! An excellent night, enjoyed by everyone and one which we must repeat.
Janet Carnes
20th May, 2006
Sunday May 14th Cocksbank Farm
The pictures show a trench dug to try to find the extent of the buried burnt material following testing with the auger last week.
The results were spectacular with the area of the mound being far larger than expected. The layer at the bottom of the trench clearly shows massive amounts of burnt debris, containing large quantities of shattered pebbles. Continued auguring is giving some indication of the shape and spread of the mound and the excavation has been left open for further work next weekend.
15th May, 2006
Sunday 7th May at Cocksbank Farm site
Initial investigations were done on two areas of the site. A resistivity survey was done of a large, grassy mound area in a field near to the farm buildings and we await results with interest. This field had various features including lumps and bumps and holloways, leading to the presumption that maybe there is some kind of settlement here. Hopefully, more resistivity will give us a better idea of what exactly lies beneath!
About a quarter of a mile further down and bordering a stream, is a clear, large area of buried burnt material with many apparently heat-shattered pebbles. The location, size and shape is indicative of a burnt mound, usually dating from the bronze age, use unknown but thought to be either a means of cooking food, or some kind of sauna arrangement. We cleaned up one section which clearly showed the extent of the layer, but, further into the hillside, the layer could not be bottomed and the auger indicated a considerable depth. Could this be the trough into which the hot stones were placed? Investigations will hopefully continue next week when better weather would be welcome!
Stoke-on-Trent Museum Archaeological Society, April 2006.
