Mantle Walls Dig 23 Daily Diary

Sunday 3rd of Sept

The day before our dig is starting and the marquee is up and looking good, the signs and posters are all up as well, tables, chairs and tools are all awaiting their volunteers tomorrow. We have one more job to do today which, is to mark out the scheduled area so that we stay clear of it when the  digging starts. We are excited and nervous at the same time to see what will be uncovered if anything  on these areas, we know big pieces of  masonry has come to the surface during ploughing from the area HARP will be excavating but the question is.........   how much more will there be!!!

Monday 4th Sept

Glorious sunshine welcomed the first of those on site, with HARP team members Ian and Tom along with Andy from Archaeology Scotland leading ADHS members and students getting stuck in to the first 4x1m trench opened up this morning. 

The top layer was slowly removed, photographed and sifted through before beginning the next layer of excavation after lunch. This was also sifted by volunteers Brian and Jimmy, from the local community.

We were joined later in the afternoon by a couple of students who had been, unfortunately, held up in their travels but they weren’t to be left out of the first day of fun… The second trench was opened up, photographed and the next layer is in the process of being reached with the mattocks. 

We’re delighted that the dig is underway and to have met those who’ll be helping us discover more at the Mantle Walls site. With students travelling from as far as Canada, America, Norway, Netherlands and Australia, we’re sure there will be lots of stories and learning shared over the next two weeks. 

We’ll be keeping a you up to date here with our progress and (hopefully) some great finds. Here’s to a great dig! 

Tuesday 5th Sept

 Another beautiful morning, not a cloud in the sky and everyone is here on site.

The 1st trench has been extended at each end so is now 6x1m, this was excavated and some interesting stones seem to be in here. Once the excavation reached the same level as the rest of the trench these were recorded.

After lunch the same trench was moved on to the next context, with the possibility of these being the tops of ploughed walls, or walls which have collapsed the stones were scanned and removed to try and get a more intact layer of potential architecture.

Trench 2 has been brought down a few levels, but there have only been a few pieces of broken ceramics so far from here none of which are medieval. There are no visible stones at the moment but there is a good chance of deeper slope wash on this part of the site. Tomorrow this trench will go deeper to find either the natural layer or remains.

The students were also treated to a walk and visit to Ancrum Old Bridge this afternoon with ADHS member Geoff Parkhouse.

Wednesday 6th Sept

A warm but overcast start to the day, although it is to clear later on, let’s hope so.

Trench 1 is being extended in width at the west end but only halfway along its length at the moment. This is to allow the diggers to follow a few features that they are unsure of at the moment. The east end of this trench has been cleared of the rubble layer and the students are going down to the next level on here.

Trench 2 meanwhile not very much has come up here and the Archaeologists are beginning to think they have almost reached the natural level now.

We also had a visit this morning from Radio Scotland guy David Knox, he chatted about the site and dig with Ian Hill and Alistair Munro before taking some photos and speaking to some of the students.

Just before lunch the sun broke through.

This afternoon is very hot and humid the slight breeze from yesterday has gone. Two members of Historic Environment Scotland (HES) popped in for a quick visit to the site while they were passing, they are hoping to return next week to take part in the digging.

Trench 1 is still proving to be a bit mysterious at the moment with all the features in it, the east end has also now been extended so the whole trench is  6x2m and each layer has been cleaned recorded and cleared and now the whole trench is at the same level.

Trench 2 has now reached a natural level so photos have been taken, context sheets filled in and a scale drawing done of it. This trench is now closed.

Trench 3 has been marked out and tomorrow will see it begin to be uncovered as well.

Until tomorrow

Thursday 7th Sept

It is hard to believe that the first week is three quarters through. It is humid but dull and thankfully for the diggers a bit of air today.

Trench 1 is still being levelled down to the original trench level, then a decision will be made a to what happens next.

Trench 2 is having the final drawing finished off and the measuring done. Then a sondage (exploratory hole to test if surface is natural) will be carried out.

The sun didn’t join us today before lunch but it is still humid.

After lunch trench 3 was started, the turf was removed from a 4x1m trench it was cleaned and recorded and is now ready for the next layer to be removed tomorrow.

Going back to trench 1 the archaeologists reached a complete level layer over the whole trench. The linear feature has been cleaned and a fill area which seems looser and very different from the west end edge has been excavated. It is shallow roughly 20cm deep but has the indication of being an intentionally dug area.

Meanwhile work has also been going on in preparing for a visit from the local primary school tomorrow. An area has been sectioned off where they will be able to field walk (what will they find)

The finds from field walking and previous digs have been gone through and a selection will be on display both tomorrow and on our open day which is on Saturday.

Friday 8th Sept

What a change this morning, there is a very low cloud and mist and the ground is damp. However, it is to clear later so that is good.

The archaeologists and students are preparing the site for the local primary schools visit later this morning.

Trench 1 today samples are being taken and also a 3D scan of the rock jumble is taking place before they start to take the trench down another level.

Trench 3 is still in the plough soil and is about 5cm deep at the moment with 3 large stones visible. The archaeologists are clearing around them and then going down another level.

Ancrum primary school came on site late morning, and were shown some of the finds that ADHS members have found over the years while field walking. Jane from Archaeology Scotland then asked the children what they knew about the site and was very impressed at their knowledge and enthusiasm for it. They were then put into 2 groups with the smaller class getting down into trench 1 and clearing some soil. One of them even managed to find something as well. The second group of the older children went over a section of the site and had a go at field walking, if they thought they had found something they called over one of the students who placed a blue marker flag beside the object so that it could be recorded and bagged later. Half way through the groups swapped and by the end of their visit there were quite a collection of blue flags to be recorded.

The students were very good with the children and helped them learn how to hold a trowel and which way to use it in a trench. A happy group of children headed back to school chatting all the way about their visit.

After lunch the archaeologists were going over the plan for tomorrows open day, where the students will pair up and take visitors on a tour of the site as well as be on hand in the marquee to show and talk about some of the finds that will be on show.

Afterwards everyone headed back up the hill for the final few hours of excavation for the first week.

So how has the first week gone?

Well trench 1 is still a bit of a mystery and features are still to be looked at.

Trench 2 we know is now closed.

Trench 3 is down to 10cm the 3 large stones are articulated and the trench depth is still in the plough soil. The surface is level now and a 3D scan will be done on it before going deeper.

Ian Hill from HARP says “there has been a real positive engagement with everyone and the amount of visitors already is great, the weather has been fantastic and the school visit was a success. Most of all we are answering questions”

Saturday 9th Sept

Today is mild and dry and the sun looks like breaking through so a good start to our open day. The students are all into pairs and organised for our visitors. They are responsible for showing visitors all the finds in the marquee from this dig and the previous one along with the field walking finds ADHS have gathered since 2016. There was a steady flow all morning and the students were gaining in confidence with each visitor that came through, their engagement and enthusiasm was great to see.

After a talk on the finds visitors made their way up the field to where the trenches were. Some just wandered over the site themselves while others took a tour with some students, some got themselves into a trench and had a little dig themselves. One of these said later that it was so exciting and could become very addictive, (although she didn’t find anything).

Digging never really stopped today even though students had other jobs as well today as lunch was staggered due to visitors being on site all day.

So, trench 1 today has been levelled and a feature has been uncovered, and is being slowly cleaned and will be recorded before a decision will be made as to what happens next.

Trench 3 has also been levelled and a stone which looks like it has been worked in some way is tantalizingly peeking out of the edge of the trench wall, again a decision will have to be made as to what to next with it as well.

 ADHS are happy with both visitor numbers which are roughly about 100 today and the fantastic comments we received from the visitors both on their way back out of the marquee after their visit and their comments on social media later. Everyone praised all involved and that is good enough for us.

Monday 11th Sept

Monday morning again, we hope everyone had a lovely day off yesterday. (We know they did as we held a BBQ for them as a thank you) They are all here and ready to start the second week of digging. The first rain of the dig was last night as well although, so far today it is still dry.

Trench 1 after the excitement of Saturdays amazing piece of archaeology making an appearance late in the afternoon. The task today id to try and understand a bit more about it, as in how far does it spread, is it intact and in situ or is it just scattered pieces left in the ground.

After lunch it seems, the archaeologists are starting to find natural around it, they are scanning the whole trench a the end of the day and a drawing will be done. Then the stones will be removed and hopefully this will allow them to see what is going on.

Trench 3 They have now gotten to the bottom of the plough soil and the big stones are being removed. There have been deposits of sandstone appearing in this trench. A lot of yellow a smaller amount of orange and a little bit of red these are in patches at both the east and west end of this trench. The central channel seems to be different and will be removed tomorrow.

We had 3 members of staff from HES digging with us today as well as our volunteers.

There was still a good amount of visitors as well coming through today and they were treated to a tour and a look at our finds by Alistair Munro.

Tuesday 12th Sept

Today there is a hive of activity around trench 1, they have opened a 1x1m trench at the bottom end of the main trench. Also, another 1x1m trench has been measured at the east end of the main trench. This is to try and determine if the feature in the main trench 1 carries on in any of these two directions. The main trench here has now been drawn and scanned so the work has started to remove some of the large stones around the feature and they=have also started to go down along the feature to see if there is a straight edge.

Meanwhile another test trench has been opened further along the east side again to see if anything can be seen in there. The two top layers in it have been removed recorded and photographed. So it is ready to go down another level tomorrow.

Trench 3 has had the channel in the east end of it taken down and so far, nothing of any significance has been discovered. It has all been recorded at this level and they will make a decision on where to go with that trench tomorrow.

Trench 2 has gone now it has been filled in and is no longer part of the excavation. It seemed to take a shorter time to refill it than it did to dig it out.

The students have also been field walking today and were shown how to record each find separately.

Even though our open day has passed there still are a steady flow of visitors arriving throughout the day and there is always something for them to see.

Wednesday 13th Sept

There was a definite chill in the air this morning, Autumn is definitely on the way. As with most of our days though the sun came out mid-morning and was glorious for the rest of the day.

Where do we start today trench 1 well there has been so many scratching heads over this trench, we are not sure what to say. The feature that came to light at the end of the open day is we now think probably natural, but now we have two more areas in the same trench which are making the archaeologists work a little tricky. One minute they look like something then a few more scrapes of the trowel and well it may be something else. So tomorrow lets all hope for some good news and a definite feature.

The little test trench below trench 1 is now changing how it looks and the students think they are nearing the natural in that one.

The 2nd test trench has quite a few stones in it but nothing to really be interested in, yet.

Trench 3 just keeps getting deeper but again nothing of note has come from there either.

There has been so much activity going on today and soil being removed that our spoil heaps are now massive, the sieves have been going all day and at one point the wheelbarrows were used again to remove soil from a trench.

We had a visitor from ITV Border today and she chatted to Ian from HARP and Sheila from ADHS about the site and the dig. She also had a lovely time chatting to a few of the students as well as filming them busy at work in the trenches.

Tomorrow will be our last full day of digging and we all hope it is a good one.

Thursday 14th Sept

This was our last digging day, tomorrow the trenches will need to be back filled and the weather forecast is for heavy rain.

So, this morning started with a few mixed feelings all round.

Trench 1 which has been a mystery all through this dig is still baffling the experts. It was extended to follow the large flat stones which had surfaced yesterday in the east end of the trench. This took most of the day and finally at 4:15pm this afternoon a halt was called. The archaeologists had hit the bedrock and were sure they were at the bottom with nothing really to show.

The section below that is looking like a wall but again the archaeologists cannot be sure it is so inconclusive here. The far end of the trench has been levelled to check nothing was coming through here, and there isn’t. there also isn’t anything medieval to show from this trench.

The other trenches are mostly the same with no remains of a structure visible in any.

Although this is disappointing it doesn’t necessary mean there never was anything here as the land has altered and soil heights will have changed over the years. A report will be written on this and recommendations will be put forward for what happens next with the site.

Friday 15th Sept

The students are quiet today, is it the last day blues or the pouring rain or a mixture of both. It would have been nice to finish dry but that’s Scotland for you.

The trenches have all been measured there were tape measures going in all directions, then the drawings were done not sure how with all the rain.

At lunchtime a hot drink all round was ordered before Karen ADHS Chairperson brought out the lovely cakes, she had made for everyone. A nice way to end the fortnight.

After a break everyone headed back up the hill to gather all the tools and equipment before steven the farmer arrived to back fill all the trenches. There were long faces all round while that was happening but every dig and every field walk helps ADHS to put another piece no matter how small into the jigsaw of Mantle Walls.

The students all left as did all the HARP archaeologists and to say there were a few lumps in everyone’s throats and more than a tear in the eye as everyone said their farewells is an understatement.

We thank HARP and all the students as well as all our volunteers for helping us over this last fortnight, we couldn't have done this without you.

Ian Hill

Heritage & Archaeological Research Practice

Now that the dust (and rain!) has settled, we’ve had a chance to reflect on what were an incredible couple of weeks digging at the site of the Mantle Walls. We could not have asked for a more enthusiastic, friendly, and welcoming group to work with. Everyone at ADHS welcomed us to the site, the village, and the local community and all of us had a thoroughly enjoyable time getting to know members, locals, and visitors alike. Our students had a real buzz interacting with everyone, and for those who had come in from far and wide it gave them an excellent taste of what the Scottish Borders has to offer!

The draw of excavating the remains of a potential Bishop’s Palace was obviously a huge attraction for our students (and us!) and to be able to work with the local group to try and unpick some more of the mystery surrounding the site was a real privilege. But what exactly were we looking for, and what did we find? We got involved with the group in early 2023 to help investigate the potential for further remains of the site of the Mantle Walls across the entire length of the prominent hillock within the field. Previous excavations had showed clear evidence of a high status, medieval building towards the eastern end of the field, but it had never been resolved just how big the site was, and how far to the west it extended. What we were aiming to achieve was never going to be on the scale of the Big Dig in 2019, but with smaller scale excavations, with a series of trenches and test pits located along the northern and western edges of the hillside (outside of the scheduled area) we hoped to determine whether there was any evidence of the site remaining in these areas. We aimed to excavate three trenches, which we would be able to extend (or expand with test pits located nearby) depending on what remains were revealed. The trenches were positioned in locations that ADHS believed the original site of the Mantle Walls extended through, with a historical reference from 1760 suggesting that the walls were 200 yards long and 100 abreast; a map from the 1770s indicates a large structure having once extended far west in the field back towards the village; and mapping in the 1850s also shows evidence of a quarry site on the northern side of the hill. Two trenches, and two subsequent test pits were located at the north western extent of the hillock to investigate the potential for any structural remains in this part of the field, with a third trench positioned on the northern slope of the hillock within the vicinity of the former quarry to potentially catch evidence of this (as well as the potential for any structural remains in this area). But, what did we find?

Some of our investigations unfortunately drew a blank, with Trench 2 (located to identify the potential for an east-west running wall along the northern part of the site) only uncovering agricultural plough soils and natural alluvial deposits of sands and gravels. A nearby test pit revealed similar deposits, with a layer of tumbled, unworked stone found to be sitting above the natural deposits; these stones have probably tumbled down slope over the years, either from ploughing or natural slope wash. Whilst no obviously worked stones were uncovered it is possible, however, that the stones may relate to activity on the top of the hill, and have been subsequently washed down.

Trench 1 caused the most excitement during the dig, with an area of sandstone fragments starting to reveal themselves at the end of the first week on site, with the potential for this to be the start of a built feature (a wall? A paved area? A floor?). Expansion of the site in the second week revealed more of this sandstone deposit, however, on further investigation the possibility of a built wall began to decrease and large portions of the sandstone appeared to indicate an outcropping of bedrock. Large cracks and fissures were revealed that whilst giving the impression of large, built blocks of stonework, are most likely the result of natural geological/geomorphological processes (probably a result of heavy freezing and thawing during the last Ice Age). The most beguiling sections that looked like they may be part of a built wall unfortunately showed evidence of ‘peeling’ and ‘fracturing’ away from the main mass of stone, without any bonding material to have held them in place. What was also most telling in this area of excavation was that no discernibly medieval artefacts were uncovered here, with the objects identified during excavation all showing evidence of being related to later 18th to 20th century agricultural activities. The only piece of possible medieval material uncovered in this part of the site (Trenches 1 & 2 and Test Pits 1 & 2) was a small fragment of pottery from the agricultural soils in Test Pit 1 (although further analysis will be needed to confirm the date of this the date of this artefact). A further object, a broken piece of stone that may have some evidence of carving (although it may be a result of plough scarring) was also found in Test Pit 1 and will need some further analysis. Whilst the finds from this area don’t appear to suggest medieval activity, and the sandstone deposits may be geological in origin, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there was no activity in this western part of the field. Some of the sandstone may have been quarried for use in construction, and it has also been seen at other sites that bedrock outcrops are useful foundations for building from. It would therefore probably be beneficial in this part of the site to extend the trench a little further in the future to fully understand the sandstone deposits here, and to see whether there is any direct evidence of human activity, medieval or otherwise. Whilst it is inconclusive at this stage, and not possible to link the deposits uncovered in Trench 1 to the activity and buildings previously uncovered at the eastern end of the site, it must be remembered that the trenches excavated here were small, and a lack of evidence in the excavated trenches and test pits does not mean a lack of activity in the western end of the field, we just haven’t revealed it yet!

The third area of excavation, Trench 3, located on the northern slope of the hillock towards the eastern end of the field, uncovered what was initially believed to be a natural deposit of clays and sandstone. This deposit, however, only covered the southern portion of the trench, with the northern portion of the trench contained deeper deposits of mixed stony gravels, all of which showed evidence of cultural material, with ceramics and small metal fragments found at the bottom of the excavated area. The finds were a mix of probable medieval pottery fragments mixed in with 19th century glazed ceramic fragments. Given that this trench was positioned at the location of a former quarry, it is possible that these deposits relate to 19th century activity in the area, and that the deposits are fills or dumps of material as a result of quarrying. Equally, however, it is also known that material was robbed away from the former medieval buildings, and this could have continued into the 19th and even 20th centuries. The artefacts uncovered could therefore relate to episodes of robbing of stonework (essentially another form of quarrying), with the mixed soil deposits filling in gaps and holes where building material had been removed. Further investigation and extension of Trench 3 would help to reveal whether the sandstone and clay deposit was indeed natural (or whether it relates to the medieval buildings; for instance a dump of re-deposited natural cast up during construction of the buildings), and whether the mixed soil deposits do indeed relate to 19th century quarrying. The size of Trench 3 limited the amount of exposure at this part of the site, and it is difficult to come to more definitive conclusions here without further investigation.

Whilst no significant architecture was uncovered during the excavation works, it has been possible to indicate that medieval activity, if any, at the extreme north west of the hillock was potentially limited. The lack of building remains in the excavated areas at the north west part of the site does not, however, mean that the building or building complex did not extend far west towards the village, just that evidence was not identified exactly where we were excavating. Further investigation in Trench 1may provide more definitive answers to what type of activity (quarrying? Building?) was carried out here, but equally it may just reveal a further exposure of geological deposits. What would be useful, and recommended, would be further investigation in the western part of the field within the scheduled area to see if there are any structural remains there, as no formal excavations have taken place to investigate that possibility before. Expansion and continuation of excavation in Trench 3 would also help to determine the extent of the potential quarrying activity, and whether there is evidence of building material having been robbed away from this part of the site.

During our two weeks on site the interest and enthusiasm from ADHS members, volunteers and visitors was really great to see and be a part of, and a visit from pupils from Ancrum Primary School was a real highlight. We hope that the next generation of archaeologists have been inspired by the remains that lie on their doorstep, and that further investigation in the future will help to piece together more of the history of the site and give a better understanding as to how far the building(s) originally extended.

Above

A very wet team after backfilling in the rain!

Trench 3 with deeper deposits on the right possibly evidence of 19th century quarrying

The team excavating in Trench 3

Below

Smaller stones fracturing and peeling away from probable bedrock outcrop

The mass of sandstone uncovered in Trench 1, deceptively wall-like in places, but probably geological

Sunnier times during the first week

We will leave this blog now with a hope that we will be able to do it all again soon. Thank you