22 jul 09:35am
Llandeilo - Gary get his hands dirty

Monday 27th June To help ease the volunteers in we were requested to start at 1.30pm. Before starting the local radio station (Radio Carmarthenshire) had an interview with Dr. Nikki which illustrated the importance to the local area and also increased my excitement to get started. On arrival I found out that the trench pegs we had seen the day before had been plucked from the ground (no doubt by some local scallywags) and that trenches had to be triangulated in again.

It was nice to meet the other volunteers and to find out a little about them and why they were there. There was a good mix of ages and experience between the volunteers.

The day again was one of extreme heat and sunshine so plenty of sun cream was called for. A few trenches had already been excavated by a digger having taken off the top 18 inches or so. As it was my first time digging I suggested I need a crash course. Richard Ramsay one of the staff from Cambria Archaeology gathered a few volunteers and proceeded to give a tutorial. Whilst doing this he said "For this level you need not be too delicate", whilst scratching away at the surface, only to come across what looked like a rim of a pot. This we now know to be a Malvernian Cremation Urn from the 2nd Century A.D. So much for not being too careful!!! This was also very close to the surface so we again were very lucky the digger did not smash it. Other items found on the day were some roofing tiles, roman glass and small pieces of simian pottery.

For the next day also we had to move some tents which were situated away from our main trench (T2) to serve as a mess tent for the duration of the dig.

22 jul 09:24am
Llandeilo - A volunteer reports

I think it is necessary first to explain who I am and why I was interested in this project. My name is Gary J. Beynon and 31 years of age. I have a degree in Geography and live locally. I was really interested and also very excited when I found out about this particular project and wanted to get involved. I was brought up only 5 miles away from this site and have always been interested in local history. As a matter for me, I had never been on an archaeological dig and involvement on a voluntary basis would also look very good on my curriculum vitae.

Sunday 26th June The day before the start of the dig.

Luckily knowing Dr. Nikki Cook, we decided to have a walk around the proposed area. The day was beautiful, the sun was shining hard. We took a look around the various areas where the trenches were to be dug, comparing the area to the geophysics print we had brought, noting that all sites had been surveyed in and pegs placed where the boundaries of the trenches were to be. I commented on the scope of the project. We also took a short walk down the hill to Llandyfeusant Church (now unused). The River Towy is now a few hundred metres away but it could well be perceived that the river may have come much closer and provided a supply route from Carmarthen (Maridunum) in Roman times as it is right on the edge of the flood plain.

21 jul 09:29am
Whitehall - 20/7 Nearly there!

Australia, that is. Steve liberated several diggers from the frustration of trowelling a millimetre at a time, and told them to dig deep. As ever they're hunting the elusive East wing, but so far the test pits have not revealed a juicy foundation.

The Dantre School students were back again and worked hard. They were a credit to themselves and their school.

Down on the lower slope they've uncovered a roundish line of reddish stones, with darkish brownish soil inside it - possibly a spaceship launching pad or even a plunge pool (silly idea). Anyway, Doc Martin says it's coming out tomorrow - make of that what you will!

Stay with us - only two days to go!!

For more pix and info: http://www.whitehallvilla.co.uk

Jeremy Cooper

20 jul 11:24am
Whitehall - 19/7 Steady progress, but running out of time?

It turns out that Alice (one of our most devoted readers, and ex-Whitehall supervisor) was here for just one day! She needed a good dig before getting on with the dissertation for her archaeology MA. Thanks for your help, Alice, and good luck!

Hands-on visitors today, from Danetre School. They found out just how hard the soil can be at the east end of the main villa range!

Jane was on site again today: one of her missions in life is to put things back together, whether they be jigsaw puzzles or broken pots. You can see some of the results of her work in the 'Material Culture' zone of our website - see 're-assembled pots'.

On the lower slope they have established the line of one wall of the new building. The wall, the pilae and the edge in the floor covering all align perfectly. Steve bemoaned that fact that there won't be time to get as far as he would've liked in uncovering this building - there's another unwritten law of archaeology hidden in there for you to find!

No activity again on the round house, except that Paul spent some quiet, lonely hours planning it.

I spent the morning with my laptop in the seclusion of my green tent working on a new introduction to the villa for our website: Jeff (of "leave-bits-of-pottery-in-sections-please-Jeff" fame) pointed out to me that newcomers to the site are offered no easy way of getting up to speed. I had come to much the same conclusion myself, but it took Jeff mentioning it to encourage me to do something about it! Polite suggestions are always welcomed! Thanks Jeff - the new page will be online soon.

For more pix and info: http://www.whitehallvilla.co.uk

Jeremy Cooper

19 jul 09:30am
Whitehall - 18/7 Heads down

The first day of the last week, and fewer pairs of hands, so the round house was given time off. Attention switched to the East end of the villa range, and the elusive search for the East Wing. Two trenches were opened up.

On the lower slope, Steve himself spent much of the day trowelling alongside the mere mortals. A large piece of floor surface was uncovered, showing a distinct straight edge.

At the end of the afternoon, archaeologist Alice arrived to join us for the rest of the dig. Welcome back Alice!

For more pix and info: http://www.whitehallvilla.co.uk

Jeremy Cooper