Hi All,
Well, I drove down today (and just got to Worcestershire about 8.30pm) and have been hearing all about the 'first day'. Rollo's tour was very successful - about 20-30 people went on the tour in total! Found an original sandstone quarry that may well have supplied the stone for the castle - will get more info from Rollo tomorrow when I can have a look for myself.
In the afternoon, Chris Clarke from AOC along with Dale from Archaeological Investigations went through where the trenches were going to go and the general methodology of the site. A Project Brief has been completed and there is going to be two trenches in all - on the site of one of Masterman's trenches and one in the area of the one of the anomolies turned up by the geophysics.
Rod Sproat, Secretary of the Society and Simon Mayes from Archaeological Investigations at the pre-site meeting
Photo: Copyright Archaeological Investigations
All the folk at the pre-site meeting, Ed Simons and (the very tall) Chris Clarke from AOC at the front, Valerie Powick (Honorary Chairman of the Society) sitting down.
Photo: Copyright Archaeological Investigations
Andy Boucher from Archaeological Investigations has also spent some time putting together a brief precis of the results gained so far here. There was a meeting last Tuesday (see above) to decide how all the practicalities were going to be sorted out and hopefully everything will run as smoothly as we all hope! First problem, though, the 'loo' man's truck got stuck and he had to leave his truck down there with our loo still on the back! Tomorrow's first job will be putting up the the big gazebo tent. I'm told there are no instructions - how hard can it be? Famous last words...
For those not yet in the know, here's a brief history of the site to get you up to speed:
Shrawley Castle was built around the year 1100. After the Norman Conquest and the Domesday Book , Shrawley was acquired through marriage by the Beauchamps of Elmley Castle, from the heiress of Urso de Abetot, Sheriff of Worcester. For about the next 300 years, lieutenants to the Beauchamps, the Le Poers, occupied the castle. They were lords of the manor of Shrawley until the last of their line, Aline le Poher, fell out with the Church and was excommunicated in the mid 1300s. The manor passed back to the Beauchamps who dismantled the castle in favour of their other castle, Holt Castle, 2 miles downstream. The Shrawley Castle then became a quarry site of quality building stone by locals till the English Civil War when the Royalists used what was left as a gun emplacement.
And check out my previous entries on the gilraenarchaeology blog on the background of the project.
Well - see you all tomorrow night - hope the weather is OK tomorrow!
Weather Check: Tuesday is meant to be sunny, up to 17 degrees. Scorchio!
