A Big Thank You

Thank you to all of the (nearly) 1000 visitors to the site today and around 450 visitors to the Hub. It was amazing to see so much interest in the site. The Hub was fit to burst at times and the site saw a constant flow of eager enthusiasts. We have had some really helpful feedback too, so another thank you goes to all who took the time to fill in a visitor survey. We look forward to seeing you all back at next year’s Open Day. Work will continue on site tomorrow, starting the final week of the season, and the Hub will be open as usual; opening times and location are listed on the blog.

Thank you all once again from all involved at the Ipplepen Archaeological Project.

Day Eighteen

Yes the time has finally come! It is the Ipplepen Archaeological Project Site Open Day Today! Visit us at both the Ipplepen Community Hub and at the actual Archaeological site free of charge from 11:00-16:00 on site and 12:30-16:00 at the Hub.

It is already looking to be a beautiful day, so why not make it that much more special with a glimpse back into Devon’s past!

Day Seventeen

Work progressed as usual today on site, with several bulks being removed and features being planned. There was a lot of work done to make the site ready for the Open Day.

including finds washing, and adding to the displays in the Hub. A team photo was also taken today, and shall be uploaded shortly.

Day Sixteen

Rain in the morning gave a miserable start to the day, but this soon brightened up into a bright but cool day. Most of the work took place on the Eastern half of the site, exploring post holes in the North, and a field boundary in the south.

In the center of the ring ditch work continued on excavating a wide pit-like feature, eventually revealing a possible pit beneath this to be excavated tomorrow. The large pit just to the east of the ring ditch was finished today, and work continues in the Bronze/ Iron Age pits in the North of the site, the excavator of these giving an explanatory talk in the late afternoon.

The Hub saw its busiest day so far with 45 visitors coming in over the course of the day.

Day Fifteen

The weather has finally broken and we have our first day of rain for a long time on site. Work progresses though, and the exploration of the ditches in the South East corner of the site continues, and sections continue to be drawn, despite the rain.

The Hub also had a new display fitted today; a collection of photos from this year’s excavation.

Day Fourteen

The day started well with a large piece of pottery being found almost immediately in the Central Ditch Feature. Work continued as usual with some volunteers working in a deep pit,

and several students continuing work on the features in the South East Corner.

We also had a visitor from the East Devon metal detecting society on site today

Day Thirteen

A great day to be on site today with one hundred and twenty two finds being found over the course of the day, including the two largest pieces of pottery found thus far. The first was a Romano-British storage vessel, and the second, was a fragment of amphora (itself in several pieces). Work continued as usual on site, with several new volunteers swelling the ranks.

Day Twelve

Another hot day on site, but with a lot getting done. The Ditch terminals in the South East corner continued to be investigated, and a new slot was started in an attempt to follow the line of a ditch which seems to run into the central ring ditch. across the rest of the site work continued as normal with several features being finished, drawn and recorded.

One such feature was the Bronze/Iron Age pits the last of the slate lining was removed. The feature was then drawn and photographed, and its excavators moved on to another feature.The largest piece f the slate lining was strangely circular with a central hole, this will need further interpretation.

The excavation of the fill of the central ring ditch is progressing well, with around half now having been removed.

Day Ten

A mostly sunny day at the site for day ten. Further excavation has progressed smoothly and the site continues to reveal additional finds. Today the collection of finds so far has been collated and has been photographed for our digital records.

For some of our volunteers, it was the last day on site. This is what they thought of their experience.

“What an amazing three days we’ve had. Felt very welcome amongst a fantastic and interesting bunch of people. Thanks”