A Summary of Berkeley 2015 Excavation

The 2015 dig was seen off with the usual tradition of donuts for everybody who’s worked so hard over the past two weeks, which definitely went down well! There was still much work to do however, as the students were set to work clearing down to the natural geology adjacent to the ditches across the east end of Trench 8. This was to clear the area before it is back-filled by checking there are no more artefacts or archaeological features. As a gift to future archaeologists, a time capsule is being placed in the deepest ankle-breaker ditch, allowing the Berkeley Castle Project’s legacy live on!

Enjoying the donuts

The Time-Capsule

A last sweep of the metal detector over the whole site has also brought up some interesting discoveries. These included three Roman coins in fair condition and an Anglo-Saxon (8th / 9th century) strap-end which was almost a 'blank' having come out of a mould but not yet been cut or drilled. This has been a very exciting discovery which could potentially indicate production of such items within the Berkeley area, something which is very rare in the UK!

Dr. Stuart Prior's Summary of the Excavation:

The co-directors of the site, Professor Mark Horton and Dr Stuart Prior, and site supervisors, Sian Thomas and Emily Glass, would like to say thank you to all the students for their hard work during the excavation. The weather has been lovely, and it has been a really enjoyable four weeks working with everyone! Looking forward to next year!

Also a big thank you to the Berkeley family, everyone at the castle, and the residents of Berkeley town!