This is the start of something

Is this a good day for science? The 20th of July 2012. First day of the Plas Brynkir: Archaeological Building Investigation and Recording promises to be a good one, with sympathizing weather and a group of archaeology students almost completely ignorant as to what they would be doing. The working day started in the Training Room ,our own HQ, where all the action happens and all the rainy days might be spent. After a short talk on the merits of measuring techniques, building ground plans, drawings and filled with question about how, when and where we headed off to the Tower. As this is my first day of exploring the site I ought to say I was not quite prepared for the scenic site the Brynkir estates is set on. The steep green hills on one side and the notion of the sea just a few miles away does add up to the atmosphere of the site, making this a special place of archeological importance. The Tower, on the verge of where vineyards were ones supposedly situated, stands impressive even in between the tall trees that have steadily been taking over this landscape for around 2 centuries. If we are to label the different parts of this one day, with the strict covenant I have my compact little group of 3 in mind, I would personally call it: “If the devil is not in the detail, he surely is somewhere in between the mortar laughing at our attempts at taking measurements.” This rough start was in fact the task of measuring the facade of the Tower. What should have taken us 30 minutes we did half-way in an hour. Feeling down about something you can't do is most definitely not a good start to a whole month of excavations. However, before all eagerness left our little group, I reminded myself we're still only learning. And we are learning fast at that. Nothing is perfect and as it turns out neither are the different sides, building stones and elevation lines to the Tower at the Brynkir estate, just above the Upper House, respectively near the Cwm Pennant hostel where our little expedition group is staying for the period of the digs. Unfortunately we weren't able to stay at the site of the Tower for long as the owners came in. We were expected to wrap up our tasks swiftly. After a tasty lunch, provided by our magician of an administrator Pete, all groups followed the lead of Mark, our project director and Hannah, the lovely PhD student helping us out. We were about to take a walk around the site of the project. In my mind I like to think of that moment as one of a shy acquaintance between two sides in an arranged marriage, without all of the negative overtones of course. Truth is neither one of us, 9 Cardiff students, knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into. A walk down the Back Drive, from the once stables of the Brynkir estate provided the whole group with an exciting peak at just what awaits us in this month to come. Almost a hundred meters after we walked out of the hostel, Mark spotted a stone structure along the road, which could turn out to be the lost stairs of the estate. What followed after we came to the end of the back drive and had to go down the main one has a different interpretation for each and every one of us. It was not unlike those moments when everything goes dark, you all walk into one door but all see different things. The main drive wasn't cleared, however, in the name of archaeology, and our own pride, we kept on further in between the twisted trees and bushes. If comparing this to a mini- Welsh jungle, the closest thing anywhere near a lion were the sheep from the meadow just a throw away from us. Closely followed by Jenna, my group mate and Cardiff uni friend, after getting out of the embrace of the gone-wild trees, we were in front of the Lower House. And what an amazing sight it was. You know that moment in a cheesy romantic drama, involving an arranged marriage, when the bride sees her husband-to-be for the first time and the audience can here an angelic choir singing. Well, minus all the cheesiness of such a case, I felt exactly the same. Highly relieved by the beauty of the house and its different chronological stages of construction, I was ready to shake away the uncertainty of the morning measurement disaster. Exploring the midden deposits right to the east of the Lower House the other two group stumbled upon some very interesting finds, that immediately spiked up the learning archaeologists strive for glory. Hands were troweling in the dirt, some more hands were troweling and then a painted part of a plate sprung out of the silt and into Kate's hands. Me? I was carrying the finds bags, being utterly confused about what was happening, and still heavily mesmerized by the still standing Lower House. Continuing our exploration of the whole of the Brynkir site we went up Bryn Brain ( The Crow's Hill) and down the Water Gardens. However undoubtedly the highlight of my day was the finds processing and recording. We all got to wash up bits and pieces of the ceramics, pottery and glass that were found on the initial field walk. At the end of a long day, what seemed like a walk through an eternity of information, all of us 9 Cardiff Uni students found ourselves back in the Training Room at our lovely temporary home for my first ever finds processing. The ceramics, glass and pottery found by the other group were washed and recorded, a few context sheets were filled and thus our first day at the Plas Brynkir project ended. This is the beginning of a wonderful story. All you need to do is stay with the Three Diggatiers all the way through this adventure and discover just how amazing it gets.