Is geology a real science?

One thing I most certainly am not going to do on this blog is sugarcoat things. Don't blame me, blame my idealist parents and their not-so-therapeutic view on reality. Thing is, when on the 2nd of August the two geologist from the National Museum of Wales came, no one was anywhere even closely prepared for a whole day of rock-hunting. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. However, deciding whether a boulder is formed by glacial movements or with tools is not my idea of fun. My personal opinion aside, it was very helpful to have such good specialists on site. Especially with a project like the one we are working on, it is vital to understand how the rocks, forming the still-standing walls of the Brynkir houses came to form a part of the structures. I would love to have a long, interesting story of the way in which my eyes were now opened for the countless possibilities geology provides. In the morning we had an introductory lecture on what geology is and we had the chance to look at different stone samples through a microscope. We went up to the Tower, went in the walled gardens on the Brynkir estate and discussed the Upper and Lower Houses as much as a stone by stone approach was possible. So who am I to say if geology is a science or not. You might say it would be clever to stay on good terms with geologists, because of it's importance to archaeology and so on. I have no objections to that. But excuse me if I prefer digging up trenches...

Stephen, Pete and Mark at the Union Inn on the 31th of July, our night out to celebrate Rosie's birhtday!

Jenna and Mark recording what could as well be the most interesting trench on the site

Lily with her group on the second open day in the Training room, looking at the 1899 sales catalog

The birthday-girl with her cake( on the 31st of July)

Pete:Sat in his corner doing whatevr needs to be done!

I am saying bye to Bob...

...while Kate and Lily are tending to his last needs

Kate, supervising me on the cleaning of the staircase tower

The one with the official visits

Get up! Get up! Get up! I keep shouting in my head while all the others are still sleeping in their beds. I always wake up early in Cwm Pennant. Partially because I enjoy drinking my coffee in piece but mainly because I have to write this very blog and the morning is my only time of the day I am completely unable to be winy or bitchy, or so I think. The 2nd of August was a day reserved for the official visit of Harry Huddard- a direct descendant of the Huddard family, who used to own the Brynkir estate in the 19th century. It's a big fuss in the training room- tidying up, tidying ourselves up and receiving our daily tasks from Mark. I had to plan the probable staircase structure Kate and I had been surveying earlier. Jenna kept digging up her trench and reaching new layers in the stratigraphy of the interior of the Upper House. Alex and Stephen, by now skilled in hand surveying and planning, had to begin transferring skills to other people from the group. Lily was made chief of photography- and had to go around with Mark and our guest, making sure this event won't be forgotten. After the first article on the Plas Brinkir prject in a Welsh Newspaper a few people came to the hostel, seeking to share memories of forebears who lived and worked in the estate. And while everything is happening so fast, people are coming and going, I was sat in the Training room and kept on planning and recording everything I have done so far. Not so glamorous, is it. But you are wrong! The day became even more glamorous when in the early afternoon, just after Harry Huddard left, Elizabeth Williams-Ellis and Michael Tree came. As far as I am concerned these names didn't mean a thing to me when I first came here. And there I was, being on my best behavior. The whole group had a talk by Michael Tree before dinner, which turned out to be not so brief. However we did get a new perspective on how and why old country houses end up in the condition, in which the Upper and Lower Houses are. Sometimes I feel like time stops around here and the days are 72 hours long. But I don't really mind the long days because at the end of the day I count every minute as meaningful.

That awful day Pete left!

It was only 15 minutes after we started work on the 1st of August that the light drizzle became consistent rain. Although I tired to stay on the bright side and just accept the fact as a necessity of archaeological life, I couldn't help but read a secret meaning into this change of weather. Somehow I had the feeling that every person in the project was in a horrific mood. Partially I was in a bad mood as well but just because after a certain point here you change your moods just to get things going. Kate and I had to finish our survey of what is supposed to be a staircase tower in the Upper House. Lily was busy recording her trench. Jenna was still giving all her attention to her trench, Clive. Alex and Stephen were continuing the strenuous task of finishing the survey of the Upper House. We were expecting some rather exciting guests that day- people from the Royal Commission. And so they came, soon after lunch and in the light drizzle. We were separated into 2 groups and were to have both a practical lesson in how to use a fancy total station and a informative talk on archaeological and architectural photography. Our group was the first to get down to the Lower Building and start recording the features of the multistoreyed building. Learning new practical skills, I always find, is rather exciting, it brings a new meaning to the whole dig experience. But perhaps the most fascinating side of meeting all these people that come here, to this secluded point in North Wales, to teach us something is the chance to put faces to the information that archaeologists find so valuable. I imagine next time I'll be sat in the Arts and Social Studies Library I will read an article on archaeological photography and then I will know that it's people writing those. Sounds silly, doesn't it. Sadly our day came to an end and what an end it was... Pete was in a rush to catch his train and came down to the Lower House to have his goodbyes with us. As foolish as it may sound I felt like everything would change after Pete leaves. An era at BK12(our site code) was over. However we made a promise to our adoptive dad Pete that is, that we will stalk him in Cardiff forever and ever.

A day of our lives

Practically every day is a day of our existence. Sometimes, however, some things happen and times starts going quickly and you feel yourself almost helpless as to how to keep up. The morning of the 31st of Jul was one of my least favorite as what seemed inevitable happened and I got in an unpleasant argument with one of the project members. It is quite silly to try and explain who said what and why we started speaking awful things to each other in the first place, the result was a gloomy start to what was supposed to be a positive day. At about 10.30 our first visitor for the day came into the Training room. It was a woman, whose surname I sadly did not remember and I hope you all accept my sincerest apologies. This woman, named Margaret, held a lecture on the topic of a project in which she is a key-player: Dating Old Welsh Houses! The lecture was mostly about the merits of dendrochronology for the successful creation of a Master Chronology for old house mostly throughout North-west Wales. Right after the lecture a team of about 20 people came to the site, all participants in the Old Welsh Houses project. They were separated in 3 groups and that is where our smiley faces went in action and we started our tours around the site. It was Jenna's turn to show Team C's group the Lower House. Unluckily this was a rainy day and not one of the most pleasant experiences for our guests. After the tour was finished, tea and coffee were served and feedback sheets were filled we founds ourselves alone and happy in the Training room. Did I really forget to mention this was also Rosie's birthday. After the official part of the day was over we gathered together for the blowing of candles and a bit of cake and tea. After only 2 weeks the dynamic of the whole group is so different as to what it was in the beginning that all of us being in the Training room now has a new meaning. After cake Heather, our PhD supervisor gave us a talk on pottery, which got me thinking of how much more there is out there for me to be interested in. This was pretty much the end of our day. Well, not exactly because in the evening we went to a pub in Tremadog to celebrate Rosie's birthday. But that is a story we would rather keep to ourselves.

Pride and Supervision

30th of July! Not a big day, not a small one. Bob was already dead in my mind and I couldn't help but feel the disappointment after all my crazy strive to dig him disappeared. I guess that is just one of those things with which you just have to learn living with. This was the day when I was sent over to work with Kate, who just had received the white on-site supervisor hat. Needless to say I felt somehow ashamed, there I was - old enough to have graduated already and still being an unexperienced first year. Thoughts like this, however, I never let get in the way of my work. We were supposed to clean a square structure positioned opposite the doorway Lyly has been digging in the last week. Gardening! This day was somewhat of a turning point for me during this archaeological experience. All of a sudden I put myself in the position of a side-viewer and I saw this small, compact team of students, knowing what to do and doing what they have to in order for this project to move forward soundly. The highlight of the day didn't happen until we were all back in the training room, sorting out finds and filling in context sheets. Mark had asked me to write down on a board for the purpose the above-sea levels I had taken for 2 different trenches in the interior of the Upper House. 110.71! 110.72! One centimeter discrepancy and that meant that we were for certain surveying one and the same occupational layer of the site. In my mind what happened on the day after this one is much more interesting and meaningful but if you want to know about you'll just have to be a bit more patient.