The test pit was dug in grass between the boundary wall for Bartlemas Chapel to the west and N-S allotment plots to the east. There may also have been an entrance into the chapel/leper hospital grounds from the east just north of the test pit. Fragments of medieval pottery and bone hinted at activity close by and the deposits were considerably shallower than those within the chapel grounds to the west.

click here to read full report

Test pit 18 was located in the garden of Bartlemas Farmhouse in an area of rough vegetation, 1.6m west of a modern fence-line and 7.9m south of the south side of the boundary ditch after its turn west. The N-S course of this boundary ditch is thought to be very old and may mark the edge of the Leper Hospital's lands (see test pits BT_1, 2 and 4; and Bartlemas Chapel excavation reports for more information).

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The test pit was dug north of the active allotments used by RESTORE, in an area that had been under grass for some time, on the edge of the old orchard. Old maps suggest that before the land became orchard and allotments it may have been used for pasture

 Click here to read the full report

The test pit is close to a Bartlemas Farmhouse dated partly to the early 16th century, but an older part to the east may have been the warden’s house for the Bartlemas leper hospital founded in the 12th century. This area was clearly occupied during the medieval period as pottery from the pit demonstrates. There is also clear evidence from the make-up layer of clay and domestic/animal waste that the ground level was raised at some point, probably to prevent flooding.

Test Pit 31 is the second of a number of planned test pits to be dug in allotments that border the south and east of Bartlemas Chapel. The aim of these small excavations is to see if it is possible to determine the extent of activity around the chapel prior to the boundary wall being constructed.

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Test pit 3 was located in an oval clearing in the nature park in the NW of the clearing, 3.5m of a central tree. Small trees are scattered across the clearing which is under rough grass and surrounded by thick brambly undergrowth with other small trees including willows and birch.  The clearing had not been dug for some years but had been worked as allotments until c. 10 years previously.  In all the historic Ordnance Survey maps the area is part of a field system.

Test pit 2 was located in an oval clearing in the nature park.  Small trees are scattered across the clearing which is under rough grass and surrounded by thick brambly undergrowth with other small trees including willows and birch.  The clearing had not been dug for some years but had been worked as allotments until c. 10 years previously.  In all the historic Ordnance Survey maps the area is part of a field system.

See photographs on Flickr     

Click here to read project volunteer and artist Nick Hedges observations on Bartlemas Chapel.

3 November

Well, that’s me finished; I’ve got things to do so I’m having to miss out on the last two days of the dig – let’s hope someone will pick up where I leave off.