Day 7: 14 July 2000
An exciting day. To the northeast of the church work continued removing rubble collapse from within the Iron Age (Pictish?) domestic buildings. This revealed more walls and well-preserved flagstone paving belonging to the buildings, the plan of which is becoming clearer. The rubble debris contained large amounts of midden material, mainly comprised of sea shells and animal bones, amongst which was recovered a crude cup hollowed out from a whale bone vertebra.
To the west of the church the day's most significant find was made. Just inside the churchyard wall, amongst the rubble, Sarah Weatherall uncovered a silver cut penny, probably of Saxon or Viking origin (specialist identification will be needed). The penny potentially fills a gap in the documented sequence of occupation of the site between the Late Iron Age (Pictish) buildings and the later (11th century onwards) medieval chapel. A copper alloy pin, undecorated and of unknown date, was found nearby.
Excavation reveals the original flagstone flooring of the domestic buildings underneath and to the northeast of the chapel. A stone-lined tank is in the middle of the picture. The white bucket contains some of the numerous animal bone from the deposits overlying the floor.
A cut silver penny of probable Saxon or Viking origin. A modern penny provides the scale.
Digger of the Day: Tracy Weston.