Archaeologists don’t get along with builders

The floor was also of special interest to the archaeologists who investigated the building, which was a condition of planning permission. Once the concrete had been removed, they meticulously worked down through the old floor layers using trowels and logging every piece of broken pottery and other material they found. They were on site for nearly a week, so there was constant tension with the builders, whose timetable was at risk because of need to investigate each layer under the floor. The archaeologists tried hard to be helpful, and did shift quite a lot of spoil for the builders. The main find was the base of the old brewing hearth (see ‘A house unlived in for centuries’). Bricks were taken away for dating. We are still waiting for the results.