4th October
We are still enjoying fantastic weather reminiscent of August rather than October. In spite of the fact that we have large spring tides, the visibility has remained good, with up to a metre at times. Excavation close to where our ‘carving’ (possibly a carved Tudor rose) was found has revealed several very large timbers, which may connect with the port side section of structure found last year. We hope that we have enough time, weather and visibility to see if this is the case. Excavation to gain more information about these western timbers has yielded leather, a portion of a bill head, and parts of a knife.
Enlargement of the trench around the anchor in order to prepare this for lifting out of the trench on Thursday revealed a powder chamber for a carriage mounted wrought iron gun. The chamber is 650mm long and is complete, still with its lifting rings. Further concretions in this area may be other portions of guns. Beside the anchor within the very fine clay beneath it we are finding "Y" shaped timbers often found in the lower portions of structure at the bow. Further smaller timbers are beginning to be found both east and south of the anchor. The trench walls are nearly 3 metres high in places and distinct layers can be distinguished within some of the faces.
We have had several visits from the media today, including BBC television and radio, with much excitement generated by our ‘carving’. It is 22.30, and we have just finished diving, another 22 man hours. Today we were joined by Mark Dunkley representing English Heritage. He will be diving with us for the next two days.
Alex Hildred
5th October
Today the final preparations for moving the large anchor out of our excavation trench took place. The area immediately around the anchor has been taken down to soft clay, revealing small, parallel timbers. All have all been tagged and their positions plotted.
Continued investigation of the western timbers is revealing more structural elements between this area, the area beneath the stem and the anchor flukes. The amount of the port side which may remain buried may be much larger than anticipated. We are all becoming conscious that the excavation must draw to a close shortly. Dr Margaret Rule was with us for most of the day today and her knowledge of the early years of the excavation, before the internal structure of the hull was exposed, is extremely helpful to us in helping us to understand the processes of wrecking and sedimentary deposition in the areas around the structure. All of us were enthused after her visit, and many memories were shared.
Alex Hildred
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