10th November 2013

More success!

With Alex and Tav.

First job of the day was to clear the accumulation of bags and other debris from the bottom of the entrance out to the surface. That done we moved on to Toil and Trouble to remove the spoil from there, I was glad to be wearing my plastic oversuit as there were plenty of puddles along the way. Moving forward into Trick or Treat? we spent a little while while sorting out the skip and hauling ropes before opening up the squeeze into the chamber by removing more of the sediment. It was soon time to turn our attention to the slot which was now open after yesterday’s effort. Sliding through the slot into the chamber beyond we were able to have a good look around, there appears to be prospects downwards and to the side. Straight ahead the passage continued beyond some formations into an open inclined bedding, down dip there is a continuation although initially constricted. Looking down the incline there is an airspace ~150mm in height can be seen to continue for ~3m to where it appears to become more open again. From the slot we have extended the length of the new section by ~10m with excellent potential for more; in the last couple of weeks we have made ~15m of progress. There is some consolidation to be carried out, tidying of loose debris and working out the logistics of spoil removal from the chambers, also the area will need to be photographed.

A rather satisfying walk down the hill in glorious autumn sunshine and up to Hunter’s for refreshments and further discussion regarding the prospects ahead.

Author: mendipgeoarch

Archaeologist, Geologist, Speleologist