10th July

Vince, Jon, Nick, Brockers, and Tav.

Morning session: Jon in the deep South digging on down, I was on the ledge squaring-up a couple of sections ready for recording and loading the spoil into the skip for Tav to haul away. From the junction the filled bags and rocks were transferred to the next skip and hauled away by Brockers to the bottom of the entrance. Nick on the surface hauled the bags out of the cave and managed to find enough time to empty them too. 60 bags were filled, hauled, and emptied and several loads of rock were added to the wall material pile. I planned to photograph the section I had cleaned only to find the battery was empty, should have charged after using it yesterday.

Lunchtime.

Afternoon session: Brockers was dispatched to the deep South to fulfil his management potential under the guidance of Tav. Nick was at the junction hauling skips and “tidying”, I was at the bottom of the entrance transferring the spoil into the skip hauled up by Jon on the surface. Hauling the skip up the entrance pitch was not an easy task with the wet, claggy rope slipping through fingers and with three people filling bags, not much respite either. 50 bags were filled plus a lot of rocks shifted including 2 large boulders that we decided to leave for another day.

There are several large boulders in the Soft South that might benefit a reduction in size – a plug and feathers session is probably needed.

Sediment layering in the Soft South dig. Photo taken 13th July 2021.

Author: mendipgeoarch

Archaeologist, Geologist, Speleologist