7th February

Report by Jon

Four diggers (Jon, Nick, Mike and Tav) braved the mild and dry conditions but were surrounded by a rival group of webbed creatures. Holding their nerve, the diggers chatted amongst themselves, pretending to wait for a fifth member, reputed to be also attending. Their patience paid off and the rivals soon dispersed.

At the sharp end, the pit contained more than a few inches of water. However, carefully laid plans from previous expeditions allowed digging to continue from the top of the heap. The dig continues as before.

The success of the evening was jeopardised by a systems failure which resulted in some data loss. Specifically, the bucket count was not backed up. A hastily convened business continuity meeting, on the walk back, yielded two estimates: 25 and 47, that is, 36+/-11.

I took an action to see if we could improve upon this. I have subsequently analysed the data. A least squares fit to a linear curve confirms the mean value of 36 as the intercept, but the sparsity of the data precludes any estimate of the gradient of the curve.

The lack of a statistically significant sample prevents the testing of any other meaningful hypothesis. I have therefore been forced into making an engineering decision. We can state, to a certainty of 100%, that the previously proposed figure of 36 is fully consistent with all of the known statistics of the bucket count.

Author: mendipgeoarch

Archaeologist, Geologist, Speleologist!