I had been dispatched to deepest Dorset to liberate a Bronze Age bowl barrow from an invasion by aliens – rhododendron. When I arrived, I found that the forces assembled were ill-equipped for the initial foray and the invading aliens had taken the higher ground with the aid of some well-established pine trees and bracken. The assault was long and sustained but ultimately unsuccessful, we shall return better prepared when the birds have finished nesting. As a consequence, I was back too late for this evening’s activities in Wookey Hole.
Report by Jon
“Five of the team (Jon, Tav, Nick, Jake and Mike) attended this evening’s digging session. Following another wet week, the expectation was for wet cave conditions. However, it had also been noted at the previous session that the dig had become sandy with a good chance of draining. One of the team was eager to remind the others about this.
Jon was elected to dig,
supported by Jake. The two moved to the front a little quicker than the others
and immediately set about bailing the water from the dig face. Jon then
commenced digging.
The sandy layer in the floor was not as deep as previously thought and soon
became quite rocky. The floor was initially dug back a little from the dig face
to create more room, and then to the right for the same reason. A goodly
number of buckets of spoil was removed, along with a useful amount of building
stone.
While the digging
continued, other team members spent some effort improving access by cutting
steps into the mud bank at the last breakthrough point. As a final gesture, the
worst of the mud was removed from the floor of the dig face to offer hope that
it might drain a little before the next session. The team then retired to a
local hostelry for liquid refreshment.”
