But this about Dan. Dan has joined archaeology groups. He attends archaeology meetings. This week he gave a presentation to the Archaeological Society of New Jersey, Gloucester County Chapter. This is the chapter that has been instrumental in the Red Banks digs that exposed the graves of dozens of Hessian soldiers (think back to the Revolutionary War). That was the dig that reinvigorated his passion for archaeology. He tossed his name in the hat with Time Team to excavate the Sutton Hoo site in England. He was there for about a week, but it changed his life.
Dan gave an excellent talk that covered the history of the Sutton Hoo excavation site dating back to 1939 (months prior to England entering World War II) to the future of the site.
As romanticized in the movie The Dig, Edith Pretty moved to a house Suffolk that was surrounded by mounds in the fields. She allowed her property to become the site of an archaeological dig. Her father was an avocational archaeologist. She hires Basil Brown, an amateur archaeologist to lead the excavation. Almost immediately he finds an intact ship dating to the early 7th century and 263 other artifacts, which she donates to the British Museum. Dan made a detour to the British Museum before heading to Sutton Hoo so he wouldn't show up as "that guy who hadn't seen the treasures."
World War II takes over everyone's lives. The site is covered until 1965. Many of the treasures are hidden in an unused tube station. They are processed using more modern techniques from 1965 to 1971.
Things start up again in 1983. They start excavating Mound 17 using new techniques. They discover a warrior and a horse burial, or rather "sand bodies" of them. This reminds the group of the "body shadows" of the Hessian soldiers.
Excavation continues in 1986 when a copper alloy bucket is found. Metal detecting is now used to locate more treasures. Over the centuries much looting had taken place, fortunately some things were not found.
In the late 1990s they recognize the need for a visitor's center. I'm hoping Don and I can add a visit here onto a future trip to London. Before the center can be built on what they thought was a safe piece of land, an excavation takes place. They find a cemetery with cremains and Bronze Age/Roman era materials. The work continues until 2001.
In 2022 the National Trust acquires 27 acres of adjacent land. Again, reminding the audience of what happened when Red Bank acquired a much smaller parcel of land and discovered a Hessian burial site. They found materials dating back to before Stonehenge -- the Mesolithic and Neolithic eras.
In the 1990s Time Team had three-day digs. They were renewed in 2024 due to technology. Here is where Dan compared what they do versus what those of us in the room do.
At Sutton Hoo they dug one meter squares, and went down four centimeters for each test pit. Unlike at Red Bank, they don't screen much. They do a sample screening and move on looking only for the bigger objects. This was my experience in Israel, too. He learned how to use a mattock instead of the gentler trowel we tend to use in the States. When he goes to dig sites he brings his own collection of tools, which has expended from a backpack to needing a wagon to cart it all.
The soil at Sutton Hoo reminded Dan of the soil at Red Bank. It often amazes me how much dirt varies -- rocky, sandy, clay, etc.
On their last day they hit the water table, but since they did not have powerful pumps (they were pretty far away from an electrical outlet) they called it quit for the season. There was some excitement when the dirt changed and they thought they found another ship, but it turned out to be an area for flax production, a flax retting pit that was 3 meters (10 feet) deep.
In another place they thought they discovered a crucifix shape, perhaps indicating the site of a church, instead they found a brick field where the bricks used in other local buildings were made.
Dan worked the third of four weeks. While stretching his legs he found a tiny piece of bone in a 10 foot spoil heap. It was the only bone found, and changed the course of the dig. The osteology expert put it on her tongue and declared it human.
Time Team returned in 2025. The season is over. They are working on condensing hours of footage into a series of videos similar to the ones when Dan went on his dig.
In 2027 they hope to have a replica of the ship that was found in 1939 and sail it.
Dan was on a team with 40 volunteers from around the world. He considers himself extremely lucky to be able to attend. It is a crowd funded project that seems to be gaining speed.
Dan's test pit (#3) went down 40 cm, then again 20 and another 20. He was amazed by their technology. They cold create 3D scans in the field to send to experts not at Sutton Hoo.
Though the land has been used for over 7,000 years, they don't expect to find anything before 793 when the Vikings moved in, sacked, and melted the treasures they found. That's a shame.
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