14th May 2011, 02:24 PM
P Prentice Wrote:surely if there is insufficient funding to make an appropriate record then it should be left in situ?
project budgets are set according to a wsi which really should incorporate an academic research design based on current theory and past interventions - not based on the offer of a few bob to dig an old ditch.
i would be interested to know if the topsoil was completely stripped over the area to be quarried?
i know why you made the ritual comment but maybe i should have taken the time to explain why its use in specs from mounties should be abolished as misleading and inadequate to explain the complexity of the context of the features it perports to desciribe.
i just dont like digging by percentages because they are lazy, thoughtless and ultimately meaningless
You should have lodged an objection when the mineral consent was at the planning stage?....maybe it would have been better if a few other people had anyway....
Topsoil stripping's ongoing in phases, at the current rate probably for the rest of the year, fully controlled by yours truly - actually 10ha would be rather a large area to deal with all in one go without the 500 slaves (who still haven't turned up, presumably tied-up building a pyramid somewhere...). The whole thing would be too big to photo with the current length of string on the kite anyway.....kite-cam's well recommended, cheap and cheerful (apart from camera breakages) and shows loads of stuff that frankly can't be seen on the ground on such a big area, instant imagery (as long as the wind's blowing and in vaguely the right direction!) and produces pretty piccies to keep the client happy too :face-approve:
Frankly, so little is known about cursuses that anythingw new is a bonus - the available suite of 'primary' and secure C14 dates is pathetic (see various Loveday publications) so C14/OSL is a big priority, and I've got loads of stuff other than the big ditches which is unique and far more worthy of in-depth investigationn
[apologies for all the spare letters etc, the delete button on this ancient laptop seems to have died...]
Yes, there will be a few bits of the monument left for posterity, there's around 100m of what appearas to be the best-preserved bit, plus several fragments sealed under roads and a disused railway line, and an unknown length at one end where it's never been traced, so scope for a Time Team.....
Anyone know if there's any good evidence from anywhere for gang-digging/segmented construction of the things?
....and on a slightly seperate (but not unconnected) subject, does anyone know if ground-sensing radar worksth (aaghh!) through heavily constructed concrete and tarmac roadways? - looking for big targets though, around the size of, say, 4m wide by 1m+ deep silt-filled ditches cut in clean gravel and sand