Dig Diary – rained off yet again!

Day Eighteen
Tuesday, July 16, 2024

Will it never end? For many weeks now, we’ve been patiently – and perhaps over-optimistically – waiting for summer to arrive. And to be perfectly honest there’s still no sign of it on the horizon.

Which is a bit of a pest when you have an excavation project running to an August deadline.

We arrived on site this morning to incessant pouring rain that made work in the trenches impossible.

While some of the dig team, decked out in their fluorescent waterproofs, wrestled valiantly to sort and fold black plastic covers, others took the chance to catch up on their paperwork.

By 11pm, however, it was abundantly clear that we had to cancel digging.

Although the weather was forecast to improve in the afternoon, the trenches were sodden, filled with pools of water and in most cases too slippery to safely work in.

That slight improvement did arrive, meaning the site tours went ahead in considerably better conditions while over in Trench J, Paul set to creating a new 3d model of the channel/flue beneath Structure Five’s hearth.

So, for now, it’s time to seek out dry clothes and gaze skyward in the hope of better weather.

We are promised sunshine tomorrow and a tropical temperature of 17c. Will it happen? We’ll have to wait and see.