My Experience

When I was invited to partake in the Gabii Project, I did not know exactly what to expect.
Being involved with an Archaeological dig had never been offered to me before, so the whole experience would I hoped be a learning curve.
I knew that 'Gabbi' was an important Project and just knowing that metal detectors were to be used, was in it self a positive thing for the hobby. Imagine my surprise when I was asked if I would like to be one of the detectorists. At first I did not like the idea of leaving Bridget (my daughter) behind, after spending the last 2 years seeing her through her Leukaemia but she insisted that she has others to help her if necessary.
So after applying and getting my first passport, I was set to go.

Time flew by and the date was soon upon me.

I was instructed that all I would require was my detecting equipment and myself, any else that I needed, would be supplied.

In the meantime I printed off several pages concerning the site rules and regulations, noting that steel reinforced footwear was required. I was unsure about this because it would interfere with the signals from my equipment. However I had nothing to worry about because my work boots were adequate

I had read up about the Gabii Project and also done a bit of reading about archaeology, but I was still unsure of what I would do or what would be expected of me.

I cannot say a great deal about the actual excavation and what was found because it is an on going project and I do not wish to jeopardise this in any way.

The first thing that I did on site was to be given a short version of the history of the site along with how and why it was chosen.
Then I was shown around the site by The Managing Director Jeffrey Becker, who told me about the finds and features recovered to date. I was careful to walk only where shown and instructed, this was to minimise damage and disturbance of the the areas waiting to be done.

After being given the tour I was introduced to the staff in the finds area who were very busy with cleaning, recording and storing the artefacts as they were brought in from the 3 different areas. I found this area very interesting, because you could see good large examples of the various types of ceramics, alongside bones and other materials. Jeffrey kindly got me a list of the various types of pottery (ceramics), expected and being found at the site and how to identify them.
The ladies gave me some bags, a container and a marker pen and explained what they were for. I was then asked to see the field supervisor in Area A, Jamie Sewell who put me to work on some spoil.
If, while doing the spoil, I found anything I was curious about, I only had to ask and an answer was given. I tried not to ask too many times because excavations are very much controlled by time and as we know, time cost money.

I found my own method for dealing with the spoil and it seemed to work well, giving me time between barrow loads and spoil heaps, to look around me and watch the others at work. It was interesting to see the methods being used even though at the time I had little idea of what was being done and why. I was occasionally asked to use my equipment in situ. which was enjoyable because it meant being in the middle of the work and helping to find something, hopefully of interest. Something that had not been disturbed since it came to rest, when Gabii was last in use! Sometimes however, I was just asked to detect over the site and if I located a signal, to place a small flag marking the position. This was usually for a good reason and albeit a little frustrating not seeing what I had located, I got satisfaction in knowing that another piece of the 'jigsaw' had been found.

I do feel that the use of a detector is an important addition to an archaeological excavation and that it is still in it's infancy.
With metal detectors going deeper now than ever before, I would like to see them being used more from the start and continuously throughout the dig. I feel it would help with the location of certain features and help prevent theft from sites.
This may not be practical, for various reasons and in this case, proved not really necessary, because very little was missed.
I do not know the ratio of metallic items found with eyes only, against detector finds but it will be interesting to see such data.

I found the overall experience very interesting and informative and would recommend it to anyone, should they ever be invited to attend an excavation.

I am hoping to share this experience with fellow club members and have been asked to put together a small show and tell presentation.

Now I can honestly say that I have 'Been There and Got the T-shirt'

Thank you to both Sally Worrel and Laura Mclean for being given this chance and experience.