Ham Hill tour

Thanks to Hayley Roberts for showing us around the excavations at Ham Hill this past Sunday morning.

I had the wrong entrance, as the site is away from the main car park to the hillfort/country park area. I had to drive to where I had directed the students and herd them to the right place!

Once there Hayley gave an introduction to the work being carried out. The main focus is a large open area focused on trackways and enclosure ditches, some dating from the Bronze Age but mostly Iron Age. Some roundhouses and burials have also been found.

She then showed us some finds.

Which included:

A nice example of Glastonbury Ware

and:

A Roman ballista bolt

We then had a look at the smaller trenches being cut across the ramparts.

One of the trenches through the ramparts had unearthed some in situ pottery.

Most exciting for me was meeting Nail Sharples, who dug Maiden Castle in the '80s. This was a rare chance to see a hillfort under excavation and everyone was grateful to Hayley for taking us around.