1999 Field Diaries

Welcome to the diary for the 1999 season of excavations on Gardom's Edge. This was the fifth and last major season of excavations on the moor and we again focused on a range of features which include later prehistoric buildings, field banks, cairns and a pit alignment.

About the excavations

We returned to two features dug last year - a complex set of buildings, banks and cairns (trench 1) and a pit alignment (trench 2).

We have also located a number of trenches (3-5) in an area in the northern part of the field system which comprises a large rectangular field defined by earthern and stony field banks. This contrasts with the system of smaller, irregular fields we have worked within in previous years.

While these smaller fields contain small clearance cairns located in an irregular pattern, this field is associated with a series of large cairns laid out in a regular grid. Amongst the questions we hope to approach in this area include:

• Are the differences in field morphology related to different cultivation practices?

• What is the chronological relationship with the smaller fields?

• How were the boundaries and cairns formed?