Hannah Wickes
@hannahwickes
Studying History & Archaeology of the Highlands & Islands at UHI. Non-Exec Director for Fair Tax Foundation, UK Community Foundations and Impress: the media regulator. Advisor @ Creatives for Climate. She/Her.
One of the best bits about digging in Orkney is the hamebakes. These are from Heather who visited the sight for a tour.
Work continues on the #BronzeAge house at Spurness. It's cut into an imposing Neolithic house, which is the wall you can see near the scale bar. Lots of flint, a Skaill knife and hammerstone in my quadrant, plus some burnt bone.
Also how beautiful is the nearby beach, what a spot to lay your ancestors.
The incredible stonework of Quoyness, a Chambered burial Cairn on the island of Sanday. It has one tall interior chamber and six little ones that come off it. And yes, you have to crawl to enter the tomb. #TombTuesday
My corner today has given up a Skaill knife, a stone tool, some pumice and flints.
Week 2 on the Spurness excavation with @uhiarchaeology.bsky.social on the island of Sanday. We're working on a Neolithic house that had bronze age houses cut into it.
And just finished up some volunteer days on an excellent community dig run by AOC. It was at Sprouston, so many different things going on for one site. But I was on what is hopefully a Neolithic ditch 🤞
Update have gone on a deep dive and this is the photogrammetry interpretation @uoa-archaeology.bsky.social did at Eildon North! Look at that density. Also the Roman signal tower was apparently contemporary with some of the local roundhouses.
A visit to the now empty field of Trimontium, where one of the largest Roman forts in Scotland was built. Fascinating to see how the site was loomed over by Eildon Hill North, a local hillfort. The farm track up was also very, very straight
We've been working on a likely medieval chapel site all week with @historicdunkeld.bsky.social and today was flagstone lifting day. And charcoal has been found! 🙏
You can see how hot it was in this photo, the soil has oxidised with the heat.
Test pit adventures really escalated in Dunkeld! We found the edge of a rampart that burnt so hot the stone looks like it started to vitrify. The little colourful markers you can see mark the charred wood beams.
And that's a wrap with the dig at Fonmon Castle with Cardiff University. Here's muddy me with the soil sample bags. Very very pleased I got to join this team it's been a lot of fun ❤️ 🏴
Fragments of the early medieval bone tooth comb I excavated this week at Fonmon Castle. If you look closely you can see the tiny dot detail.
So this is Pentre Ifan burial chamber but no bones have been found so this might just count as #StandingStoneSunday with bonus balancing act.
Excavating with Cardiff University at Fonmon Castle this week. It's an an incredibly rocky site with early medieval graves cut into bedrock. Lots of osteology learning for me on this one. Feeling very lucky to have been able to join!
I've taken my laptop to the field next door to get the last rays of sun and join @cifaosteoarch.bsky.social's session. An idyllic spot to learn about ancient DNA, mouth microbiomes and dental calculus sampling with @lauraweyrich.bsky.social.
First day volunteering with @ntlmuseumsscot.bsky.social! I'm helping Curator of Osteoarchaeology, Dr Jess Thompson with her work to help make collections more accessible to research.
"These were just women like me and you..." - @annacaig.bsky.social Talking witchcraft trials and the women persecuted in Scotland. Ironically Topping's event is in a kirk.
And this was the beach I found it on... decided to see what was there after being inspired by the prehistoric footprint rescue mission led by @whatkatiedigs.bsky.social. It's no mud trapped footprint, but lovely all the same.
First submission to Scotland's Treasure Trove. A beautiful little flint I found washed up on a beach in Charlestown, Fife.
Reason #47 to live in a Scottish village... The excellent Niel Gow Festival is on again celebrating the music of a man born in 1727 in Dunkeld. We might currently have more fiddlers per head of population then anywhere in Scotland rn 🎻
... a medieval birthing scroll or girdle that women could tie around their middle containing prayers. It's been tested for different types of proteins by @drsarahliddyment and contains signs of medicinal foods and birthing fluids. FASCINATING. This is the replica I'm casually handling.