We had very good working conditions today at Medalheimur: rain last night wet the soil to keep dust down and colors more visible, plus we had overcast and slight winds. Later in the day the wind picked up a little, and the sun came out people threw off hats and jackets and dozed during afternoon coffee break.

Here's a candid panorama from yesterday of the crew Digging at Medalheimur.


At this point we have pulled the stone walls and blown threw some of the turf walls. In the distance, to the south, is Area B, which contains two "pit houses" apparently from before A.D. 1000, making them date well before this sheep house, and probably more like the original settlement on this mound, which we will not get down to this season.

We spent today removing a lot more dirt, turf, and stone in an effort to better understand the construction of this building. It's not too exciting to be digging a relatively modern sheep house, however knowing what's here greatly helps to understand what the remote-sensing devices pick up in their readings.

Working on this site is pretty much a no-win situation for the director, because some people will/would criticize him for spending so much time on something so modern, but others would be critical if he just took it out in haste to get to older stuff below.