I've just finished writing a "non technical summary" and "introduction" for my Desk Based Assessment project. (Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it. Now I feel compelled to come up with an explanation.) A Desk Based Assessment is a paper-based exercise that units of archaeologists conduct to show the archaeological potential of an area that someone wants to develop. Basically, companies are required by law to get a survey done if it looks like a site might have lots of archaeology on it. It's part of the planning process. So, this DBA that I'm working on means I have to go through old O/S maps, government records of interesting archaeological things that have been recorded, topographical maps, fieldwalking data, geophysical data, crop marks and so on. When I've gone through everything I then have to decide what it all means and what should be done next (should a few trenches be dug to see what's actually there?).

So far I've scanned lots of maps in, adjusted their size and orientation so they work as layers in my graphics program and printed them onto acetates so that they overlay. That didn't take as long as I thought it would. Plus I've already spotted a few interesting things. Woo-hoo! Oh, and I plotted the fieldwalking data and Sites and Monuments Record data onto maps so I could use that too. And today I wrote rough drafts of two of the "chapters", although you're supposed to include your conclusions in the summary and I couldn't because I haven't thought of them yet. :)

I went on a field trip yesterday, too, which was fun. It wasn't snowed off like Friday's, although it did snow while we were there! You couldn't see very far at all, it was a veritable blizzard! Not that it settled, which was probably a good thing, otherwise we would have been stuck there. At Donington-le-Heath Manor House. Which is one of the options for my archaeological reconstruction project.

The Manor House (although it was never the home of a Lord of the Manor, so that's misleading) was first built in about 1290. It was altered quite a lot in the 17th century, but it was never altered a lot because it was occupied by tenants. By the 20th century it was used as a pig sty! They made a hoist so that they could lift the pigs upstairs. Honestly. :)

Anyway, in the 1960's it was renovated (which means they ripped bits out and made a lot of it much neater than it should have been). They were trying to make it look like it would have done when it was first built, which takes a lot of the fun out of it. I mean, buildings are fun because you can see how they were altered over hundreds of years. The changes are interesting archaeologically, too.

So, my reconstruction project (unless I change my mind and do the Anglo-Saxon houses) would involve reconstructing what the place looked like in the 13th century. There was probably a Great Hall which is no longer there, as well as out buildings. I have a few ideas. I'm not sure I want to try and reconstruct the Great Hall because it'll take far too much work (and I have so many other things to hand in!) and the reconstruction artist working on it at the moment has done such a great job that my efforts would pale in comparison...

What else... ah, I managed to get the third issue of Stargate United out on time. You can read the back issues without signing up, if you want to.

Issue 1, December 2002 - It's Christmas!!!
Issue 2, January 2003 - Happy New Year!
Issue 3, February 2003 - Extreme Fandom!

And my Minidisc player is behaving very oddly. It always seems to work for a while, then it goes completely mad. It lulls me into a false sense of security. I'm still conducting tests, but it changes its bass settings and things like that when everything's on "hold". It shouldn't be doing that. And it makes odd sound distortions (a bit like when your headphones have a dodgy lead, which mine don't). And it still mistracks to the extent of constant track changing.

On the plus side, I found my receipt. So if it keeps doing it I can take it to the Sony shop. (I thought I'd lost it! But I'd actually put it in the box it came in!! It'd folded itself up and slipped underneath one of the folds of cardboard!!!!)

Or I could try taking it to the Leicester branch of WHSmith. Not sure how long you have to take electrical goods back - it's still just inside six months.

I'll go and eat lunch then. Yum.

posted by Fiery Fred @ 1:44 PM