'ere 'ere

As promised, this week there will be bones... although they are admittedly quite small bones, in fact they are the three smallest bones in the human body. The bones that I am talking about are known as the malleus (hammer), incus (anvil) and the stapes (stirrup). 

At the Eastbourne Ancestors Project ear bones have been the cause of me spending many an hour staring intensively at a sieve full of mud and gravel whilst picking through it with a pair of tweezers just hoping that today would be the day that it would not all be in vain and I would find one. 

BUT!!!

On the 17th September I not only found one ear bone but a whole ears worth, plus one extra. And just to prove it here's the picture.

From top left clockwise: Stapes (stirrup), Incus (Anvil), Incus (Anvil) and Malleus (Hammer)

Like buses, you wait for ages to find one, and lots come along together, since the 17th I have found four more!! 


How the ear ossicles work:

The ear ossicles fill the space of the middle ear and connect the ear drum to the oval window of the inner ear which in turn is connected to the cochlea, from where the auditory nerve leaves. From the ear drum, the bones are positioned in the following order - the malleus or hammer connects to the incus and the incus attaches to the stapes, which is the smallest of the three bones and thus the smallest bone in the human body. 


If you enjoyed my last post on the CSI: Sittingbourne and the Conservation workshop, Hayley Forsyth, has written a very good blog post about it. Follow the link to find out more ---> http://osteoarch.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/eastbourne-ancestors-conservation-workshops-2012/

 Due to work commitments, the post this week has been a little short, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same.

COMING SOON TO BLOG SCREENS NEAR YOU:

- Review of  Human Bones in Archaeology by Ann Stirland

- And my experiences at the Pottery in Archaeology Workshop. 

Until Next Sunday, I bid you farewell


Maisie

An Interesting Day with CSI:

SURPRISE!!!! It’s not Sunday and yet I'm already back again (you lucky lucky people) unfortunately I won't be able to get to a computer on Sunday, so here's the second post on my blog. (Downside, there will be a longer wait for my next one =[a whole 9 days!!!)

SOOO here we go..... 

In between working hard (yes I have a job as well), cleaning bones for the Eastbourne Ancestors Project and running this blog, on Wednesday I went to a presentation and workshop with CSI: Sittingbourne (Conservation Science Investigation) which was run by Dana Goodwin-Brown. 

I really enjoyed the presentation which covered many methods of archaeological conservation, such as the importance of looking at grave plans, examining x-rays previous to working on any artefacts and different methods of cleaning and preserving finds. These included scalpel cleaning and air abrasion. The before and aftercare of artefacts was also discussed and we learnt about block lifting and the importance of using silica gel in the preservation of finds that needs to be kept in a dry environment, such as ferrous metal work and the fact that the gel needs to be regularly replaced. 

This is a photograph of an Anglo Saxon Shield Boss that was found at the Eastbourne Anglo-Saxon Village in St. Anne's Road in 1997. Many hours where spent cleaning this, with air abrasion, but due to the poor aftercare of the item, the silica gel was never replaced, and the boss now shows clear signs of severe oxidisation and pitting. 

The CSI: Sittingbourne site and the Eastbourne Anglo-Saxon site share a lot of similarities which enables them to work closely together in regards to the conservation of artefacts. The Sittingbourne Site, known as The Meads contained 229 burials and approximately 2500 finds making it a site of high importance. Sittingbourne like the Eastbourne Ancestors project, is community led, allowing for member of the public to get involved and help maintain and preserve the archaeology found in their towns. 

A hair pin found at the Eastbourne Anglo Saxon Site

A brooch found at the Anglo Saxon Site in Eastbourne

In the afternoon after the presentation, we got a chance to try our hand at cleaning and preserving some samples. I was 'lucky' enough to have the challenge of removing 20 year old blu tack from the back of antique thimbles, which had been used to attach it to a wooden board. (Oh how I HATE blu tack now!!), this was done using a toothpick and scalpel under a microscope (and a lot of time). After that I helped to remove sticky tape that had been used to stick a medieval pot back together. Using a cotton bud and a solvent solution I slowly removed all trace of the tape. (NOTE: NEVER use sticky tape to stick archaeological finds back together) 

A Medieval Pot

Below are some links that you might find interesting: 

CSI: Sittingbourne’s Blog/Website

http://anglosaxoncsi.wordpress.com/ 

And these are English Heritage publications on the guidelines of Conservation in Archaeology, Free Downloads are available. 

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/x-radiography-of-archaeological-metalwork/

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/investigative-conservation/

So that's all for this week, and just incase you're thinking that the title of this blog is somewhat misleading, next week... there will bones :D 

I bid you farewell

Maisie

From Year Dot to the Present!!

Today my blog finally goes live!!! Hello everyone (that means both of you =D)

This is my first ever blog, and today I would just like to tell you a bit about myself and what I hope to achieve with this blog.

My names Maisie and in September 2013 I will be going to Reading University to read Archaeology, I have been interested in Archaeology since I was very young, but the first time the importance of archaeology became apparent to me, was in the Mummy room, at the Cairo Museum in Egypt when I was nine years old.  Since then I have been a volunteer for Eastbourne Ancestors Project run by the Eastbourne Museum Service and have taken part in several digs in and around the Eastbourne area, and have even appeared on television, in the local news!!! (It truly was 5 seconds of fame; I might try and get a link posted on here at some point) Last year I did a training dig, at Barcombe Roman Bath House with University of Sussex, where I was taught the basics of archaeology, as well as receiving 'a hands on' digging experience. 

I am presently cleaning bones as part of the Eastbourne Ancestors project at Eastbourne Town Hall, where we have the remains of nearly 300 Anglo-Saxon's, that where found 15 years ago under the car park of the old Eastbourne College of Further Education  https://www.facebook.com/EastbourneAncestors <--- Here's a link to the Eastbourne Ancestors Facebook page for more information.

I hope to post on here every Sunday with more information, stories and pictures, which hopefully all/both of you find interesting. This blog will hopefully, help me to keep track and record everything that I do over the coming year, and hopefully get others interested in the wonderful world of Archaeology.

Until next Sunday, I bid you farewell.

 Maisie