Sixty Sixth Dig Day – Friday 13th December 2013

A cloudy but (relatively) mild day, which just about stayed dry till it was time to go home. It was also one of the best days over the past couple of months of the dig for finds of both quality and quantity.

It was a dig of two halves. The 3x1m area in front (north) of the front garden gateway was continued to be excavated.

Finds from the upper level of eastern half of the demolition fill were unexceptional;

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  The best find was a .45 Automatic Colt Pistol cartridge by the Western Cartridge Company. It appears that the .38 Enfield No. 2 was prefered by the British because it had less recoil. The heavier .45 Colt and its many variants needed more training to use than was cost-effective for the many WW2 conscripts, but because of its better stopping power it was particularly used by those on special operations. This increases the likelihood of the local rumour that the No. 3 Newmarket Hill area – which covered the area from Woodingdean to Southease, including Balsdean – was used for secret training operations.

However, the continuing excavation of the demolition rubble east of the chimney revealed some really exceptional finds:

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  More matching very large shards of both a pink and white wash bowl and jug were found. A similar design has been found on the Internet, dating to about 1920 – Newmarket Farm was certainly not exceptional in having no mains water – half of Woodingdean had no mains water till 1929;

• A Garton’s (HP Sauce) glass and cork (club sauce type) stopper (1903-?) – the cork of course had decayed, but the bottle or one like it may well be hidden amongst our many glass finds of the dig;

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  An unknown copper alloy cylindrical object resembling a hose pipe adapter;

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  A Brooke & Prudencio mineral water metal screw top from the late 1920’s or early 1930’s – this Bristol based company had a bottling plant in Lewes;

• A screw threaded cap for a mortar;

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  The ‘MADE IN ENGLAND’ inscription was introduced by a number of potteries in the early decades of the 20th century;

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  A few of these green-ish coloured beads have also been found elsewhere on the site – they possibly originated from a ‘beaded doily’ to keep flies out of open containers, such as plates of food, jars and jugs;

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  This same design of ‘bisque’ doll’s face was recently found nearby;

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  This ceramic shard may belong to the same type of doll as that of the head shard shown above – 2 articulated arms and a leg have been previously been found, one of whose joints may have fitted into its hole;

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  This seems to be a copper alloy thimble – made for small fingers;

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  Two other small fragments of Sussex Brick & Estates Co. Ltd. brick have been found – the only named bricks from the site – which date from between 1922 and 1930, so most likely belong to some (unknown) building works or repairs by Oscar Selbach;

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  This metal gauze was almost certainly from a fly screen, possibly a meat safe, and has been found right across just about all of the areas excavated outside the cottage;

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  Badly decayed fragments of wood were uncovered bearing stitches threaded through drilled holes belonging to an unknown object;

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  A small (PVC?) plastic doll’s leg – if it is PVC then it dates to sometime after 1926;

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  This hollow brass knob may have been part of a bedstead, the hole in its side may have held a rail;

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  This split moulded plastic part of an unknown object, if PVC, dates to after 1926;

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  This decorated ceramic object may possibly have been a small money-box (the slot in the top is easily big enough to take an old penny), with a landscape of birds and trees on one of its sides;

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  A small mother of pearl button – yet another indicator that however poor the farm labouring occupants may have been, many chose to spend money on pretty things.

Natural England’s Castle Hill National Nature Reserve wardens had done some more clearance work of the scrub immediately to the south-east of the site, which probably originated from the suckers of a plum-tree in the Newmarket Farm Cottage garden. They uncovered two large objects:

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  Though these were used for the quick installment of barbed wire defences during the first world war, this almost certainly dates from sometime between 1942 and 1945;

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  This approximately one inch diameter iron pipe may not have been used to transport water, but more likely was used as a framework to support an unknown structure.