3rd June 2008, 02:04 PM
In my early days as a digger I went to Germany to work on a rescue excavation - nice Mesolithic activity site at the base of a cliff. As part of the set-up a couple of guys were sent out to find a suitable location for the site lavvy. About a hundred yards away in a patch of woodland they found a wooden platform that appeared to cover a hollow of some sort, so they cut a hole in the platform and put a bucket-type toilet on the top and a canvas structure around it - perfect for the job (no pun intended) and well-used over the next few weeks.
One day an eminent German professor appeared on site - the previous summer he had excavated a burial nearby and the radiocarbon dates had now shown that it too was Mesolithic - the best Meso burial in Germany. He had now returned to take environmental samples from the grave fill (should have done them at the time of excavation, but this was Germany).
'Marvellous' we said, 'where is the grave?' He pointed over towards the woods and said 'about a hundred meters, but we covered the open grave with a wooden platform in order to protect the grave fill'!
Beamo
One day an eminent German professor appeared on site - the previous summer he had excavated a burial nearby and the radiocarbon dates had now shown that it too was Mesolithic - the best Meso burial in Germany. He had now returned to take environmental samples from the grave fill (should have done them at the time of excavation, but this was Germany).
'Marvellous' we said, 'where is the grave?' He pointed over towards the woods and said 'about a hundred meters, but we covered the open grave with a wooden platform in order to protect the grave fill'!
Beamo