Archaeological Anniversary

[Curator Kid]

I'm disappointed in this thread. Surely you consultants out there should have been jealously guarding Eggbasket's budget for him, and recommending that he went for the markedly cheaper Biscuit option?

[1man1desk]

Just as long as the cheap biscuit option meets the spec agreed with the curator and wears all the right PPE.

1man1desk

to let, fully furnished

[eggbasket]

I wrote the spec and agreed it with the relevant monitoring bodies. We agreed that hot chocolate fudge cake with chocolate sauce was the appropriate mitigation strategy and that the methodology should include rapid consumption of the cake. Naturally, I wore the appropriate PPE (a pelican bib) and ensured that my tools were deployed in a sensible and safe manner.

Cheers,
Eggbasket

Don't have a stegosaurus, man.

[Curator Kid]

Surely the rapid consumption of 25-50% of the cake would've given an adequate sample of it's taste and composition? I long for the day when a spec recommending 100% cake consumption comes my way for approval.

[troll]

Don`t forget that in reality, you can only look at 3% of the cake and even then, only taste 50% of that 3%......buy more cake!!!!

[eggbasket]

quote:Originally posted by Curator Kid

Surely the rapid consumption of 25-50% of the cake would've given an adequate sample of it's taste and composition? I long for the day when a spec recommending 100% cake consumption comes my way for approval.

The original spec only called for a 50% sample of the cake, which was fortunately wholly within the consumption area. However, after the initial sampling, it was considered to be a significant cake and it was agreed between the consumers and the monitoring bodies that the whole cake should be sampled.

Eggbasket

Don't have a stegosaurus, man.

[destroyer]

So do we have to now wait 6 months for a detailed report, perhaps as a paper in a regional baking publication? I would certainly like to see, in the short term, an interim report upon the composition of the cake and the quality of its baking - with possible recommendations for further study.... I personally am prepared to voulunteer for further fieldwork

[Curator Kid]

I'd also strongly recommend some reconstructive work based on the environmental samples. Possibly even the prompt issue to the wider community of some interim buns based on the same recipe if it was that significant.

[muddyandcold]

Congratulations eggy.... Until now I had blanked out how long I have spent in this glorious profession but upon reflection, I started in 1984 (Oooh heck, how depressing), on wage of ?42.50 (accomadation was provided)

Now in the future, crumbling joints, empty bank balance, no pension i wonder whhy I didn't become an accountant.....

Money can't buy that feeling of satisfaction of neatly cleaned stiff, section or feeling tiredness after digging the mother of all ditches...

Maybe soft in the head .... but once it bites you......

[eggbasket]

The cake, the whole cake and nothing but the cake - an interim report

We have now begun proper analysis of the consumption of the cake and have determined that it may not be as unique as initially thought. However, this will have to await analysis of the cake residues and the fudge sauce residues. In the meantime we have determined that the cake was approximately 30cm in diameter and consisted of 4 layers, examination of which was hindered by flooding with fudge sauce. This means that the stratigraphy of the cake was difficult to see. However, we are fairly convinced at this stage that the cake construction was a single event comprising the initial placing of a soft, moderately friable dark brown (10YR2/2) sponge base on a solid foundation of cake stand. A sponge top was cemented to the sponge base with a soft dark brown chocolate cream layer and the whole structure was plastered with hard dark brown chocolate icing, producing a rather pleasing aesthetic effect. Current theories about the cake suggest that it may have been an indicator of status, or possibly a territorial boundary. We are now looking for parallels with which to compare the cake and shall be conducting further research into the subject. Our Danish pastry specialist has suggested that further research should include a control group of cinnamon swirls against which we can measure the results of the cake analysis. If anyone can suggest sources of research funding for this project, we would be very grateful.

Cheers,
Eggbasket

Don't have a stegosaurus, man.