07.01.2007
For the first dig of the year we decided to travel to the Midlands for a go at a tip which had just become available. An early start meant that we were on site about 9:30 a.m. ready for action. There was signs of plenty of digging, and the tip seemed to be full of necked codds. Rumours were that a number of red lip codds had already come off.
The main drawback with the site was the fact that it was an industrial site which had been demolished, and the whole was covered in a good depth of concrete. To make matters worse, the day was turning increasingly wet, and we were soaked through before too long. The first impression we got when digging got underway was that the tip was full of clay pipes, unfortunately mostly plain.
We were joined by a couple of the Shropshire lads mid-morning, but even though a fair amount of ash was shifted during the day, finds remained very disappointing. Probably the best finds of the day were an early blob top Simms, Walsall mineral and a nice green boat ink, which seems to sum up the desparate lack of quality finds.
Some views of the site:
Some of the early finds:
The concrete capping can be clearly seen here:
The green Hollidge ink:
The Simms, Walsall early mineral: