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New Archaeology Number One

Daniel W. (aka the Badger Man of day 1) provides an account of his day AND the next Christmas number one:

The sun edging through my not-properly-closed-blinds woke me. Startled I moved sharply, but I quickly regretted it. My muscles still sore from the sharp introduction to hard manual labour fought back keeping me rigid in bed but as I rolled over thinking of having an extra 10 minutes I saw the time. Again in near shock I moved again instantly regretting my decision, but this time I knew I had to ignore the stiffness and get moving. As I rushed through town, thinking about what awaited me, I glanced upwards to the sky hoping that yesterday’s rain wouldn’t be repeated; I was already running out of suitable clothes.


Surprised by my quickness I arrived in time, even with some to spare. I could have had that extra donut: “oh well” I thought as I took a wheelbarrow off Uncle Simon and began heading towards our site, which this morning resembled what I thought might make a good swimming pool with a suitable diving platform from the spoil heap.

I pulled out my trowel. Well, I say mine, inspired by Indiana Jones I raided a tomb that was in effect my housemate’s bedroom, but regardless of the rights and wrongs ‘Tiberius’ was ready and itching to go but Mike said: “Group A are doing photography”. Although I was interested in doing something different I could feel Tiberius’ spirit dying in my hand, but I didn’t care. Throwing him away with less enthusiasm than this morning I picked up a camera.

As I listen I was thinking - “this is easy” - but upon trying the first photo shot I felt my confidence and blasé attitude suddenly diminish and my ears prick up as our first angle didn't work. Yet as I stood there thinking my housemate does photography for a degree - how hard can it actually be - we start trying different positions. I begin feeling better as some of the shots began to work. Wide zoom, close zoom, angled, flat, we began reeling them off, it getting steadily easier to choose the appropriate angle for the features we were photographing. But although it was enjoyable my eye began flicking towards Tiberius, carelessly strewn on the floor, and I felt guilty about my treatment of him earlier but he would have to wait until after the first tea break.

Break came along with the football, but that was not going to stop Tiberius. I whipped him up off the floor, apologised and got on my knees. Fingers twitching I begin cleaning mud, although as I thought about it scraping away I began to think of the irony of it all, but the irony just kept me chuckling as I scraped away. I sat in the middle in a row of five, but I realised that as luck was the residue of design, I had not designed my place well, as the finds began trickling in around me and all I found was slate. I grew rueful but that just made my scraping faster, but it appeared I had found the bottom of the barrel and I just couldn’t find a new barrel.

Dan finds ... slate.

As the mud miraculously got cleaner, well, cleaned back at any rate, and my castle towers on top of the spoil heap multiplied, the day began drawing to an end. I was less muddy than the first day but still somehow being covered in more mud then everyone else combined. I trudged back my wheelbarrow filled with buckets before walking home singing to a hot and steamy shower.

And the song was....

Love, Is A Burning Thing
And It Makes A Fiery Dig
Bound By Wild Desire
I dug down to the Roman road

I dug down to the Roman road beneath
I dug Down, Down, Down
And The mud Went Higher
And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The trowling down
The trowling down

The Taste Of Mud Is Sweet
When Trowels Like Ours Meet
I Dug For You Like A Child
Oh,But The Roman Road Went Wild

I dug down to the Roman road beneath
I dug Down, Down, Down
And The mud Went Higher
And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Roman Road
The Roman Road


Love Is A Burning Thing
And It Makes A Fiery Dig
Bound By Wild Desire
I dug down to the Roman road beneath

I dug down down down to the roman road beneath
And The mud Went Higher Higher Higher
My hearts desire
My hearts desire

By Daniel “Johnny Cash” W.



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