The 10th season of excavating began in April and immediately got off to an extremely exciting start. One of the first finds was a tiny inverted pot containing an infant cremation and dating to the Middle Bronze Age and strangely enough, one of the last finds of the year was another infant cremation.

The Middle Bronze Age predominated with some spectacular features and finds. Settlement activity was uncovered and consisted of a series of ditches and pits together with a hut and postholes. Excavation revealed that when the hut went out of use, there had been a 'closing' ceremony, the highlight of which had been the deposition of a complete bronze bracelet on the base of a deep pit. The pit also contained large quantities of pottery, the pots were in the local 'Deveril-Rimbury' tradition, and many were finely decorated including a very large 'feasting' pot.

Two other pits were in close proximity, one had been dug as a quarry pit to extract gravel, which was subsequently burnt and discarded. Further large amounts of pottery were recovered from the top of the quarry pit. As time went by, the hut was forgotten and field ditches were cut across the site, two in the Iron Age and one in the early Roman period. The 'hut' site took four months to excavate and was the most complicated piece of fieldwork the team had tackled.

Other contemporary features were scattered over the field. However, one was of particular interest. This small pit only 0.35m in diameter contained thirteen baked clay loom weights and the smashed remains of two pots.

Two areas of Roman iron working were identified; this industrial process had left behind the base of a furnace and huge quantities of slag. Most unexpected was a feature dated by pottery to the late 6th century. This round pit contained large amounts of burnt heathstone and limestone; one of the stones was a broken rotary quern.

For the first time Saxon features were identified; interestingly they all produced Roman AND Saxon pottery as well as iron nails. The pottery was identified as 9th - 11th century in date.

Those involved:

• Aggregate Industries: Phil Harris (Area Manager), Ian Lanyon (Estates Manager), David Searle (Quarry Manager), Mike Cluett (Quarry Foreman)
• W&DA&LHS & Other Volunteers Lilian Ladle, Carol O'Hara, Janet Bartlet, John and Pat Bithell, Sara Grayson, Steve and Corinne Bungay, Richard Dyer, Mervyn Christopher, David Parry, John Oswin, Martin Green, David Bennett and Eric Gibbons
• Work Experience Suzanne McNee (Ferndown Upper School), Charlotte and Elizabeth Bithell (Wilton Middle and First Schools)
• Undergraduate Student Placements Paul Armour, Virginia Vargo, Justin Travers (Bournemouth University), Trevor Hendes (Southampton University), Georgina Wooley (Exeter University)
• Post-Graduate Students James Taylor, Anna Burgess (Exeter University), Debbie Day (Oxford University), Brett Weaver, Sue Churchill (Bournemouth University)
• Metal Detectorists Ken Wheatley, Mike Ladle
• Consultants Peter Cox (AC Archaeology), Dr Ann Woodward (Birmingham University), Peter Bellamy (Terrain Archaeology), Prof. David Hinton (Southampton University), Duncan Brown (Southampton Museum), Daniel Ladle (Internet Programmer and IT)