We follow a standard method of work involving:

1. Marking out the area to be dug
2. Laying out a tarpaulin
3. Taking off top surface if a lawn
4. Removing spoil and examining the area exposed, and spoil, as we progress

In 2004 in Beechway, a householder went to bury a deceased cat, but when the hole was dug the soil started to run away further into the ground. A few weeks later, Blendon Archaeological and Historical Research Group turned up to investigate, and this led to the discovery of the Blendon Hall cellar.

We estimate that we shifted 4 tonnes of soil that day – and then had to put it back again.

More about the 2004 dig can be seen at September 2013: Discovery of the cellar in 2004.