2026 Day 7 - There's more than one way to swing a mattock

By Finch Neville, Visitor Assistant and undergraduate palaeontologist

Stifling hot again - whoever could have predicted that? Cynicism aside - at least we were not visited by the fire brigade again, thank goodness - it was a very pleasant, if perhaps quiet, day, with work continuing at an admirable rate. 

sally and neville hollingworth splitting nodules

Further nodules were steadily uncovered across the site; the original trench, recently having enjoyed the removal of its upper layer of clay, produced some excellent fish, ammonites, and other small fossils. Even though these finds are not as grand in dimension as the fantastic Saurostomus fossil that gives our 'Fishhead Farm' dig it's charming name, they are important in helping us deepen our understanding of the prehistoric environment we are unearthing, not to mention being visually attractive to those inclined towards a palaeontological predeliction.  

freddy the unofficial dig dog having a sunday afternoon nap

In the second trench, work continues to carefully reveal the entire bed of nodules, and, with every passing day, the area looks even better. I am most anticipatory for the time at which the bed is completely uncovered. Most of the team was working on that part of the site, which lent an air of quiet precision to the original trench. It was a good opportunity to discuss subjects of interest with my colleagues. They were most amenable to what, in retrospect, may have been approaching an excessive amount of information from myself about weevils.

Work continues to reveal nodules in the second trench

We were joined today by Dr Judyth Sassoon, a palaeobiologist affiliated with the University of Bristol who specialises in pliosaurs (a group of predatory marine reptiles with short necks and powerful, elongate jaws that existed during the Mesozoic). Having experts in their field is endlessly exciting, and Dr. Sassoon was fascinating to talk to about a broad range of fossiliferous topics. She also kindly offered to lend a hand in the excavations of trench one, a gesture that was much appreciated. 

I spent some of the afternoon using a mattock - a tool featuring an adze (curved blade) on one side of the head and a pick or axe blade on the other - to hack through the clay at the end of the original trench. Under the experienced direction of Mark Kemp, I helped to unearth several nodules. What did become plainly apparent is that there are a great many more ways to wield a mattock than I would expect; a versatile tool indeed, and absolutely crucial on a dig such as this. By the end of the dig I shall no doubt have been re-taught how to utilise it several times!

In the evening we had a delightfully entertaining quiz on matters palaeontological, dig specific, and cosmopolitan, put together by the wonderful Max and Alicia, as a wonderful antidote to the exertions of earlier. My compliments to them for such an enjoyable time; it was great fun, although I remain mildly disappointed at the manifest inadequacy of my etymological knowledge. 

The weather ought to be cooler tomorrow - exactly what one needs for a productive day of digging - so I have high hopes for the day. Until then, and as ever, stay tuned...