Why history is a load of old rubbish
All about stratigraphy (and useful rubbish)
Identify as many items as you can. Does the rubbish represent a healthy diet? What different materials can you spot? Are any of the materials organic? Which materials would decompose fastest if this rubbish was buried in the ground for hundreds of years? © Canterbury Archaeological Trust Ltd.
In this bin, each layer represents one day’s rubbish. On which day was the last rubbish put in? On which day was the first rubbish put in? Which day has the oldest rubbish? © Canterbury Archaeological Trust Ltd.
Which layer is the most recent? Which layer is the oldest? © Canterbury Archaeological Trust Ltd.
Which layer is the most recent? Which layer is the oldest? Find the rubbish pit dug by somebody in medieval times. See how the pit has cut down through a Saxon floor and a Roman road beneath this. The pit is full of jumbled up bits of building and objects from medieval, Saxon and Roman times. © Canterbury Archaeological Trust Ltd.
The stacks of square tiles (pila tiles) are part of the hypocaust of a bathhouse. Which period of the past have the archaeologists dug down to? What do you think has made the big hole in the middle of the stacks of tiles? PICTURE 3 will give you a clue. What equipment can you see that archaeologists use? What other ancient building material can you see? © Canterbury Archaeological Trust Ltd.