Tuesday 12 July 2011

Bone excavated from deposit above Stainton gravel beds.

These were found today over 2 metres into the river gravels
 Two of the bones join perfectly to the earlier proximal radius finds pictured below.
 Note the fractures, i believe the bones would have broken as the river gravels became more compact.
All images and information was immediately sent to Tees Archaeology and the fact that this is a large cervid radius and ulna found in this condition in ancient river gravels seems of little interest.

These bones were found over 2 metres into the tightly packed river gravels, i am now in no doubt that most of the other bones ive found in this areas deep cutting becks, were originally buried in these gravels before the becks cut through releasing them. I also now believe the beck causes the black staining and the bones that have spent the most time in the becks natural recent sediments, ie fresh organic waste are more likely to have the black coating.
I have at the present time no way of knowing how long it took the beck to cut through the  ancient river gravel layer so can't say how long this process takes. But bones found with the orange staining and concretions still attached have obviously been released from the river gravels more recently.