Before we get into the thick of it with this piece, I would first like you to picture a scene. Imagine a slightly unremarkable field surrounded by low stone walls on the outskirts of a small village in the Scottish Borders. It's autumn. It's cold. It's raining and it's windy. There is a small group made-up of what appear to be a ragtag bunch of muddy schoolchildren, some teenagers wearing outsized waterproofs and a group of adults looking similarly dishevelled.
From a distance, they all appear to be looking into a hole in the field. The muddiness of all present suggests they may have just dug that hole and found something very interesting inside it. Given the weather, the time of year, the temperature, and the fact that day was drawing to an end, further suggests that whatever it is must be very interesting indeed. I think it's only fair to ask who these people are what are they doing. What is it that's so interesting they're willing to ignore the uncomfortable conditions and remain so completely captivated? I'll tell you.
This group of people were engaged in an archaeological excavation of a little known medieval castle dating from the 14th century. There is very little above ground - some lumps and bumps, some dents and some divots and with the creative imaginative eye, it is possible to detect the outline of half of this castle, the other half having been quite comprehensively ploughed away and robbed out for the stone (the nearby village is quite literally built from the castle).
The large group is made up of some schoolchildren from local primary and secondary schools, there are some teenagers from an organisation supporting youth and transitions into work, and the adults are professional archaeologists and the ever present and ever so necessary volunteers found on nearly every archaeological dig.
