Tuesday 1 July 2008

Garden archaeology

(Click on photos to enlarge)

My lovely Rosa versicolor or should that be Rosa mundi? One and the same I think.. From what I remember, this rose was brought back from Damascus by returning Crusader knights. Hard to think of them as gardeners too . . .




I have been extending one of my borders and of course, there happen to be the footings of an old wall there, of which I have been excavating the back edge - needs must and all that. I have found some very fragile and thin pieces of glass. My husband suggested they are from the glass chimney of an oil lamp, which needed to be thin, but these are no thicker than my nail and surely would have broken just being handled regularly? Anyway, yesterday I found a harness mount which probably went on the browband and also part of an early clay pipe, stained black in places from the nicotine. It has a very small hole through the middle which means it is early - when tobacco was very expensive. It has a pretty little feather motif on the part of the bowl remaining.


Believe me, it extends MUCH further to the right than this!


"Small finds" - the little harness mount which was probably from a heavy horse bridle, and part of the bowl and stem of an early clay pipe.



The border planted up now with Verbascum "Rhubarb and Cream", a golden yellow Geum, soft primrose yellow Phygelius, and the big pot of raspberry-pink Penstemon.

4 comments:

Arlene G said...

It is neat to find artifacts. My grandfather and father often found artifacts from the Cherokee Indians when they plowed their fields.

nancy said...

These garden photos are awesome. I love your plantings. It's like a controlled wilderness.
It would probably take someone like you to recognize these stones for what they are. I'm afraid I wouldn't have. they are just big rocks to me. These artifact finds are simply amazing! Thank you so much for sharing them. Are you sure you want to move? :)
Nancy

Kelli said...

What a neat find, Jennie! Your border looks lovely, too!
~Kelli

Rhonda Jean said...

Hi Jennie, how exciting. I think you should give Phil a call. ;- )