Daily Log

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Thursday, June 28, 2007

AM

As the trench was prepared for the closing of Locus 2 and the opening of Locus 3 , closing elevations for Locus 2 /opening elevations for Locus 3 were taken:

• NW corner: 82cm b.d. (27.37m A.E.)
• NE corner: 80cm b.d. (27.39m A.E.)
• Center: 95cm b.d. (27.24m A.E.)
• SE corner: 91cm b.d. (27.28m A.E.)
• SW corner: 92cm b.d. (27.27m A.E.)

Closing photos for Locus 2 /opening photos for Locus 3 were taken.

Work began in Locus 3 by removing the concentration of tiles in the northwest portion of the trench.  This was done using trowels, with the soil being sorted directly into buckets.

Diagram of trench

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While the tiles were being lifted from the northwest corner, a cover tile with finger impressions (Find #!) and a covertile with a possible partial letter impressed into it (Find #2) were recovered.

After the tiles were lifted, it was decided to begin a pick pass, starting in the northern half of the trench.  Soil is grayish-brown and flaky and contains much material, significantly more than in previous loci.  As only ancient material has been recovered, it appears that this is the first truly ancient stratum that will be excavated.  Soil continues to be shovelled into buckets and sorted over the wheelbarrow.  During this half a pick pass, during which the northern portion of the trench was picked, a pan tile with an impressed arc (Find #3), a possible loomweight fragment (Find #4), and an incised, decorated buchero or buccheroid fragment (Find #5) were recovered.  When the southern portion of the trench was picked, a piece of strange terracotta with one curved side (Find #6) was found.

After this pick pass was cleaned, a pick pass was begun in the northern half of the trench again.  The soil in teh northern poirtion of the trench began to appear to be mottled, with many inclusions of terracotta,

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although there still appears to be patches of galestra-like soil as well.  During this pick pass, another odd, curved piece of terracotta (Find #7) was recovered.

Finds

• Find #1
• Locus 3
• 52.115S/194.61E
• 96cm b.d.
• Covertile with finger impressions

• Find #2
• Locus 3
• 52.90S/194.57E
• 99cm b.d.
• Covertile with possible letter fragment

• Find #3
• Locus 3
• 52.755S/196.415E
• 106cm b.d.
• Pantile with curved impression

20070014

20070014

• Find #4
• Locus 3
• 52.33S/194.72E
• 27.25m A.E.
• Loomweight fragment
• Drawing

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20070016

20070016

• Find #5
• Locus 3
• Wheelbarrow find: between 52-53S/195-196E
• Approximately 27.255m A.E.
• Inscised bucchero fragment
• Drawing

• Find #6
• Locus 3
• 54.69S/195.175E
• 98.6cm b.d.
• Odd terracotta

• Find #7
• Locus 3
• 53.384S/194.995E
• 96.2cm b.d.
• Odd terracotta

PM

Work began with a shallow pick pass of the southern half of the trench.  Like in the northern portion of the trench, the gray, flaky, galestra-like soil of Locus 3 seems to be very thin; below this Locus 3 soil, a brown, slightly mottled soil that seems clay-like in texture underlies the Locus 3 soil.  Soil from this pick pass is sorted directly in the trench, rather than shovelled into the wheelbarrow, due to the higher concentration of materials and the changing soil types.  Once this pick pass was cleaned up, baulk walls were trimmed in preparation for the closing of the galestra-like Locus 3 and the opening of the mottled Locus 4 .

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Locus 3

• Tile and plaster: 4.5 bowls
• Pottery: 49 sherds
• Bone: 11 pieces

Baulk Trim

• Tile and plaster: 1/3 bowl
• Pottery: 1 sherd
• Bone: 1 piece

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