Daily Log

43

June 9, 1980

Begining in quadrents AA-BB/gamma of the Agger Extension we move west to AA-BB 1 in order to reach the level of the west section of cut 2. At the east end of quadrent 1 we encounter the rock fall noted on friday and dig over it to clean and record it later.  The depth of this cut is ca. 20cm, then over the rocks 10cm.

The soil is dark with much orange and yellow matter, some plaster and tile, some bronze slag- including one large mass- and a half basket of pottery, mainly oragne impasto but including one orange fine sherd with parallel incisions. Note especially a large lump from AA-BB 0. For the rock fall see photo opposite page and p. 80 .

We contine shallow digging around the plaster unearthed in D3.  Spreading into D2 and E3. We find more plaster, now in scattered bits, and some charcoal and tile; also a hard white clayey material in small veins; finally a fair amount of pottery (ca. 1/5 carton) including some greyware.

Finds are a fragment of ivory or bone (#1) and one of carbonized, worked wood (#2). We open a new area of the Agger Extension cutting into the slope in quadrents EE-FF 0-2. Below the dark topsoil the earth is light and clayey and densely packed with stones. As size and density increace we stop.

These stones are in line with those noted at greater depths in cuts 1 and 2 of last week; but also with some rocks visible on the ground in the area excavated to the north and in the face of that trench as well.  Perhaps these form a secondary wall or rock embankment. In order to expose the face of this formation and determine wheater or not it is a wall, we begain a cut in quadrents DD 0-1 to dig north alongside the rocks.

Square at the division between DD and EE1 we encounter (strike and break) the base of a large pot upsidedown in the earth. As we begin to excavate around its body rain halts work for the morning. In general this cut brings an increaced proportion of fine and bucchero sherds, but coarse adn impasto still predominate.

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