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Friday, 29 July 2022

AM

We began the day by starting to excavate Locus 39, the dark gray, charcoal-rich deposit that underlay Locus 37, EPOC4’s plaster-rich floor. We are excavating Locus 39 in order to expose the underlying olive-colored, mottled, claylike deposit of Locus 31 or the cut into Locus 35, exposed yesterday. We are excavating using handpicks and trowels and are hand-sorting soil in the trench; the first four buckets of soil will be collected as samples for flotation. The soil of Locus 39 is dark gray in color, due to the presence of charcoal, and is loose in texture and compaction; it is equivalent to Locus 38. We are recovering high quantities of materials associated with metallurgy, especially slag. We also recovered a crucible fragment (Find #168). Additionally, we are recovering moderate quantities of pottery and vitrified terracotta and smaller quantities of bone.

As we excavate Locus 39, we are removing the dark gray, charcoal-rich deposit and exposing the underlying olive-colored, mottled, claylike compacted deposit of Locus 31. Locus 39 is shallow in the eastern meters and deeper in the western meters; we already have exposed the underlying Locus 31 deposit in the eastern meters of the locus. Here, we also have exposed more of the cut into Locus 35, exposed and defined yesterday. The cut continues to run linearly from NNE to SSW and seem to continue underneath EPOC4’s southern foundation wall. The cut into Locus 35 also continues to be infilled by the Locus 31 deposit.

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We are continuing to recover exceptionally high quantities of materials associated with metallurgy, especially slag. We also are recovering high quantities of vitrified terracotta, moderate quantities of coarseware ceramics, and small quantities of bone, tile, and plaster. Specifically, we have recovered five crucible fragments (Finds #170, 173, 174, 177, 178), a tile fragment with adhered slag (Find #169), a large slag fragment (Find #176), a cow vertebra fragment (Find #171), a tooth (Find #172), and a diagnostic bone fragment (Find #175). We also recovered a ridged impasto rim (Find #179).

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Special Finds

Find #168

• Locus 39
• 106.62E/45.12S
• 26.25m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

Find #169

• Locus 39
• 107.03E/45.25S
• 26.17m A.E.
• Tile with adhered slag

Find #170

• Locus 39
• 106.65E/45.36S
• 26.22m A.E.
• Crucible fragments

Find #171

• Locus 39
• 107.68E/46.14S
• 26.23m A.E.
• Cow vertebra fragment

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Find #172

• Locus 39
• 106.96E/45.42S
• 26.21m A.E.
• Tooth

Find #173

• Locus 39
• 106.86E/45.39S
• 26.20m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

Find #174

• Locus 39
• 106.99E/45.23S
• 26.16m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

Find #175

• Locus 39
• 106.70E/45.09S
• 26.20m A.E.
• Diagnostic bone

Find #176

• Locus 39
• 106.71E/45.40S
• 26.17m A.E.
• Slag

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Find #177

• Locus 39
• 107.08E/45.47S
• 26.17m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

Find #178

• Locus 39
• 107.55E/46.12S
• 26.11m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

Find #179

• Locus 39
• 107.64E/45.41S
• 26.20m A.E.
• Ridged rim

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PM

We continued working in Locus 39, removing the charcoal-rich soil of Locus 39 to expose the compacted, olive-colored, mottled surface of Locus 31. We have exposed the compacted surface of Locus 31 across nearly the entire locus. There are a few larger pieces of coarseware that seem to be lying atop or embedded in the surface of Locus 31, and many are lying flat. Additionally, in the westernmost extent of Locus 39, we have exposed an especially charcoal-rich concentration that lies at the same elevation as the surface of Locus 31. This appears to continue into Locus 31, connecting with the charcoal-rich concentration identified in 2019, located along the western edge of Locus 31.

Now that we have excavated down to the same elevation as the surface of Locus 31, we will scrape down and sweep Locus 39, to better reveal the charcoal concentration, material culture lying atop or embedded in the surface, and the surface itself. While removing the last of the Locus 39 deposit, we recovered two crucible fragments (Finds #181, 183), an antler fragment (Find #180), and a large fragment of slag preserving a curved surface, perhaps from a crucible (Find #182), along with a tooth fragment (Find #184).

We ended the day by taking photos of the trench for photogrammetry.

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Special Finds

Find #180

• Locus 39
• 107.75E/46.30S
• 26.12m A.E.
• Antler fragments

Find #181

• Locus 39
• 106.97E/45.78S
• 26.15m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

Find #182

• Locus 39
• 106.76E/45.37S
• 26.21m A.E.
• Slag with preserved curve

Find #183

• Locus 39
• 107.59E/46.79S
• 26.07m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

Find #184

• Locus 389
• 107.73E/45.27S
• 26.19m A.E.
• Tooth

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Locus 39

• Tile and plaster: ½ bowl
• Pottery: 96 sherds
• Bone: 20 fragments
• Slag: 225 fragments
• Vitrified terracotta: 78 fragments

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