Weekly Trench Summary

Week 4

Area F

Trench 21

June 11, 2005

J. Nijhowne

We returned to work on this trench on Monday June 6. since there was no apparent features other than the wall locus 1, we decided to take the trench down in 25 cm arbitrary loci. Our goal was to quickly remove the overlying matrix to within 50 cm of the floor found in the eastern baulk of F6. The first arbitrary locus was locus 2. This matrix is hard and compact. Visible on the surface at this point was an intact base sherd. We excavated it first so we wouldn’t break it by walking on it. As we worked around it, it became apparent it was a whole vessel and when we turned it over, another whole vessel was inside it. We proceeded to excavate locus 2 with big picks, leveled the trench and then took off the next arbitrary locus, locus 3. Again this was done with picks. At the bottom of locus 3 we found a surface, locus 4. It was not clear whether it was associated with the wall, locus 1. We removed the wall and it was clear that the floor did not go underneath the wall but was associated with the wall.

After we removed the floor we did two more large pick passes to remove the next arbitrary locus, locus 5. We discovered a large, sandy area in the middle of the trench which turned out to be a circular pit, locus 6. In the pit which we excavated with trowels, we found a large broken pot lying on its side. At the base of it was a skeleton probably of a small child. We covered the matrix so it could be fine screened at the beginning of next week.