Wednesday, 25 July 2018

AM

Excavation of Locus 5 continued this morning.

NW: 27.18 m. A.E.

NE: 27.14 m. A.E.

SE: 27.11 m. A.E.

SW: 27.08 m. A.E.

A full pick was thrown in the east pulling west because although mottled, the soil in this section is lighter and comprised of many small rocks. A pick will be done again to see if the soil becomes darker similar to the soil in the western extent of the trench. It was decided yesterday after work that the larger pieces of carbon would be avoided and set aside for the floatation team. Once the dirt from the pick was cleared it was decided to define around the rocks and level the trench in tandem with the defining. The soil is still mottled and contains within little to no materials-very little architectural tile, pottery, or bone. The soil continues to be full of plaster, terracotta, and carbon inclusions. At this point, the level of the trench is approximately 8 centimeters from the base of the trench. Definition of the rocks and leveling of the floor continued until lunch.

PM

Post-lunch, the defining of the large rocks currently present in Locus 5 continued. The soil continues to be mottled, full of plaster, terracotta, and carbon inclusions. Once the level of the trench was taken down to the base of the stones, they were drawn on millimeter paper and photographed. The stones were drawn as accurately as possible using tape measures to ascertain the actual dimensions of the rocks and their physical position within the trench. While clearing the soil, a small piece of agate was found.

Special Find #19: Agate

Coordinates: 170.83 E/ 50.60 S

Elevation: 27 m. A.E.

Shortly after, a tooth was found.

Special Find #20: Tooth

Coordinates: 170.85 E/ 50.79 S

Elevation: 27 m. A.E.

Shortly after, a sherd of ridged pottery was found.

Special Find #21: Ridged pottery sherd

Coordinates: 171.24 E/ 51.47 S

Elevation: 27.04 m. A.E.

Because of the small agate that was found, the sieve will be used to sort the rest of the dirt. The sieve will be placed over the wheelbarrow and sorted there.

Closing Elevations:

NW: 26.99 m. A.E.

NE: 27.05 m. A.E.

SE: 27.07 m. A.E.

SW: 27.03 m. A.E.

Daily Totals:

Architectural Terracotta: 1/5 bowl

Pottery Sherds: 91

Bone Fragments: 19