Methodology

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The intended method of excavation in CB-53 will be to break up soil using the pointed end of a pick axe. For strata that contain an abundance of material, soil will be removed in the trench using trowels and sorted while in the trench directly into buckets.

If the amount of material is too great to pick axe, then trowels will be used to break up the soil. Depending on what is uncovered in CB-53, however, the methods of excavation may change, as the trench and the remains found in it dictate the method of excavation.

A dirt dump for discarding all excavated soil from CB-53 will be established downhill to the southwest, about fifteen meters away from CB-53. It is a shared dump with CB-52, CB-54, CB-55, CB-56, and CB-57.

Terra cotta roofing tiles and plaster will be counted by bowls. The bowls used for counting these artifacts have a diameter of 36cm and a maximum depth of 10cm. Once tile and plaster have been counted they will be discarded in a tile dump, which is established downhill to the southwest, about fifteen meters away from CB-53. It is a shared dump with CB-52, CB-54, CB-55, CB-56, and CB-57.

Pottery and bone will be grouped separately in latte boxes. Pottery and bone will be counted individually and brought down from the hill in latte boxes. Latte boxes have the approximate depth of 23cm, length of 9cm, and width of 6 cm.

For any special finds recovered from the trench, coordinates and elevations will be taken. In order to determine the coordinates, a plumb bob will be held over the location of the special find, and then the distance from two of the perpendicular baulk walls will be determined by extending a tape measure at a right angle from the string of the plumb bob to the string marking the boundaries of the trench.

In order to determine the elevation of special finds, once again a plumb bob will

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be held over the find spot of the special find. Simultaneously, a string with a line level will be attached to a fixed datum point and will be pulled taut and level, so that it intersects with the string of the plumb bob. A tape measure will be held so that it runs parallel to the string of the plumb bob, and the elevation relative to the datum point may then be determined. As the absolute elevation of the datum point is known, the absolute elevation of the special find may be calculated using the found relative elevation.

Because CB-53 is being simultaneously excavated in open excavation with its neighboring trenches, the excavation methods will additionally be coordinated with these trenches.

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