1. 11-13

Methodology

The primary purpose of the excavation and recording procedures that follow is to accurately describe and record the stratigraphy of the area being explored. In order to do this the general principle will be to investigate each stratum separately. Each stratum, along with other features and deposits/cuts will be designated as a separate ‘locus’. For each locus, the dimensions and detailed description of the material culture will be recorded.

In order to remove the materials that make up each stratum a variety of excavation techniques will be employed. The primary intended method of excavation for VT17 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. However, depending on what is uncovered in VT17, the methods of excavation may change, as the trench and the remains found in it, dictate the method of excavation.

Terracotta roofing tiles and plaster will be counted by bowls. The bowl used for counting these materials has 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 will be established approximately 10m south of the trench. Pottery and bone will be counted individually and sorted into cartons.

For any special finds recovered from the trench, coordinates and elevations will be taken. These will be based from the Vescovado grid system from known X,Y, and Z values. Further information in Trench Layout on the following page.