10 July 2023

AM:

Excavation in the morning began in Locus 1 along the east baulk where it remained unexcavated. Soil, sunbaked, compact, and brown, was loosened with hand picks and hand sorted into buckets. There were frequent inclusions of plaster, including vitrified plaster and plaster with reed impressions, some tile and pottery, and a couple pieces of bone. As the areas along the south and east baulks were scraped, the dark brown carbon included soil that was discovered in the southwest corner on Friday July 7 was revealed to extend roughly halfway across the trench until it met the pinkish, plaster included soil in the north.

In the northeast corner a section of the workshop/OC2 floor of compact plaster was uncovered measuring c. 0.50m x 0.20m. About half a meter after it ends another section of degrading/collapsing floor, about 0.50m x 0.30m in size, was uncovered. The large stone in the southeast corner of the trench was further defined. Another stone, a third of its size, was found resting between it and the collapsing section of floor.

The western 2m narrower portion of the trench was levelled with hand picks. There, the plaster included pinkish soil was uncovered in a thin (c. 10cm) strip along the north baulk. South of it and extending all the way to the 66S gridline, a light brown compact clay soil was uncovered with fairly frequent small to medium sized stone inclusions, a few tiles on the surface, and almost nothing else. A few pieces of a larger burnt bone fragment; however, were uncovered in that southwest corner. Some of it still remains in the ground. Since every portion of Locus 1 had come down on a new different layer, it was decided to close Locus 1 and open the three new layers as separate loci. 

The light brown compact clay with stone inclusions in the west is to be declared Locus 2 and the dark brown carbon included layer along the south baulk is to be declared Locus 3. As it was revealed just across the west baulk in T26 that the plaster included pinkish soil continues at a lower elevation under the light brown compact clay, the opening of that locus is to be delayed until that soil is excavated and the plaster included layer is revealed more fully. In preparation for the opening of new loci and the closing photos of Locus 1, the baulk walls of the trench were straightened, the roots were clipped, and the trench was swept.

During sweeping a highly vitrified ceramic fragment was recovered and recorded as special find 2.

1. F. 2

Locus 1

179.23E/64.88S

26.58m AE

Vitrified ceramic fragment

PM:

Locus 1 closing Elevations and Coordinates

NW: 26.76m AE 177E/64S

NE: 26.62m AE 182E/64S

SE: 26.73m AE 182E/67S

SW1: 26.75m AE 179E/67S

SW2: 26.81m AE 179E/66S

SW3: 26.80m AE 177E/66S

Locus 2 was opened as the compact light brown clay with stone and some tile inclusions in the southwest corner of the trench. It is roughly in the shape of a triangle with one curved side. It measures 1.80m along the western baulk, 1.43m along the more northern southern baulk and c. 2.20m along the curve between.

Locus 2 Opening Elevations and Coordinates:

NW: 177E/64.20S 26.75m AE

SE: 178.43E/66S

SW: 177E/66S

Munsell: 2.5Y 4/4 olive brown

Locus 3 was opened as the carbon included soil, very dark brown-gray, roughly forming a rectangle in the southeast portion of the trench. It measures about 2m x 3m. 

Locus 3 Opening Elevations and Coordinates:

NW: 179.30E/65S 26.79m AE

NE: 182E/65.04S 26.71m AE

SE: 182E/67S 26.64m AE

SW: 179E/67S 26.75m AE

Munsell: 10YR 4/2 dark grayish brown

Locus 1 Daily Bulk Totals:

15 terracotta/tile: 0.5 bowl

16 pottery: 22

17 bone: 12

18 plaster: 2 bowls

19 VTC: 1

20 vitrified plaster: 40

21 plaster with reed impressions: 13