Methodology

The intended method of excavation in T108 is as follows. Soil will be broken up using a pickaxe, then removed from the trench by being shoveled into buckets, and sifted by hand into wheelbarrows. If more delicate features are encountered, then hand picks, trowels, and/or leaf trowels will be used to break up the soil, which will be sifted into buckets and removed from the trench. Loci will be used to distinguish discrete events in the creation of the archaeological record, with new soil types, architectural features, and significant changes in the materials recovered warranting the creation of new loci. Any changes in soil type, artifacts types, quantities, or the appearance of features will be noted in the trench book and a new locus will be defined, measured, photographed, and recorded. The baulk walls will be trimmed regularly in order to gain a better understanding of stratigraphy present in the soil. A dirt dump for discarding all soil excavated from T108 is established approximately 6 meters to the north of the area of excavation. A rock dump for discarding the larger stones removed from T108 is established approximately 3 meters to the west of the area of excavation. Terracotta roofing tiles will be counted in bowls (bottom diameter 18cm, top diameter 25cm, height 10cm). Once tile has been counted by volume at the end of every day, it will be discarded in a tile dump which is established approximately 12 meters to the southwest of the area of excavation. Pottery and bone will be collected, counted, recorded and saved separately as bulk finds in latte boxes. Latte boxes vary in size, however, things stored in latte boxes during the field day are ultimately sorted and tallied by piece count. Vitrified terracotta, slag, and amorphous iron will be recorded as special finds until more than 5 of each object is found, after which they will also be collected in bulk and counted at the end of each day. For special finds recovered during hand sorting into buckets, the coordinates and elevations will be recorded. In order to determine the coordinates of a special find, a plumb bob will be held over the location of it, 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 up to the string marking the trench boundaries. In order to determine the elevation of special finds, once again a plumb bob will be held over the find spot of the special find. Simultaneously, a string with a line level attached to a fixed datum point 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 plumb bob string, and the elevation relative to the datum point may then be determined. As the absolute elevation of the datum point is known to be at 28.86 m AE, the absolute elevation of the special find may be calculated using the found relative elevation. Special finds then are sketched in the trench book on-site and are sent to the magazzino to be cleaned, analyzed, and cataloged. Any artifacts selected from bulk materials for cataloging will be recorded as supplemental finds. Excavation methods may change throughout the course of the season, as the types and amounts of materials found, along with the geology and topography of the trench will ultimately determine the best excavation method. In the case that such changes do occur, our methods will be adjusted as a means of accommodating the conditions present.