T26 Conclusion

T26 was reopened in the 2023 excavation season with the following goals:

• To section through the plaster floor of OC2 to better understand the building techniques employed in OC2

• To excavate the stratigraphy under the plaster floor of OC2/Workshop to investigate earlier uses of the area preceding the construction of the building

• To further reveal the depression to the north of the floor surface revealed in 2019

• To determine the extent and composition of the tile fall to the north of OC2/Workshop

• To determine the nature and function of the small auxiliary stones of OC2/Workshop

• To uncover details that will clarify the chronology of the OC structures in relation to the EPOC structures

Many of these goals were met during the 2023 season. Excavation during the 2023 season focused on two main areas of investigation, layers to the north of the structure and layers beneath the floor surface of the OC2/Workshop. To the north of the OC2/Workshop, the depression running east to west along the northern edge of the floor surface that was revealed in 2019 was investigated. The tile fall, first found in 2022 (Locus 14) and removed in 2023 (Locus 24), was revealed to be resting on the upper surface of the depression and to extend down the depression's western slope. The depression is covered by a dark, heavily carbon-included soil that evinces the burning of the building and the surrounding plateau.

The depression was also found to continue eastward into the western extent of T103. In T103, excavation through the dark soil of the depression layer revealed that small stones, possibly cobbling, were lining both the depression and its upper surface. It was anticipated that the depression might run east to west along the northern edge of OC2/Workshop, but it was not in fact detected beyond T103. While it appears that the eastern extent of the depression was uncovered, the absence of the depression at the height anticipated suggests that the topography north of the building ungulates. It is possible that this depression does continue, just at a different elevation extending east to west. Further excavation is required to definitively determine the topographical situation. While the function of the depression located to the north of the building is not entirely clear, it is possible that it may have been intended to direct water shed from the roofing elements of the building away from the floor.

To the north of the building, the roofing tile fall (Locus 24) was fully revealed and removed after its documentation. The tile fall appears to have collapsed into the depression described above, with many of the roofing elements overturned in the process. The tile fall did not extend past the depression and only continued ca. 0.40 m eastward into the western extent of T103. It is not clear why a similar tile fall was not found in T103. The tile packing preserves courses of tiles, including five courses of pan tiles and three courses of cover tiles. Within the tile packing, 15 tiles preserving a full dimension were found. A full dimension pan tile (PC20230128), first revealed in 2022, was removed. The pan tile measured 0.80 m in length and 0.56 m in width and was sloping significantly downward from west to east. Another full length notched vitrified pan tile fragment with finger impressions and preserved slip (PC20230129) was found resting upside down on top of other pan tiles preserving a full dimension. Additional pan tiles preserving one full dimension were found (Special Find #55; 58; 67). Eleven full width cover tiles were found concentrated to the northeast of the preserved pan tiles (Special Find #22; 37; 38; 56; 57; 64; 65; 68; 69; 74; 75). These full width cover tiles will be conserved and cataloged in future seasons.

Two carbon deposits were found in T26. The first deposit (Locus 30) was located 0.65 m to the north of the OC2/Workshop structure. It is 1.22 m in length and varied in width between 0.12 and 0.16 m. The first deposit was divided into two sections and removed. The second deposit (Locus 37) measures 1.16 m in length. 0.15 m in width in its widest section, and 0.10 m wide in its narrowest extent. The two deposits were possibly a wooden beam, or beams, that burned during the destruction of the OC2/Workshop. Its close proximity to the roof tile fall, as well as the size and length of the beam, suggest that it may have been a component of the structure’s roof. The carbon awaits further analysis by a specialist to determine the species of wood and a possible date for the organic material.

The second area of investigation centered around a section beneath the OC2/Workshop floor (Loci 27 and 34). The plaster floor surface reaches a maximum depth of 0.10 m thick, but is thinner in the north than in the south due to the slope of the layer beneath the floor. Within the plaster floor surface, a rocchetto fragment was found along with fragments of pottery (PC20230066). The soil later immediately under the floor surface was dark brown in color and contained frequent inclusions of carbon.

Notably, the layer below the floor surface (Loci 28 and 35) contained more bucchero and fineware than any other area excavated in T26. One fine impasto body fragment with two inscribed letters was found (PC20230042) preserving one letter, “N”, and a segment of another letter, possibly “I”. The letter forms are typical of the earliest period of writing in Etruria and, due to the fragment's location under the OC2/Workshop floor, evidence that members of the Poggio Civitate community had adopted the alphabet before or around the middle of the 7th c. BCE. Other fragments of ceramics support this dating, such as a fine impasto fragment with a net pattern in the interior (PC20230043) and a fragment of Corinthian pottery (PC20230024). As they were found beneath the plaster floor, the ceramic finds predate the construction of the building and offer a clear stratigraphic sequence. The layer beneath the floor appears to have functioned as a leveling course constructed to overcome the preexisting topography in preparation for the creation of the plaster floor surface of OC2/Workshop.

Under this layer a reddish brown, highly compacted clay was revealed (Locus 32). It is possible that the color of the soil is a result of repeated exposure to high heat. Further excavation is needed to determine the nature of the reddish brown soil. Below the reddish brown clay, a compacted brown clay was revealed (Locus 36). Within this layer a fragment of coil-made pottery with braided decoration was found in the locus (PC20230130). The coil-made fragment likely dates to the early Orientalizing period given its position within the layers under those associated with the construction of the OC2/Orientalizing structure. Further excavation is needed, however, to confirm the dating of the layer.

While many of the goals for the 2023 season, especially those regarding components of the structure itself, were met, further excavation is needed to determine the extent of the depression found to the north of the building and to understand the function of the small auxiliary stones. Additionally, further excavation is needed to determine the possible relationship to the EPOC structures and if there might be earlier Iron Age deposits under the OC2/Workshop floor.