Methodology

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Methodology

In T-82 the standard method of excavation will be as follows. Soil will be picked with the small end of a pickax, broken into clumps and sorted with trowels into buckets. The buckets will be removed from the trench and dumped at the dump site, located approximately 35 meters from the Northwestern corner of T-82, the same one from 2013. If the amount of material increases too much to pick safely, then trowels will be used to break up the soil.

Any roofing tile found will be counted in bowls with an approximate diameter of 30 cm and a maximum depth of 8 cm. Once counted and recorded these tiles shall be discarded in a dump used for previous excavations located approximately 17 meters from the western baulk. Any bulk ceramics or bone found will be counted on site and brought down to the magazzino in latte boxes, which are approximately 23x9x6 cm (~1 L), for further study.

If any special finds are uncovered their coordinates and elevation will be recorded in relation to the master grid of the site. A plumbbob will be held over the find and the distance from the trench boundaries will be measured at right angles in order to determine the N-S and E-W coordinates. The elevation will be obtained from a string, which is affixed to a datum on a tree 1 meter from the southwestern corner of the trench, at 27.19 mAE in relation to the origin. A line level will be attached to the string to level it as it is extended over the find, intersecting with a plumbbob line, held over the artifact. The elevation will then be measured with a hard tape.

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All coordinates are connected with the master grid established in 1991 (see TT I, p. 3 ). Special finds are then sketched into the trench book on site and then sent down to the magazzino at the end of the day in small boxes for cleaning, analysis, and possible cataloging.

Close attention will be paid to the soil during the excavation in T-82. Any changes in the soil will be noted in the trench book and the full extent of the new soil will be found, then a new locus will be declared, measured, photographed, and recorded. The cleaning of the baulk walls will occur periodically in order to keep them clean so the stratigraphy of the soil can be clearly seen.

It is important to note that methods may change as the excavation proceeds, as the types and amounts of material found as well as the geology and topography of the trench ultimately determine the best excavation approach and method. Any new method will be noted in the narrative.

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