Introduction

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Introduction:

In 1991, a baseline was established in the process of creating a master grid for the site. In the process, several irregular stone formations were found in the Civitate B area. The excavations provided evidence suggesting that these formations had once been tombs that had been looted, possibly in antiquity (see TT I).

During the 1992 and 1996 excavation seasons, two of these formations provided evidence that strongly indicated archaic pit burials (see EN IV and JAL I). Material recovered in these trenches was minimal, this conclusion is based on the material included and the intentional, unnatural shaping of the rock formations.

In 2005, two trenches were opened in Civitate B: CB 33 and CB 34 were excavated over outcroppings of stone that appeared similar to those in the 1992 and 1996 seasons. While evidence implied that the formation in CB 34 was not natural, no evidence was found to support that hypothesis that it served a funerary function.

Trench CB 36 will be excavated in an area of Civitate B in which a concentration of surface rocks and a minimal scatter of surface tile was located. It is the goal of the 2010 season to:

1. Help better understand the formation of the rocks seen on the surface.

2. Clarify the stratigraphy and topography of the area.

3. Recover datable material from a secure context within the archaeological matrix.

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