Final Trench Summary

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Tesoro 33 was a rather productive trench.  A large number of artifacts was anticipated, and the stratigraphy down to Locus 5 was right in line with the other stratigraphy of the area.  What was not anticipated, however, was the confusing stratigraphy beneath Locus 5, and the slope to the east in the Locus 5 surface.

The slope in Locus 5 was very small, but in the adjacent trench of Tesoro 32 a slope to the west was much more dramatic.  This means that there is probably a drop in elevation of the Orientalizing strata between the two trenches.  Also worthy of not is the relative thinness of the Locus 5 "plaster layer" on the eastern side.  As has been speculated, this continues to confirm that the topography of the Orientalizing occupation was much more varied than that of the Archaic Period, and today.

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Locus 6, the brown layer of soil that is at the same elevation as the burn layer, was interesting at the least, but also quite a headache.  It appears to have been dug into the burn layer, because of the slope the burn layer into the brown soil.  The line of rocks at the bottom of this stratum looks suspiciously like a wall, although only excavations next year can confirm this.  Also, an apparent tile spread within Locus 6 in the eastern baulk wall is very strange.  These two features must be tracked next season to understand the topography of the area more fully.