Daily Log

73

Tuesday, 8 July, 2008

AM

A new locus, Locus 12 , was opened in the SW corner of the trench, where mottled soil identical to the soil of Locus 11 still remains after the sounding of the western-most meters were completed in 2007.

Diagram of trench

Opening photos and elevations were taken.

Opening Elevations: Locus 12

• 53.50S/194E: 26.08m A.E.
• 53.50S/195E: 26.01m A.E.
• 55S/195E: 26.12m A.E.
• 55S/194E: 26.23m A.E.

Locus 12 is opened in order to expose the heavily carbon-rich, burnt soil already visible in the NW corner of the trench and throughout much of Locus 11 .

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The soil of Locus 12 is identical to the soil of Locus 11 ; it is heavily mottled and claylike and contains numerous carbon and terracotta inclusions.  Loci 11 and 12 will now be excavated simulatneously in order to expose the burn layer throughout the entire trench; materials from the two loci will be separated though, for Locus 12 lies within the sounding of the western meters of the trench conducted at the end of the 2007 season.

A pick pass was made of the easternmost meters of Locus 11 , in order to better expose the burn layer.  The soil remains claylike and mottled with a slightly yellowish tinge and contains a fair amount of tile and ceramic.  Simultaneously, Locus 12 was picked; the soil of Locus 12 is also claylike and heavily mottled, although it has a reddish-tinge, which is due to a high concentration of terracotta inclusions in the soil.  Also, many large tile and pithoi fragments, including a large pithos rim, are visible on the surface of Locus 12 .  For both loci, soil is sorted directly in the trench.  For Locus 11, a small flake of bronze was found, and so it was decided to establish a bulk bronze box.

A second pick pass was made of Locus 11 , focusing on the southern-most meters, as well as the app. 50cm of mottled soil remaining along the eastern baulk.  The dark gray, carbon-rich burn layer definitely slopes downward from NW to SE, but also levels off toward the middle of the trench.

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Diagram of trench

The remaining soil of Locus 11 remains claylike and mottled and contains a fair amount of tile, plaster, ceramics, and bone and a large quantity of charcoal.  Soil is sorted directly in the trench.

Simulatneously, a large pithos rim and large tile fragments were trowelled out of Locus 12 .  Like Locus 11 , the soil of Locus 12 is mottled and claylike and contains many large fragments of tile and ceramic.  Also, the 3 large rocks marking the border between the 2007 sounding and Locus 11 were removed and the remaining soil (mottled) that had built up around them was trowelled away.

During the pick pass of Locus 11 , a bone bead (Find #1) was recovered.

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Finds

20080042

20080042

• Find #1
• Locus 11
• 53.54S/195.59E
• 25.74m A.E.
• Bone bead
• Drawing

PM

The remainder of the soil from the morning's pick pass was sorted and cleared.  Once this dirt was removed, a pick pass was made of the southernmost meters of Locus 11 , and the entirety of Locus 12 ; this was done in order to reveal more of the carbon-rich, dark gray, burnt soil.  This dark gray soil began to appear in the northern parts of Locus 12 , as well as in more of Locus 11 .  The surface of this dark gray, carbon-rich soil is highest in the NW corner of the trench and slopes down to the south and east.  The soil picked in both loci is clay-like and heavily mottled and contains a fair amount of tile and ceramics, but a high concentration of bone and carbon.  Soil in both loci is sorted directly in the trench.

During the pick pass of Locus 12 , a bronze falke was recovered and so it was decided to establish bulk bronze for the locus.  Also from Locus 12 , a piece of plaster with odd impressions (Find #2) was recovered from the tile bowl, while in Locus 11 , a piece of stamped bucchero with a striding animal (Find #3) was found.  Also from Locus 11 , a small bone fragment with a preserved guilloche pattern

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(Find #4) was found.

Finds

• Find #2
• Locus 12
• Tile bowl find
• App. 54.97S/194.25E
• App. 25.97m A.E.
• Plaster with odd impressions
• Drawing

20080048

20080048

• Find #3
• Locus 11
• 53.75S/195.02E
• 25.70m A.E.
• Stamped bucchero with striding animal
• Drawing

20080043

20080043

• Find #4
• Locus 11
• 54.18S/195.48E
• 25.78m A.E.
• Bone fragment with incised guilloche
• Drawing

Locus 11

• Tile and Plaster: 4 bowls
• Pottery: 224 sherds
• Bone: 93 pieces
• Bronze: 15 fragments

Locus 12

• Tile and Plaster: 2 bowls
• Pottery: 35 sherds
• Bone: 11 pieces
• Bronze: 1 fragment

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