Methodology

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The intended method of excavation in CA 63 will be to break up soil using the pointed end of a pick-axe. For strata that contain an abundance of material, soil will be removed in the trench using trowels and sorted while in the trench, directly into buckets. If the amount of material is too great to pick axe, then trowels will be used to break up the soil. However, depending on what is uncovered in CA 63, the methods of excavation may change, as the trench and the remains found in it dictate the method of excavation.

Terracotta roofing tiles and plaster will be counted by bowls. The bowl used for counting these remains have a diameter of 36cm and a maximum depth of 10cm. Once tile and plaster have been counted, they will be discarded in a tile dump, which will be established approximately 20m west of the trench.

Pottery and bone will be counted individually and brought down from the hill in latte boxes. Pottery and bone will be grouped together in the same box on site and will be separated out after dry-brushing.

For any special finds recovered from the trench, coordinates and elevations will be taken. In order to determine the coordinates, a plumb bob will be held over the location of the special find, and then the distance from two of the baulk walls will be determined by extending a tape measure at a right angle from the string of the plumb bob to the string marking the boundaries

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of the trench. In order to determine the elevation of special finds, once again a plumb bob will be held over the find spot of the special find. Simultaneously, a string with a line level will be attached to a fixed datum point and will be pulled taught and level, so that it intersects with the string of the plumb bob. A tape measure will be held so that it runs parallel to the string of the plumb bob, and the elevation relative to the datum point may then be determined. As the elevation of the datum point on the master grid system is known, the absolute elevation of any special find may then be determined.

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