July 5th, 2024

AM

This morning the soil was dry and compact. We began by throwing a pickpass in the northern meter. While shoveling then hand sorting through the soil we encountered a few pieces of roofing tile that seem to be more preserved than previously encountered pieces. This indicates that we may be reaching a new locus. We noticed that slightly more tile and pottery findings were present on the northern edge, and they seem to be better preserved. Due to a slight change in the soil, being that it presents with a lighter color and texture closer to clay, along with a change in the preservation level of finds, we decided to open a new locus. We clipped roots, balked the walls and swept the trench. After sweeping we noticed multiple pieces of terracotta in the ground by the northern edge in the center.

Locus 1 Closing Elevations:

SW corner: 27.90m AE NW corner 27.97m AE NE corner: 27.90m AE SE corner: 27.97m AE

Locus 1 Closing Totals:

-terracotta 4/5 bowl – BF13 -pottery 44 fragments – BF14 -bone 0 -BF15

We opened locus 2 after drawing and taking photos. This locus has much less rocks than the previous one. It also has less roots especially less large ones. The soil is compact, has a clay like texture and has an olive brown color. IN the Munsell book it is 4/4 2.5Y. We threw a pickpass (2nd of the day, 1st of locus #2) in the center E-W meter in order to even out the trench since the N meter was at a slightly lower elevation than the remainder. Our findings remained consistent as we continue to find terracotta fragments some more abraded than others, and ceramic fragments of various sizes ranging from 3 to ½ cm. Another pickpass was done in the southern meter (E-W) to lower it to a similar elevation to the two thirds of the trench in the north. In the eastern half of this meter we found four fragments of pottery, all well preserved and slightly bigger in size compared to the other pieces we have been finding. We also found a bone, the first since excavations began in this trench. The remainder of our findings have been consistent but I would note that the terracotta pieces recovered in the S half of the trench are usually smaller and more worn than the ones in the N. The soil is compact and sticky. We continued to pick up soil with a shovel and then with a dustpan before hand sorting in a wheelbarrow.

PM: Since a concentration of terracotta had been revealed along the northern edge in the middle, we used trowels and handpicks all along the northern edge to more carefully excavate in this part of the trench. With these methods, we removed much tile. This relatively small area contained large pieces of well preserved tile including a flange and multiple 2cm thick fragments of the same pan tile, this is the first tile of such thickness we have encountered. Some of the pieces easily crumbled. After some of the tile was removed and the pieces that slanted downward were defined. The southern meter of the trench was pickaxed, and the edges and corners were hand picked. More roots were exposed in the SW half of the meter in the SE corner. While shoveling and hand sifting we encountered a bone consistent amounts of tile and pottery including a few pieces of fineware. The northern and southern edges of the trench were hand axed to level them with the trench. About 20 cm W of the E wall another concentration of what appears to be 4 tile fragments. It has been defined and left in situ for the time being. Roots were clipped across the surface of the trench.

Closing elevations:

SW corner: 27.91m AE NW corner: 27.95 AE NE corner: 27.92m AE SE corner: 27.88m AE

Closing totals: -terracotta 1 ½ bowl – BF 16 - pottery 133 fragments – BF 17 -bone 2 - BF18