Daily Log

79

Tuesday, July 8 2014

AM

Due to rain the previous night, the floors of Loci 1 and 2 were too wet to excavate and so it was decided to extend the trench two meters to the east, in order to determine the extent of the northern, east-west running rock line and the southern cluster of rocks. The eastern extension is contiguous with T 60, as the southern boundary of the extension is the same as the northern boundary of T 60. In the northeast corner of the extension, the remains of an old, unidentified sounding are visible, and this will not be considered part of the locus. As this locus is contiguous with T 60 and shares a corner, the SE corner is already established and the NE corner was triangulated. Once this was done, the surface of the extension was cleared and Locus 3 was opened across the entirety of the extension, excluding the NE corner, where the old sounding is. Opening photos and elevations were taken.

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Trench diagram

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Opening elevations: Locus 3

\xb7 NW corner (95E/39S): 29.18m A.E.

\xb7 96.53E/39S: 29.18m A.E.

\xb7 96.53E/39.68S: 29.15m A.E.

\xb7 97E/39.68S: 29.15m A.E.

\xb7 SE corner (97E/43S): 28.82m A.E.

\xb7 SW corner (95E/43S): 28.71m A.E.

The surface of Locus 3 slopes noticeably from north to south like the surfaces of Loci 1 and 2 , and there are the remains of a stump in the central meters of the trench, near the eastern baulk wall.

A pick pass was made of the locus, beginning in the north and working south, down the slope. Soil is a dark brown, loamy humous layer overlying a medium-brown, claylike soil, like the top centimeters in Loci 1 and 2 ; all 3 loci are equivalent. Soil is hand sorted directly into buckets in the trench and small amounts of materials were recovered. While picking in the southern meters of the trench, some larger rocks were felt and as soil from the south of the locus was cleared, these rocks were defined with trowels. These rocks are an eastern continuation of the southern rock feature composed of large rocks.

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PM

Work continued in the eastern extension with another pick pass, once again beginning in the north and moving south. Soil continues to be medium brown and claylike, with many small-to-medium-sized roots and small rocks. Soil is hand sorted directly into buckets in the trench and few materials were found, although there does seem to be slightly more tile and pottery than in the previous pick pass. Additionally, notably higher quantities of tile and pottery were recovered in the southern meters of the trench, down the slope, than the northern meters. Furthermore, these materials are beginning to appear as larger fragments with sharp break edges, indicating that we may be approaching contextualized deposits, as opposed to erosional ones. Closing elevations for the day were taken.

Closing elevations:

\xb7 NW corner: 29.09m A.E.

\xb7 96.53E/39S: 29.10m A.E.

\xb7 96.53E/39.68S: 29.06m A.E.

\xb7 97E/39.68S: 29.11m A.E.

\xb7 SE corner: 28.78m A.E.

\xb7 SW corner: 28.68m A.E.

Locus 3 :

\xb7 Tile: \xbd bowl

\xb7 Pottery: 33 sherds

\xb7 Bone: 0 fragments

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