Friday, July 28 2017

AM

We began working in Locus 9, scraping away the compacted red deposit with trowels to expose the black, charcoal rich, burnt deposit of Locus 10 beneath.  The soil is compacted and red in color, with high concentrations of plaster.  Many plaster fragments preserve reed impressions and impressed flat or curved surfaces, which likely were part of wattle and daub walls.  The presence of this plaster indicates that we may be excavating the wall collapse of a wattle and daub hut that predates EPOC4.  Remains from this hut then would have been incorporated into EPOC4’s subfloor.  We recovered two pieces of plaster preserving reed impressions, one also preserving a flat surface (Find #141) and one a curved surface (Find #142), likely caused by a post.  In addition to plaster, we also have found large quantities and large fragments of pottery, along with some bone.  In addition to the morning’s plaster finds, we also have recovered a bone plaque (Find #137) a bronze fragment that may have been part of a fibula (Find #138), a crucible fragment (Find #139), and a double-banded handle (Find #140).  Soil was hand sorted in the trench then screened through a 1 cm gauge sieve.  We have set aside the first five buckets of sieved soil for flotation.  All remaining buckets also will be screened through a 2 mm gauge sieve.

As we expose the surface of the burnt deposit, we can see clearly that the burnt surface slopes downward from N to S.  The elevation drops more sharply in a line running roughly E-W, with larger rocks integrated into the Locus 9 soil.  This is forming a bit of a ledge.  As we defined the slope of the burnt deposit, we also found another crucible fragment (Find #143), a piece of vitrified terracotta (Find #144), and a scapula fragment (Find #145).  We also found two jaw bones with teeth (Finds #146, 147) and a diagnostic bone fragment (Find #150).  Additionally, while sieving soil, we found two fragments of vitrified terracotta (Finds #148, 149) and a crucible fragment (Find #151).  Additionally, while working in the trench, we found a large crucible fragment that likely is associated with Find #135 from yesterday, as they were found in the same area and are similarly shaped.  Lastly, we found two sherds of fineware painted with red paint (Find #152).

We continued to trace and expose the surface of the black, burnt deposit, moving from S to N.  As we approached the northern boundary of the locus, the deposit got rockier and more compacted and we began to expose bedrock extending southward from the northern boundary of the locus.  The bedrock slopes downward from N to S, creating a depression, which the compacted reddish deposit of Locus 9 infilled.

Special Finds

Find #137

• Locus 9
• 107.74E/42.89S
• 26.45m A.E.
• Bone inlay or plaque

Find #138

• Locus 9
• 107.70E/42.88S
• 26.46m A.E.
• Bronze fragment

Find #139

• Locus 9
• 107.29E/43.00S
• 26.39m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

Find #140

• Locus 9
• 107.46E/42.68S
• 26.47m A.E.
• Double banded handle

Find #141

• Locus 9
• 107.50E/43.02S
• 26.46m A.E.
• Plaster with reed impressions

Find #142

• Locus 9
• 107.17E/43.00S
• 26.41m A.E.
• Plaster with reed impressions

Find #143

• Locus 9
• 107.37E/42.96S
• 26.37m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

Find #144

• Locus 9
• 107.25E/42.96S
• 26.36m A.E.
• Vitrified terracotta

Find #145

• Locus 9
• 107.36E/42.72S
• 26.47m A.E.
• Scapula

Find #146

• Locus 9
• 107.38E/42.91S
• 26.39m A.E.
• Jaw with teeth

Find #147

• Locus 9
• 107.24E/42.60S
• 26.45m A.E.
• Jaw with teeth

Find #148

• Locus 9
• Sieve find
• 107.60-107.75E/42.75-43S
• App. 26.46m A.E.
• Vitrified terracotta

Find #149

• Sieve find
• Locus 9
• 107.60-107.75E/42.75-43S
• App. 26.46m A.E.
• Vitrified terracotta

Find #150

• Locus 9
• 107.36E/42.47S
• 26.47m A.E.
• Diagnostic bone

Find #151

• Sieve find
• Locus 9
• 107.20-107.50E/42.60-42.90S
• App. 26.36-26.45m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

Find #152

• Locus 9
• 107.18E/42.58S
• 26.42m A.E.
• Painted fineware

PM

We continued working in Locus 9, removing the compacted red deposit from the northern part of the locus; we have removed the red and exposed the black, burnt deposit of Locus 10 in the southern half of the locus.  Roughly the northernmost 50 cm of the locus consists of bedrock sloping downward from N to S with compacted red soil on top.  The burnt deposit of Locus 10 does not seem to overlie the bedrock.  Instead, the bedrock seems to form a lens, in which the red soil was deposited and compacted.  We are now using hand picks and trowels to excavate, as the soil on top of the bedrock is too compacted for just trowels.  Soil is hand sorted in the trench then screened through 1 cm and 2 mm gauged sieves.  We are recovering high quantities of plaster, pottery, and bone.  Most of the pottery we are finding are large fragments of coarseware and we are recovering more bone from the northern part of the locus than from the southern.  We also found multiple small flakes of bronze, which we are now bulk finding.  Additionally, we found a large fragment of slag (Find #153), two crucible fragments (Finds #154, 156), and a jawbone with teeth (Find #155), along with one more crucible fragment (Find #157), a curved bronze fragment (Find #158), and a piece of unusual terracotta with a curved notch (Find #159).

We removed all of the compacted red deposit of Locus 9, exposing bedrock in the northern area of the section cut and the black, burnt deposit of Locus 10 everywhere else throughout the section.  With all the compacted red deposit removed, we closed Locus 9; Locus 10 now will extend across the entire section.  Closing photos and elevations for Locus 9 were taken.

Closing elevations: Locus 9

• 107E/42S: 26.56m A.E.
• 108.27E/42S: 26.63m A.E.
• 107.66E/42.94S: 26.45m A.E.
• 107.44E/43.86S: 26.39m A.E.
• 106.76E/43.80S: 26.36m A.E.
• 106.78E/43.30S: 26.35m A.E.
• 107E/43.30S: 26.39m A.E.

Locus 9:

• Tile and plaster: 2 bowls
• Pottery: 119 sherds
• Bone: 16 fragments
• Bronze: 6 fragments
• Vitrified terracotta: 9 fragments
• Slag: 61 fragments

Special Finds

Find #153

• Locus 9
• 107.64E/42.65S
• 26.46m A.E.
• Slag

Find #154

• Locus 9
• 107.68E/42.64S
• 26.46m A.E.
• Crucible fragments

Find #155

• Locus 9
• 107.52E/42.28S
• 26.54m A.E.
• Jaw with teeth

Find #156

• Locus 9
• 107.64E/42.65S
• 26.43m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

Find #157

• Locus 9
• 108.02E/42.31S
• 26.59m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

Find #158

• Locus 9
• 107.63E/42.64S
• 26.44m A.E.
• Curved bronze fragment

Find #159

• Locus 9
• 107.53E/42.45S
• 26.50m A.E.
• Unusual terracotta