Vitrified Terra Cotta Summary and Analysis

265

Vitrified Terra Cotta Summary

Vitrified Terra Cotta Analysis

Several fragments of vitrified terra cotta, fourteen in total, were recovered from T-87 during the 2016 excavation season. Loci 3 and 6 , which are equivalent, contained the most vitrified terra cotta, at one and twelve fragments respectively. None of the fragments were cataloged.

The presence of vitrified terra cotta indicates high temperatures and burning of the artifacts. While there are many circumstances under which the terra cotta may have become vitrified, both from natural and human factors, when coupled with the high quantities of slag and small concentration of burned bone present in the trench these fragments may lend further credence to the idea that the area surrounding T-87 and the section of Civitate A to its immediate west was used as a site for small scale metal production.

266