Wednesday, July 18 2018

AM

Trench dry enough to excavate after Monday night's rain.  Continued sectioning through Locus 14, the plaster-rich deposit of beaten earth surface 2 that is located to the W of the 2017 and earlier 2018 sections.  We are using trowels and hand picks to excavate, then screening soil through a 1cm gauge sieve. The first wheelbarrow-full of sieved soil is being set aside for flotation.  We are recovering high quantities of plaster, along with moderate quantities of pottery and some bone, slag, and vitrified terracotta. Additionally, we recovered a piece of tile with adhered slag (Find #53).

In the northern area of the section, the previously-exposed bedrock shelf continues to appear.  It slopes downward sharply along its western edge and many small rocks are pressed up against the sloping bedrock.  Here, there is less plaster preserved, but this also is where Find #53 was found. Further to the S, immediately to the S of the bedrock shelf, the plaster-rich deposit is becoming redder in color and even more plaster-rich.  This likely is equivalent to Locus 9 from 2017. The red deposit only continues to app. 43S; in the southern area of the section, the deposit continues to be the orange-colored plaster-rich deposit. Here, a piece of plaster with preserved reed impressions and flat surface (Find #54) was recovered, along with a piece of bronze (Find #55) and a flange (Find #56).

Diagram of Locus 14, new red plaster deposit, bedrock, and cobbling of small stones

Continued working in Locus 14, exposing the underlying red deposit and bedrock in the northern half of the locus.  In the southern half, the plaster-rich orange deposit continues deeper. In the 2016 W section wall, you can see that the plaster-rich orange deposit of Locus 14 overlies a dark gray, charcoal-rich deposit; therefore, the red deposit likely does not extend to the S.  While working in Locus 14, we also recovered two fragments of plaster that preserve reed impressions (Finds #57, 61), a large plaster fragment (Find #58), a tile fragment with adhered slag (Find #59), a tile fragment with a small flange (Find #60), and a large courseware rim shred that is vitrified along an ancient break (Find #62).  Additionally, while sieving soil from the eastern area of the locus, near the bedrock shelf, we found the root of an animal tooth.

Special Finds:

• Find #53
• Locus 14
• 106.56E/41.81S
• 26.74m A.E.
• Tile with adhered slag

• Find #54
• Locus 14
• 106.50E/43.71S
• 26.56m A.E.
• Plaster with flat surfaces

• Find #55
• Locus 14
• 106.70E/41.98S
• 26.70m A.E.
• Bronze fragment

• Find #56
• Locus 14
• 106.65E/43.89S
• 26.48m A.E.
• Flange

• Find #57
• Locus 14
• 106.56E/43.96S
• 26.48m A.E.
• Plaster with reed impressions

• Find #58
• Locus 14
• 107.05E/42.42S
• 26.74m A.E.
• Large plaster fragment

• Find #59
• Locus 14
• 107.10E/42.41S
• 26.74m A.E.
• Tile with adhered slag

• Find #60
• Locus 14
• 106.96E/43.85S
• 26.57m A.E.
• Tile with small flange

• Find #61
• Locus 14
• 107.09E/42.89S
• 26.66m A.E.
• Plaster with reed impressions

• Find #62
• Locus 14
• 107.49E/42.70S
• 26.67m A.E.
• Coarseware rim with vitrification

• Find #63
• Locus 14
• Sieve find
• +/- 15cm: 107.27E/42.48S
• App. 26.71m A.E.
• Tooth root

PM

Continued working in the plaster-rich deposit of Locus 4.  We have exposed bedrock in the northernmost area of the locus and a new, vivid red deposit in the central meters of the locus.  Currently, we are only working in the southernmost 1.5m of the locus. Here, the orange plaster-rich deposit of Locus 14 overlies a dark gray, charcoal rich deposit that likely is the same as Locus 13.  This new dark-gray deposit also contains a cobbling of small, fist-sized rocks. We currently are defining the cobbling, both to expose and clarify the form of the cobbling and to remove the remaining Locus 14, plaster-rich deposit. While working in this southern area, we recovered four plaster fragments preserving reed impressions and finished surfaces (Finds #64, 65, 66, 67) and a pathos rim (Find #68).  Additionally, we found another flange fragment (Find #69), a shred of ridged pottery in the sieve (Find #70), a diagnostic bone fragment (Find #71), a large plaster fragment with reed impressions (Find #72), and a plaster fragment preserving reed impressions and a corner of finished surfaces (Find #73). By the end of the day, almost all of the plaster-rich deposit of Locus 14 had been excavated, exposing both the red and dark gray deposits beneath.

Locus 14:

• Tile and plaster: 2 ¼ bowls
• Pottery: 44 sherds
• Bone: 1 fragment
• Slag: 3 fragments
• Vitrified terracotta: 3 fragments

Special Finds:

• Find #64
• Locus 14
• 106.52E/44.42S
• 26.48m A.E.
• Plaster with reed impressions

• Find #65
• Locus 14
• 106.54E/44.33S
• 26.50m A.E.
• Plaster with flat surface and reed impressions

• Find #66
• Locus 14
• 106.53E/43.68S
• 26.59m A.E.
• Plaster with flat surface and reed impression

• Find #67
• Locus 14
• 107.01E/44.34S
• 26.44m A.E.
• Plaster with circular profile

• Find #68
• Locus 14
• 106.91E/43.98S
• 26.46m A.E.
• Pithos rim

• Find #69
• Locus 14
• 106.55E/44.59S
• 26.50m A.E.
• Flange

• Find #70
• Sieve find
• Locus 14
• +/- 15cm: 107.21E/42.60S
• App. 26.69m A.E.
• Ridged pottery

• Find #71
• Locus 14
• 106.61E/44.06S
• 26.55m A.E.
• Diagnostic bone

• Find #72
• Locus 14
• 107.11E/43.87S
• 26.47m A.E.
• Large plaster fragment with reed impressions

• Find #73
• Locus 14
• 107.11E/43.72S
• 26.51m A.E.
• Plaster with corner surfaces and reed impressions