21 July 2023

AM

This morning work continued in Locus 9 after opening elevations were taken.

NW: 28.21 mAE

NE: 28.21 mAE

SE: 28.18 mAE

SW: 28.21 mAE

Handpicks and trowels were used to baulk wall and to level the area of excavation around the large root cluster along the eastern baulk wall and around the large stump and rock in the northwest corner. The soil continues to be a dense and compact grey brown silty clay with grey and yellow clay inclusions. Small to medium sized roots, as well as small to medium sized rocks, continue to be encountered throughout the locus. Abraded pieces of terracotta continue to be found along with fragments of coarseware and impasto pottery. Larger, more intact fragments of architectural tile can be seen in the floor of the locus which may indicate that the bottom of the locus is nearing the archaic layer. Handpicks continue to be used to level the area of excavation and to define the larger roots for removal. The large rock situated against the tree stump in the northwest corner was removed and the soil around it was brought to level. More of the large roots along the eastern baulk were also removed.

PM

Work continued after lunch with handpicks and trowels being used to carefully remove more of Locus 9 and become level with the original T101 trench from 2022 (KD VII). Small to medium sized roots continue to occur throughout the area of excavation while larger roots can be seen just below the surface of the locus. The larger roots along the eastern baulk wall have mostly been removed along with the larger roots located in the southern portion of the area of excavation. The soil continues to be a dense and compact grey brown silty clay with grey and yellow inclusions. Abraded pieces of terracotta continue to be found along with coarseware, impasto, and fine impasto pottery sherds. The rest of the afternoon was spent scraping the area of excavation and leveling the space between the T101 2022 (KD VII) trench and the 2023 extension. Some large roots still remain around the tree stump in the northwest corner of the locus. The northwest corner remains at a slightly higher elevation and will be brought down the next day of excavation before declaring a new locus. At the end of the day, closing elevations were taken. 

NW: 28.20 mAE

NE: 28.19 mAE

SE: 28.18 mAE

SW: 28.20 mAE

⅙ Bowl of Terracotta

3 Pieces of Plaster

17 Pieces of Pottery

1 Bone Fragment