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Monday, 26 July 2022

AM

We began work this morning in Locus 38, excavating the dark gray, charcoal-rich, loose deposit, situated along the western edge of what was excavated as Locus 35. We are excavating using handpicks and trowels and are hand-sorting soil in the trench before passing through 1cm and 2mm gauge sieves.

Along the eastern edge of Locus 38, we have begun to uncover the compacted, yellowish deposit of Locus 35. We have found this deposit underlying Locus 38 in both the N and S parts of the locus, along its eastern edge. In the southern part of the locus, to the west of the sparse line of small stones first revealed yesterday, the soil of Locus 38 overlies a new, compacted, olive-colored deposit that also is mottled in appearance, with terracotta and limestone inclusions. This new olive-colored deposit is Locus 31, which was exposed at the end of 2019. Therefore, we will work to remove the remaining dark-gray soil of Locus 38, in order to expose this new surface. In the northern part of the locus, the deposit contains a sparsely scattered concentration of medium-sized rocks (max. dimension 25 cm). these rocks also seem to rest atop the compacted yellowish soil of Locus 35.

Locus 38 continues to yield high quantities of material culture, especially that associated with metallurgy. We are recovering exceptionally high quantities of slag and vitrified terracotta, along with moderate quantities of pottery and bone and small quantities of tile and plaster. Specifically,

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we have found three fragments of pithos with adhered slag (Finds #124, 125, 131), four crucible fragments (Finds #130, 132, 133, 135), antler fragments (Find #126), two teeth (Finds #134, 136), two possible neonatal bone fragments (Finds #127, 128), and an impasto tondo fragment (Find #129).

We continued excavating Locus 38. At this point, we have removed nearly all of Locus 38’s dark-gray, charcoal-rich soil; only patches remain in the northern part of the locus, interspersed among the medium-sized rocks. To the south of these stones, the underlying deposits of Locus 31’s olive colored mottled soil and Locus 35’s compacted yellow soil have been revealed. While working in Locus 38, we recovered a piece of ridged pottery that might be handmade (Find #137) and a crucible fragment (Find #138).

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Special Finds

Find #124

• Locus 38
• 108.49E/44.85S
• 26.31m A.E.
• Pottery with adhered slag

Find #125

• Locus 38
• 108.38E/44.81S
• 26.24m A.E.
• Pithos with adhered slag

Find #126

• Locus 38
• 108.07E/45.33S
• 26.21m A.E.
• Antler fragments

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Find #127

• Locus 38
• 108.05E/45.45S
• 26.17m A.E.
• Possible neonatal bone fragment

Find #128

• Locus 38
• 108.55E/44.45S
• 26.29m A.E.
• Possible neonatal bone fragment

Find #129

• Locus 38
• 108.00E/45.03S
• 26.25m A.E.
• Tondo fragment

Find #130

• Locus 38
• Tile bowl find
• App. 108.59E/44.05S
• 26.30m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

Find #131

• Locus 38
• 108.33E/43.84S
• 26.28m A.E.
• Pithos fragment with adhered slag

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Find #132

• Locus 38
• 107.98E/44.90S
• 26.33m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

Find #133

• Locus 38
• 108.26E/43.89S
• 26.27m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

Find #134

• Locus 38
• 108.23E/45.06S
• 26.33m A.E.
• Tooth

Find #135

• Locus 38
• 108.11E/45.26S
• 26.29m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

Find #136

• Locus 38
• 108.30E/45.05S
• 26.33m A.E.
• Tooth

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Find #137

• Locus 38
• 108.05E/44.76S
• 26.28m A.E.
• Ridged pottery

Find #138

• Locus 38
• 107.92E/45.02S
• 26.28m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

PM

We continued working in Locus 38 and simultaneously began working in Locus 37. In Locus 38, we have removed nearly all of the charcoal-rich soil of Locus 38. We are continuing to excavate using handpicks and trowels, are hand-sorting soil in the trench, and are passing soil through 1cm and 2mm gauge sieves. We continue to recover exceptionally high quantities of slag and vitrified terracotta, moderate quantities of bone, and small amounts of tile and plaster. Specifically, we found fragments of a cow femur (Find #141).

While nearly all of the Locus 38 soil has been removed, there is one deeper patch of dark gray, charcoal-rich soil, located in the northern area of the locus, between some of the medium-sized rocks. It is unclear if this is a pit, hole, cutting, or feature, so we will work to define it.

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We began excavating in Locus 37, the preserved portion of EPOC4’s floor surface, situated to the west of the 2019 section. Here, we are using handpicks to break up the floor surface and then are hand-sorting soil directly in the trench; the first four buckets of soil will be collected as samples for flotation. Not surprisingly, we are recovering exceptionally high quantities of plaster from Locus 37; specifically, we collected three large plaster fragments as special finds (Find #139, 140, 142), along with a crucible fragment (Find #143). In contrast, we have recovered little pottery, tile, bone, slag, or vitrified terracotta from this locus.

Locus 37

• Tile and plaster: 1 bowl
• Pottery: 2 sherds
• Bone: 1 fragment
• Slag: 5 fragments
• Vitrified terracotta: 2 fragments

Locus 38

• Tile and plaster: ¾ bowl
• Pottery: 64 sherds
• Bone: 12 fragments
• Slag: 92 fragments
• Vitrified terracotta: 52 fragments

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Special Finds

Find #139

• Locus 37
• 106.63E/45.35S
• 26.28m A.E.
• EPOC4 floor plaster

Find #140

• Locus 37
• 106.85E/45.48S
• 26.28m A.E.
• EPOC4 floor plaster

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Find #141

• Locus 38
• 108.04E/44.33S
• 26.19m A.E.
• Cow femur

Find #142

• Locus 37
• 106.67E/45.57S
• 26.25m A.E.
• EPOC4 floor plaster

Find #143

• Locus 37
• 106.85E/45.17S
• 26.29m A.E.
• Crucible fragment

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