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T-48 was initially opened in the 2007 excavation season, approximately 5m to the north of the Orientalizing period workshop and 10m to the east of a series of column pads previously uncovered in the T-30 trenches. T-48 was opened in order to examine the stratigraphy of the area, to hopefully uncover an additional column pad that would be associated with those found in the T-30 trenches, to investigate the orientation and construction of this possible building, and to determine the extent and source for a concentration of worked, decorative bone and antler uncovered in the nearby T-23 and T-26 trenches.

In 2007, it was established that the row of column pads found in the T-30 trenches did not extend as far east as T-48. Rather, it was revealed that while T-48 had the same soil packages as surrounding trenches, each stratum was significantly thicker than those of the T-30 trenches. Therefore, the soil in which the column pads were found in the T-30 trenches was not uncovered in the 2007 season, although the floor of the trench was excavated to an elevation approximately 80cm below the elevations of the column pads. Additionally, in 2007, some fragments of decorative, incised bone were recovered from T-48, similar to fragments found in T-23 and T-26.

T-48 was reopened in 2008 in order to further investigate questions regarding stratigraphy and the concentration of decorative bone found in T-23 and T-26. In 2007, in T-45, a possible

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drainage channel was uncovered, oriented east-west, which likely would have drained into some sort of depression. The unusually thick strata of T-48 indicate that T-48 is located in some sort of ancient depression, and it therefore seemed possible that this depression may be associated with the drainage feature uncovered in T-45, acting as a pool into which the drainage channel emptied. T-48 was reopened in 2008 in order to examine the relationship between the T-45 drainage channel and the depression in which T-48 is located.

Unfortunately, questions regarding both the stratigraphy and the concentration of decorative bone remain unanswered after the 2008 season. Stratigraphically, the surfaces of the various loci of T-48 generally sloped downward, from the northwest corner to the southeast, and often seemed to level off slightly around the center of the trench. Despite this slope, no concrete evidence was found to suggest that T-48 functioned as a drainage pool. If such were the case, one would expect to find a higher concentration of materials and debris at the lowest, deepest area of the depression. This however was not the case; materials recovered from T-48 were actually more concentrated in the western meters of the trench, which were higher than the eastern meters. Additionally, while some decorative, incised bone was recovered from T-48 in 2008, not nearly enough was found to draw conclusions regarding the bone concentration found in T-23 and T-26. Further work will have to be done in the surrounding area in order to answer these questions.

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