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Thursday, 21 July 2022

AM

We began the day working in Locus 36, continuing to lift the small rocks (max. dimension 20cm), pottery, and tile fragments that constitute EPOC4’s subfloor. We are using trowels and brushes to excavate and are hand-sorting soil in the trench before passing soil through 1cm and 2mm gauge sieves. The soil of Locus 36 that contains the debris of EPOC4’s subfloor is claylike and dark-gray in color, as it contains high quantities of charcoal. The remaining charcoal soil is scant; in the northern section of the locus, we still are exposing a concentration of small rocks and pottery, but this concentration of debris is now situated in a more olive-colored soil, at least to the east of the line of three larger stones running NE to SW through the locus. therefore, we worked to remove the remaining charcoal-rich soil of Locus 36 from the underlying olive-colored soil. While exposing this new olive-colored deposit, we recovered a tondo fragment (Find #91) from a patch of charcoal-rich soil just to the east of the southernmost large stone. Additionally, a large fragment of charcoal was found contained in the underside of the vessel, which was collected as Charcoal Sample #5. In the southern part of the locus, we have removed all small rocks, exposing underlying deposits of charcoal-rich, dark gray soil to the west and olive-colored, compacted soil in the east. Therefore, once the Locus 36 charcoal-rich soil was removed from the northern part of the locus, where we still have a concentration of stones and material culture, we decided to close Locus 36. Closing photos

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and elevations were taken and we completed a plan for the closing of Locus 36.

Closing Elevations: Locus 36

• NW corner (109.05E/41.55S): 26.73m A.E.
• NE corner (109.81E/41.55S): 26.78m A.E.
• SE corner (109.39E/43.80S): 26.55m A.E.
• SW corner (109E/43.80S): 26.48m A.E.

Simultaneously, we decided to open Locus 37 in the preserved portion of EPOC4’s floor exposed in 2019. We will remove this portion of EPOC4’s floor in order to more fully expose the surface found in 2019 (Locus 31) and to determine if this is a floor surface. Opening photos and elevations for Locus 37 were taken.

Opening Elevations: Locus 37

• NW corner (106.48E/45.14S): 26.34m A.E.
• NE corner (106.85E/45.16S): 26.21m A.E.
• 107.07E/45.80S: 26.23m A.E.
• 107.90E/46.20S: 26.20m A.E.
• SE corner (107.68E/46.93S): 26.16m A.E.
• SW corner (106.49E/46.77S): 26.30m A.E.

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While making the plan for the closing of Locus 36, we also made plan for the opening of Locus 38. Locus 38 will consist of the looser, dark-gray, charcoal-rich soil that is equivalent to Locus 29 (2019) and stratigraphically underlies EPOC4’s floor surface. There is a narrow strip of charcoal-rich deposit running along the western edge of what was Locus 35. This deposit widens both to the south, underlying Locus 34, and to the north, along the edge of what was excavated as Locus 29 in 2019. A plan was made for the opening of Locus 38 and opening elevations were taken; we havec not yet taken opening photos of Locus 38.

Opening Elevations: Locus 38

• NW corner (108E/44S): 26.47m A.E.
• NE corner (109E/44S): 26.46m A.E.
• 108.25E/45.60S: 26.33m A.E.
• SE corner (108.26E/47S): 26.23m A.E.
• SW corner (108E/47S): 26.26m A.E.

Locus 36

• Tile and plaster: 8 fragments
• Pottery: 6 sherds
• Bone: 2 fragments
• Slag: 2 fragments
• Vitrified terracotta: 8 fragments

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Special Finds

Find #91

• Locus 36
• 109.51E/42.75S
• 26.51m A.E.
• Tondo fragment

Charcoal Samples

Sample #5

• Locus 36
• 109.51E/42.75S
• 26.51m A.E.

PM

We drew a plan for the opening of Locus 37 and took opening photos of Locus 38.

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