Daily Log

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Tuesday, July 7, 2015

AM

Work began in both Locus 2 and Locus 4 . In Locus 2 , handpicks and trowels were used to excavate the easternmost meters of the trench, south of the Locus 3 rock feature, where the soil is darker brown and more claylike and where the most materials have been found. Some pottery and bone but little tile has been found in this locus. In Locus 4 , we conducted pick passes of the entire locus. Soil is pale yellow in color, although there are some darker brown patches, likely due to the roots. Soil contains no material and so resembles galestra, but it is far looser than galestra usually is; the texture of this soil is sandy, rather than dense and flakey. In both loci, soil was hand-sorted directly into buckets in the trench.

Four more pick passes were made in Locus 4 . Throughout each pick pass, soil remains pale yellow in color and loose and sandy in texture. However, along the sides of the locus, soil is notably denser and tapers inward to the center of the trench, especially along the eastern side of the locus. No materials have been recovered from this locus.

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In Locus 2 , handpicks and trowels were used to expose a new, brown, claylike soil in the eastern meters of the trench, south of the Locus 3 . This new soil extends westward to a loose scattering of larger rocks. As we define and excavate the soil around these rocks, the new claylike soil appears to extend westward, at least in the southern meters of the trench. Very few materials of any kind, including tile, pottery, and bone, were found among or west of the rocks. Soil was hand-sorted directly into buckets in the trench.

PM

Work continued in Locus 2 and Locus 4 . In Locus 2 , handpicks and trowels were used to continue to remove the darker yellowish brown soil of the locus. Near the southern edge of Locus 4 , soil in Locus 2 is becoming lighter in color and looser, although not as light or loose as the soil in Locus 4 . In the southern part of the locus, soil is becoming darker and more claylike, like in the eastern meters of the locus. The southern part of Locus 2 also contains a concentration of small and medium-sized rocks that appear to be an extension of the loose scattering of larger rocks. We will continue moving westward in order to fully reveal the new soils.

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In Locus 4 , another pick pass was made of the entire locus. Soil remains pale yellow and without any materials. The soil along the walls of the locus seems to be getting denser, as is the soil near the floor of the locus. It appears that the walls of the locus are tapering to a narrow point.

A third pick pass was made in Locus 4 . During this pick pass, soil continued to be pale yellow in color and mainly loose and sandy in texture; however, toward the floor of the locus, soil began to get denser, like galestra. Also like galestra, the soil is completely sterile. After an additional pick pass, some larger rocks and denser soil that appears to be actual galestra was found. One final pick pass was made in Locus 4. During this pick pass, some soil was still coming up loose and sandy, but this likely was due to larger roots. The rest of the soil was becoming denser and flakier, like galestra, and there were some larger rocks in the locus floor. The locus remained sterile, like galestra.

In Locus 2 , the scattering of larger rocks extended westward in the southern meters of the trench. Towards the central part of the trench, along the southern wall, stones are small to medium-sized, but in the SW corner, there are larger stones. Closing elevations

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for the day were taken.

Closing elevations: Locus 2

\xb7 NW corner: 26.98mA.E.

\xb7 188.54E/34S: 26.95mA.E.

\xb7 89E/35.48S: 26.92mA.E.

\xb7 SE corner: 26.95mA.E.

\xb7 SW corner: 26.86mA.E.

Closing elevations: Locus 4

\xb7 87.19E/34.22S: 26.74mA.E.

\xb7 88.22E/34.69S: 26.60mA.E.

\xb7 88.03E/35.34S: 26.52mA.E.

\xb7 87.61E/35.35S: 26.57mA.E.

\xb7 86.92E/34.87S: 26.67mA.E.

Locus 2 :

\xb7 Tile: 1/20 bowl

\xb7 Pottery: 40 sherds

\xb7 Bone: 0 fragments

Locus 4 :

\xb7 Tile: 0 fragments

\xb7 Pottery: 0 sherds

\xb7 Bone: 0 fragments

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