Methodology

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Methodology

CB-61 will be excavated stratigraphically. In order to break up soil, pickaxes and trowels are used. After topsoil is removed, pickaxes can be used for pick passes and handpicks for lighter passes or leveling the floor of the trench. Soil is hand-sorted into buckets and dumped into a wheelbarrow for efficiency of sorting archaeological materials, or sifted over the wheelbarrow as contextualized and material-heavy loci are revealed. A tile bowl approximately 28 cm in diameter with a maximum depth of 8.5cm is used to collect terracotta tile fragments in bulk according to locus. Terracotta is counted by bowl size and tossed in a terracotta dump approximately 5 meters to the northeast of CB-61 at the end of each working day. All pottery sherds and bone fragments are collected in bulk into latte boxes of approximately 1-liter capacity each day and by locus.

Each locus represents a singular stratigraphic deposit of soil according to material content, soil color,

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and/or soil composition and all artifacts are separated according to locus. After more than one locus is declared, a separate tile bowl and pottery box for baulk wall finds is established in order to distinguish between material from distinct loci and material potentially from mixed or unclear strata in the baulk walls. For this purpose, a tile bowl approximately 28 cm in diameter with a maximum depth of 8.5cm is used to collect terracotta tile fragments in bulk. The techniques and tools may change as the trench and material dictate methods of excavation.

Once a contextualized locus has been secured, soil is sorted by trowel and hand, then deposited into buckets and wheelbarrows. Significant and/or informative artifacts referred to as special finds, such as slag, vitrified terracotta, bronze, or decorated pottery are collected individually until found in quantities more than 5 per locus, at which time they are collected in bulk. The coordinates and elevation

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of special finds are recorded for cataloging using the datum. Line levels are intersected perpendicularly with plumb bob lines to take elevation using a measuring tape, and geographic coordinates are read using plumb bobs and measuring tapes. Closing elevations of each locus worked in are taken at of the end of each working day. Photographs and opening elevations are taken when each new locus is declared.

Records are kept by Leah Hansard and Nick Massar.

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