Monday, July 23 2018

AM

Continued working in Locus 17, using trowels and hand picks to excavate the olive-brown, claylike deposit in the southern section, near EPOC4’s S wall.  Soil is hand-sorted in the trench then passed through 1cm and 2mm gauge sieves. Soil contains relatively small quantities of tile, plaster, pottery, and bone, but also is starting to contain more fist-sized rocks.  Additionally, we recovered a bronze bead (Find #85) and a burnt diagnostic bone (Find #86).

We continued working through the olive-brown, claylike deposit, using hand picks and trowels to excavate.  This deposit is relatively deep, especially along the western side of the locus, where the deposit measures at least 15cm deep.  In the S half of the locus, we have uncovered numerous fist-sized rocks. These stones are not nearly as densely packed as the packing that underlay Loci 14 and 15.  Perhaps this new, somewhat dense packing of stones served as the subflooring of the small, rectilinear building. While working around these rocks, we found a piece of plaster with reed impressions (Find #87), and while sieving a bucket from the SW corner of the locus, we found a knuckle bone (Find #88).

Special Finds:

• Find #85
• Locus 17
• 106.90E/45.23S
• 26.67m A.E.
• Bronze bead

• Find #86
• Locus 17
• 107.27E/46.04S
• 26.54m A.E.
• Burnt diagnostic bone

• Find #87
• Locus 17
• 106.74E/45.11S
• 26.67m A.E.
• Plaster with reed impressions and possible corner

• Find #88
• Locus 17
• Sieve find
• +/- 15cm: 106.65E/46.65S
• App. 26.48m A.E.
• Diagnostic bone

PM

Continued working in the olive brown, claylike deposit of Locus 17.  As we go deeper into the deposit, the concentration of fist-sized stones became denser, particularly in the SW quarter of the locus.  Here, we recovered a fragment of diagnostic bone (Find #89) and a piece of possible worked bone (Find #90).

In the NW quarter of the trench, soil is becoming noticeably more mottled, with higher concentrations of plaster and pottery.  Some sherds are lying flat, which may be indicative of a surface, although we still are app. 5cm higher than Beaten Earth Surface 2.  Here, we recovered a coarseware handle that is still attached to a large portion of the jar’s body (Find #91). To the east of the concentration of stones, we also found a tooth root (Find #92) and a vertebra fragment (Find #94).  Back in the concentration of stones, we also found a possible worked stone (Find #93).

At the end of the work day, we recovered a fragment of tusk, to be associated with Find #83, and some imported volcanic stones, which were collected as a sample.  All samples were recovered from the southernmost meter of the locus.

Locus 17:

• Tile and plaster: 1/7 bowl
• Pottery: 77 sherds
• Bone: 15 fragments
• Slag: 2 fragments

Special Finds:

• Find #89
• Locus 17
• 107.21E/46.36S
• 26.61m A.E.
• Diagnostic bone

• Find #90
• Locus 17
• 107.05E/46.53S
• 26.60m A.E.
• Worked bone

• Find #91
• Locus 17
• 106.65E/45.45S
• 26.67m A.E.
• Jar handle and body sherd

• Find #92
• Locus 17
• 107.93E/45.89S
• 26.69m A.E.
• Tooth root

• Find #93
• Locus 17
• 106.82E/45.98S
• 26.63m A.E.
• Possible worked stone

• Find #94
• Locus 17
• 107.86E/46.18S
• 26.63m A.E.
• Possible vertebra fragment