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Friday, 15 July 2022

AM

Work began in Locus 33; we are excavating the paster-rich, reddish-colored deposit. Yesterday afternoon, in the northernmost meter of the locus, the soil started to transition to a dark gray, charcoal-rich deposit with high quantities of slag and vitrified terracotta. This new, dark gray deposit likely is equivalent to Locus 29 from 2019. Therefore, we are no longer excavating in this northernmost meter of the locus. in the central meters of the locus, soil contains less plaster and so is darker brown in color. Here, we are recovering smaller quantities of material culture, but we are still recovering moderate quantities of pottery and bone, including a tooth fragment (Find #54).

In the southern meters of the locus, we not only are encountering higher quantities of plaster than we found yesterday, but this plaster also is becoming denser and more compacted. This may be a continuation of EPOC4’s floor, which was exposed just to the west in 2019 as Locus 24 was removed, underlying Locus 24; however, we still are app. 3cm higher in Locus 33 than the exposed portion of EPOC4’s floor. Additionally, along the southern edge of Locus 33, we began to expose a large concentration of charcoal, app. 30cm in diameter. A root had grown over the concentration of charcoal, so we were unable to collect a charcoal sample from this concentration, but we did recover a useable charcoal sample from the western edge of the locus (Charcoal Sample #3). Additionally, from the

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southern meters of the locus, we recovered a fragment of what might be a neonatal bone fragment (Find #55) and a plaster fragment preserving reed impressions and a curved surface (Find #56).

We are excavating using handpicks and trowels and hand-sorting soil in the trench before passing soil through 1cm and 2mm gauge sieves. We are finding moderate quantities of pottery, slag, and vitrified terracotta, but small quantities of bone.

Soil in the central meters of the locus is reddish-brown and fairly loose, but with little material culture. In the lowest parts of Locus 33 in the central meters of the trench, some patches of darker-gray, charcoal-rich soil are starting to appear, but we still are approximately 7cm higher than the upper surface of the dark-gray, charcoal-rich deposit exposed with the excavation of Locus 28 in 2019.

In the southern meters of the locus, we are encountering higher concentrations of plaster that are becoming more compacted. These compacted plaster fragments also are situated in a darker grayish-brown soil deposit. This indicates that we are approaching the upper surfaces of EPOC4’s floor surface, which is visibly preserved at app. a 3cm lower elevation. Additionally, the large charcoal deposit extends further E, along the S edge of Locus 33, overlying the compacted plaster.

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Special Finds

Find #54

• Locus 33
• 109.25E/44.70S
• 26.42m A.E.
• Tooth

Find #55

• Locus 33
• 108.37E/46.12S
• 26.37m A.E.
• Possible neonatal bone fragment

Find #56

• Locus 33
• 108.34E/46.94S
• 26.26m A.E.
• Plaster with reed impressions and curving surface

Charcoal Samples

Sample #3

• Locus 33
• 108.01E/46.70S
• 26.23m A.E.

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PM

We continued excavating in Locus 33, removing the plaster-rich deposit from the underlying deposits of EPOC4’s floor and the dark-gray, charcoal-rich deposit. In the SW part of the locus, the deposit of Locus 33 seems to overlie EPOC4’s floor and we still are recovering high quantities of plaster. Here, we also found a ridged impasto rim (Find #57) and a sherd of slipped pottery that may be imported (Find #58). In the SE part of the locus and the northern meters, there is noticeably less plaster and the soil is more brown in color, with limestone inclusions. In these sections, we are recovering more pottery, and we also found a chert flake with a vein (Find #59) when sieving a bucket from the SE part of the locus.

We continue excavating Locus 33, using handpicks and trowels. Soil was hand-sorted in the trench then sieved through 1cm and 2mm gauge sieves. In the southern meters of the trench, we are nearly level with EPOC4’s preserved floor surface just to the west of Locus 33 and the dark gray, charcoal-rich deposit just to the north of Locus 33. We have concentrations of plaster along the western edge of Locus 33, in the southernmost meter of the locus that appears to extend app. 70cm to the east; this also is where the aforementioned charcoal concentration is located, seemingly overlying the plaster of EPOC4’s floor, as it extends eastward under Locus 33. To the east of this plaster and charcoal deposit, we seem to be encountering a new, olive-brown colored, dense and compacted deposit. However, it is still unclear whether this is just a patch of dense, olive-brown soil or whether it is an extended deposit and, if so,

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what the stratigraphic relationships of these various deposits are. Therefore, we are working to remove the remaining Locus 33 soil, in order to fully expose the underlying deposits. In the northern meters of the locus, we still are app. 5-7cm higher in elevation than the dark, charcoal-rich deposit exposed under Locus 28 in 2019, immediately to the west of Locus 33. Soil here in the north of Locus 33 remains medium-brown and fairly loose and contains relatively high quantities of pottery but less plaster than in the southern meters of the locus.

Locus 33

• Tile and plaster: ½ bowl
• Pottery: 110 sherds
• Bone: 10 fragments
• Slag: 23 fragments
• Vitrified terracotta: 3 fragments

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Special Finds

Find #57

• Locus 33
• 108.07E/46.07S
• 26.30m A.E.
• Ridged impasto rim

Find #58

• Locus 33
• 108.31E/46.17S
• 26.32m A.E.
• Slipped pottery, possibly imported

Find #59

• Locus 33
• Sieve find
• App. 108.55E/46.01S
• App. 26.28m A.E.
• Flaked and veined chert fragment

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