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Descriptive Attribute Value(s)
Trench T26_2022
Year 2022
Description

Locus 15 is a 0.48m by 0.50m soil fill within a cut (Locus 21) in the plaster floor surface (Locus 4) of the OC2/Workshop structure. The layer is rectilinear but preserved curved edges, perhaps due to the state of preservation of the corners.

The soil is a medium brown clay and soil mixture which fills the entire cut and was excavated to a depth of 0.30m. Excavation ceased within the layer arbitrarily- due to the difficulty of lowering the soil further within the small dimensions of the locus. Locus 15 contains inclusions of pottery, bone, vitrified material, and small rocks. The layer contained 33 fragments of vitrified terracotta. It is not immediately clear why this cut in the floor would be filled with vitrified terracotta; the fragments are not, however, likely associated with the burning event which destroyed the building.

While Locus 15 was a medium brown soil and clay mixture, the baulk walls revealed a significantly darker layer which appears to extend under the plaster floor surface of Loci 3 and 4. It is possible that Loci 7 and 13 are equal to the dark soil beneath the floor surface but further investigation is needed to determine their relationship.

A fragment of a fine impasto spindle whorl (PC20220022) was found within the soil of Locus 15. Interestingly, an impasto spindle whorl was found to the west of Locus 15 in the soil fill of Locus 19 (PC20220062). It is not clear if the spindle whorls indicate that spinning was an activity conducted near Locus 19 or if the spindle whorls were disposed of within the fill.

Further excavation is needed to clarify the function of the cuts (Loci 21 and 22) within the floor. The cuts are potentially related to drainage necessitated by production but no materials or features found within the layer immediately suggested its function.


Date Opened 2022-07-15
Date Closed 2022-07-29
Locus Type Deposit
Preliminary Phasing ~ 7th Cent. BCE
Munsell Color 10YR 5/3 Brown
Deposit Compaction Highly compact
Stratigraphic Reliability Good
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Suggested Citation

Anthony Tuck. (2024) "Locus 15 from Europe/Italy/Poggio Civitate/Tesoro/Tesoro 26/T26 2022". In Murlo. Anthony Tuck (Ed). Released: In prep. Open Context. <https://opencontext.org/subjects/18f4f8e1-b85f-4022-bf13-5eaf509ecd5a>

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