Locus 21 is a soil deposit located in the northern part of T90, in the trench’s central meters.  It is situated in a gap in EPOC4’s northern wall, where prior excavators removed the stones of EPOC4’s northern wall.  The locus is roughly 2.5x3 meters in dimensions.

The locus was excavated using hand picks and trowels.  Soil was hand-sorted in the trench, then passed through a 1cm gauge sieve.  The first wheelbarrow of soil was collected as a sample for flotation.

The soil of Locus 21 was medium brown in color, claylike in texture, and was only moderately compacted.  It contained a scattering of small stones (max. dimension 15cm), which did not form any discernible feature.  Furthermore, bedrock outcroppings were exposed in the northwestern corner of the locus and in the central meters of the locus.

Material culture recovered from Locus 21 consisted mainly of pottery and bone.  Pottery primarily was coarseware and impasto; no chronologically diagnostic sherds were recovered from this locus.  In addition to pottery and bone, we also recovered moderate quantities of tile and plaster and small quantities of slag and bronze flakes.

Despite the removal of the stones of EPOC4’s northern wall during prior excavations, there is no indication that this context is disturbed or is insecure.  Rather, all materials are consistently ancient in date.

Due to the stratigraphic positioning of Locus 21 (overlying EPOC4’s floor), we interpret Locus 21 to be associated with the abandonment and destruction of EPOC4.

Locus 21 is equivalent to T78 Locus 8, which was excavated in 2015, and is contemporary with T90 Loci 6, 11, and 18.  Locus 21 overlies Locus 22.

Cataloged Finds:

Secure Context: Yes