Locus 43 was a claylike, compacted, olive brown deposit located in the northern half of the area being excavated in 2023. It consisted of a soil deposit associated with the interior floor space of the small, rectilinear hut built atop the remains of EPOC4’s front porch, following EPOC4’s abandonment and destruction. Locus 43 was excavated simultaneously as Locus 44, the exterior surface associated with the same rectilinear hut.

Locus 43 was a fairly thin deposit, measuring only approximately 10cm in depth. It underlies Locus 42, the southern foundation wall of the small rectilinear hut, and also included a small patch of interior floor surface preserved to the north of the Locus 42 wall. Locus 43 is contiguous with Locus 44, underlies Locus 42, and overlies Locus 45. It also is equivalent to Loci 17 and 25, which were excavated in prior excavation seasons.

Relatively little material culture was recovered from this deposit; the majority of materials recovered from this deposit were coarseware and impasto ceramics. Several examples of impasto diagnostic fragments, namely rims and handles, were recovered and made special finds. We also recovered small quantities of bone, and notably, a human neonatal bone fragment was found within this deposit. Unlike underlying deposits, little slag or vitrified terracotta was found in Locus 43.

Locus 43 was excavated using hand picks and trowels. Soil was hand sorted in the trench, then passed through 1cm and 2mm gauge sieves.