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Descriptive Attribute Value(s)
Trench T108 2024
Year 2024
Description

Locus 4 totals 7 square meters and is positioned to the NW of Loci 1 and 2, one meter in the north and two meters west. Locus 4 was opened directly below Locus 3, an extension of T108, and was declared following a soil change. The soil of this locus is claylike and compact. Once it was first opened, the soil came loose in compact clumps of about 3 centimeters. Once the stones were approached, the soil around them was slightly more dry and powdery. It was especially compact below the stump by the northern bulk wall, in the western half of the trench. As this locus is directly below topsoil, it is quite full of organic materials, including medium size roots.This stump was removed on the same day Locus 4 was opened. Another stump was present in the very southwestern corner of the locus. The soil in this locus contained carbonized materials, especially a concentration of them present in the northeastern corner in the soil inlaid between tile fragments, where a carbon sample was taken. Loose stones included within this locus averaged about 3cm in size, until two parallel linear collections of stones that extended south, angled west, the one towards the west made up of stones of about 10 cm, while the easternmost stone formation contained larger stones of about 20 to 25 centimeters in size.​ These formations contained tile fragments, including large pan and cover tile, the larger pieces left in situ. The majority of the pottery excavated in this locus was courseware and impasto, including the 15 centimeter long fragment of a pithos base. This locus contained the most bone, totaling at 10 fragments, including one tooth. Small finds in this locus included a spindle whorl fragment and the six fragments of an amber bead, fragmented during excavation. Soil from Locus 4 was excavated using pickaxes, hand axes and removed with shovels into buckets, then into wheelbarrows where it was hand sorted. Once the stone formations and terracotta were slightly exposed, handpicks and trowels were used as a means of getting around and exposing the stones and fragments without damaging finds or features. Usually, pickpasses in this locus were thrown simultaneously, with one person beginning in the northwestern corner and moving southeast, axing in the two by two meter portion of the locus, and one person beginning in the northwestern edge and moving southeast. Locus 4 is topsoil mixed with the archaic stratigraphic layer as indicated by the clay loam, changes in inclusions and the findings and features. Our findings are contemporaneous with the archaic layers of past trenches. The dating is confirmed by the diagnostic pottery fragments as well as the features evident in the locus. The soil of this locus rests above a stone feature by the northern edge, which is 80 centimeters from the western edge to the point where the westernmost of the two parallel linear stone lines begins. This feature is made up of a rough packing of stones, the continuation of a feature present in T106. The easternmost stone line was revealed approximately 50 centimeters to the east, with variations of ceramic and tile fragments inlaid within flat stones. These features are potential walls, more specifically the point in which a wall encounters another.

Date Opened 2024-07-11
Date Closed 2024-07-19
Locus Type Deposit
Preliminary Phasing -600 -500
Munsell Color 2.5Y 3/2 Very Dark Grayish Brown
Deposit Compaction Moderately compact
Stratigraphic Reliability Fair
Recovery Techniques Other Pickaxed and hand picked, then shoveled into buckets and wheelbarrows, used trowels for detail work.
Mode of Formation Natural accumulation.
Inorganic Components Terracotta, ceramic, stone, amber.
Organic Components Roots, stumps, carbonized material.
Definition and Position Locus totals 7 square meters and is positioned to the NW of Loci 1 and 2, one meter in the north and two meters west.
State of Conservation Removed after documentation.
Observations More large stones, better preserved tile and pottery fragments, including slight increases in fragment size.
Interpretation More secure context.
Locus Period Archaic
Length (m) 5.0
Width (m) 2.0
Depth (cm) 18.0
Area (m sq) 7.0
Top Elevation
Descriptive Attribute Value(s)
North East
Elevation 28.06
Grid (X) 221.0
Grid (Y) -33.0
Elevation (Note) NE1
North West
Elevation 27.99
Grid (X) 216.0
Grid (Y) -33.0
Other: NE2
Elevation 28.09
Grid (X) 221.0
Grid (Y) -34.0
Other: SE2
Elevation 28.08
Grid (X) 218.0
Grid (Y) -35.0
South East
Elevation 28.11
Grid (X) 218.0
Grid (Y) -34.0
Elevation (Note) SE1
South West
Elevation 28.04
Grid (X) 216.0
Grid (Y) -35.0
Bottom Elevation
Descriptive Attribute Value(s)
North East
Elevation 27.9
Grid (X) 221.0
Grid (Y) -33.0
Elevation (Note) NE1
North West
Elevation 27.82
Grid (X) 216.0
Grid (Y) -33.0
Other: NE2
Elevation 27.9
Grid (X) 221.0
Grid (Y) -34.0
Other: SE2
Elevation 27.88
Grid (X) 218.0
Grid (Y) -35.0
South East
Elevation 27.86
Grid (X) 218.0
Grid (Y) -34.0
Elevation (Note) SE1
South West
Elevation 27.94
Grid (X) 216.0
Grid (Y) -35.0
Suggested Citation

Anthony Tuck. (2025) "Locus 4 from Europe/Italy/Poggio Civitate/Tesoro/Tesoro 108/T108 2024". In Murlo. Anthony Tuck (Ed). Released: In prep. Open Context. <https://opencontext.org/subjects/94092078-7ef3-4763-9a71-9b27cb2512c9> ARK (Archive): https://n2t.net/ark:/28722/k2g73v57g

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