Daily Log

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June 21, 1990

A.M.

The second 10cm. cut begun yesterday in meter G/18 was extended east into meters H-J/18 and north into meters G-J/17.  The soil in the cut was dark brown in color with many rocks and small roots.  One quarter of a cassetta of small pieces of tile and plaster, including some burned pieces, were discovered in the dark brown soil.  One half a box of pottery, mostly impasto, was also found.  Finally, a small fragment of slag and a piece of bronze were also recovered in meter J/18.

The area around the rocks uncovered yesterday in meter J/15 was swept and cleaned for further definition.  Cleaning revealed the majority of rocks to be rather small in size and randomly placed.  Several

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of the smaller rocks were lifted.  Beneath the rocks were discovered several fragments of coarseware, all unburned, and a few small pieces of slag.  The soil beneath the rocks remained dark brown to black in color and contained a high concentration of carbonized wood.  One half of a box of impasto pottery, most all of it burned, and a few pieces of burned bone were discovered in the dark brown and black soil.  The current depth of the trench in meter J/15 is 110cm from the datum reference point in the SW corner of J/15.

Work also continued in cleaning down the pit in meters H-I/11-12.  Cleaning with mestalina to the south of the burn spot in I/12 uncovered 3 large pithos body gragments porbably to be associated with the large pithos

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rims previously discovered in this area.  None of these pithos fagments display traces of burning.  The soil removed from the pit was of the same mottled cast as encountered yesterday.  This soil contains a high concentration of small plaster chunks and carbonized wood and overall is of a very loose consistency.  Very little material was recovered from the pit-only a few sherds of burned impasto and two pieces of bone.  Notably no stones or rocks have been recovered from the pit soil.  It therefore would appear that it is safe to identify much of this soil as fill.  Cleaning of the western edge of the pit in meters H/11-12 has also uncovered a line of a small formation of rocks encircling this side of the pit.  These rocks, which

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are all relatively small, are located directly behind the red band of discoloration demarcating the pit.  The current depth of the excavated area of the pit taken from directly above the pithos body fragments is 85 to 90cm.  At the end of the morning the pit area was swept and photographed.

The area to the northwest of the pit in meters H/13-14 was cleaned down with a mestalina and brush.  Cleaning revealed a large number of pottery fragments of both impasto and coarseware spread in an irregular fashion amidst roots and small rocks.  The soil in the area was dark brown in color and contained many small roots and rocks.  None of the ceramic material exposed in this area appears to be burned.  However, one piece of vitrified tile was discovered.

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19900086

19900086

• Find 2
• H/13
• depth of 69 cm
• fenestrated vessel fragment
  • drawing
  • photograph

19900080

19900080

• Associated with Find 2
• h/13
• depth of 69cm
• fenestrated vessel fragment
  • drawing
  • photograph

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P.M.

Work continued in cleaning the pit in meters H-I/11-12.  The area around the rocks on the western side of the pit was further cleaned and swept.  the soil immediatley around the rocks was blackened by burn and contained a large amount of disintegrated plaster.  Further cleaning towards the northern side of the pit in meter I/11 exposed more of the same mottled soil encountered this morning.  The plaster in the soil varies from small chunks to completely disintegrated patches of yellow, red and orange.  In addition, the pithos body fragments in the northern half of meter I/12 were cleaned and more closely defined.  It now appears that at least four fragments from two different vessels are exposed in the soil.  Moreover, there still

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appears to be no sign of burn on any of the pieces.  A few unburned pieces of impasto and a single bucchero sherd were discovered in the mottled soil of the pit.  At the end of the day the pit was covered with plastic and a thin layer of soil to protect the area over the weekend.

The rocks exposed in meter J/15 were also cleaned with mestalina and hammer.  Cleaning revealed a thick rock pack beginning in the southern half of meter J/15 and possibly extending into the southern trench balk.  The soil around the rocks was blackened by burn and contained a large amound of carbonized wood.  Several small pieces of slag as well as a number of small fragments

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of vitrified tile were also found among the rocks.  In addition, one box of impasto and coarseware sherds, including several burned pieces, were also recovered.

The area below the stump removed from meter I/15 was also cleaned down with a mestalina and brush.  The soil below the stump, like that in meter J/15, was blackened by burn and contained a high concentration of carbon.  One box of impasto and coarseware sherds, including many burned pieces, one half box of burned bone and a few pieces of slag were recovered from this black burn soil.

The pottery fragments uncovered this morning in meter H/13-14 were lifted following photography.  The majority of the fragments come from coarseware vessels, although a few, smaller impasto sherds were also removed.

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Unfortunately very few of the fragments were able to be joined.  However, all of this material will be stored in a separate cassetta on the site until the entire area is cleared.  The soil around the fragments was dark brown in color with many small roots.  Further cleaning with a mestalina in the eastern corner of H/14 also began to reveal traces of the same burn soil layer, encountered in meter I/14 and J/15.  None of the pottery fragments removed from H/13-14 displayed traces of burning.  Found below the pottery were also a few pieces of tile and plaster.  Futher cleaning at deeper levels below the pottery revealed little material.  It is therefore possible that the pottery in H/13-14 may represent material eroded from the surface of the \'pit\'

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above.  It may also, alternatively, represent unrelated discarded material.

A third 10cm. cut was taken in meters G-J/17-18.  The soil remained dark brown in color iwth many roots and small rocks.  One half box of worn impasto and a quarter of a cassetta of worn tile were recovered from the dark brown soil.  In addition, several small pieces of slag ( 19900040

19900040

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J/15 Looking South