Daily Log

37

June 27, 1979

Work began this morning with the excavation of grids A-B/4-6 in trench CD-2.  A cut approx. 40cm deep revealed only several fragments of coarse ware pottery and some tile chunks.  The soil throughout this area can be termed yellowish in color and clay-like in substance.  Work was halted by mid-morning due to the moistness of the soil beneath the initial cut.

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Trench photos.

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The excavation of Trench CD-3 began this mid-morning.  This new tranch, located further south of CD-2 on a fairly level plain, is several hundred yards SE of the SE corner of the upper building (see photos on opposite page).

photo

The new area shall perhaps reveal evidence of a habitation site.  The trench, aligned approx. N/S, is 8m long, Theta-7, and 2m wide, A-B.

The first cut of CD-3 consisted of an initial swath 5m long (Theta-4) and 2m wide (A-B).  The dry, light brown soil yielded two pieces of washed-out terracotta.  No pottery was found.  At depth 30cm from soil surface gallestra was reached.  Work ended with a second cut in grids A-B/Theta-1.

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Trench Summary of CD-2

The initial excavation of Trench CD-2 established a fairly consistent stratigraphical pattern which, moving downwards, consisted of a thin layer of humus, a thich layer of brown soil, a band of dark brown soil intermixed with carbon and either a yellow clay or gallestra layer.  It was in the brown or dark brown soil that the majority of pottery or metals were found.  The yellow caly level yielded infrequent bits of pottery and the gallestra layer, reached throughout the trench at depth 50cm, produced nothing.

The excavation of CD-2 in grids A-B/Theta-2 provided a series of encouraging finds.  Of these are included a terracotta animal head in grid B-Theta (seep. 27, #6, cat. no. 79-13) and a stamped bucchero fragment in grid A-B/2-3 (see p. 29, #9, cat. no. 79-17).  Both pieces were found within the brown or dark brown layer of soil.

That the dark brown soil layer intermixed with carbon provided an abundance of finds was verified during the further excavation of grids A-B/3-4.  Grids A/3-4 within this layer provided an iron fibula (see p. 25, #1, cat. no. 79-10) and what appeared to be two pots with complete profiles (see p. 25, #2).  Although bronze finds were generally infrequent a small pin (p. 27, #7, cat. no. 79-25) and a crucible fragment (p. 31, #1, cat. no. 79-23) proved otherwise in grids B/3-4.

The rapid termination of Trench Cd-2 was hastened by two factors.  First, the position of the trench at the bottom of the southern slope and the rains of middle June contrived to produce a constantly soil soaked trench unfit for digging.  Secondly, when work was resumed, the excavation of grids A-B/4-6 revealed that the yellow clay layer of grids A-B/2-3 appeared at an increasingly shallow level.  Grid A-B/4-5 therefore produced a yellow clay layer at depth 40cm and then 20cm.  Grids A-B/6 revealed a yellow clay/gallestra layer just beneath the soil surface.

Pottery Summary of Trench CD-2

The representative pottery box for Trench CD-2 has been divided into four main categories: Murlo terracotta fragments and large coarse ware rims, Impasto (including grey and orange ware pieces), bucchero and what is referred to as yellow/orange fine ware.

The large coarse ware rim and handle fragments found often describe shaped with sloping upper shoulders and short, rounded everted rims.  The preserved height of such rim and shoulder pieces suggests a fairly squat profile which is repeated in smaller impasto wares (see representative pottery box marked JM B6 III/CD-2).

The impasto and grey ware pieces generally consist of rim and base fragments from shallow ring-footed bowls, as is often the case with grey ware, or small globular pots.  The only decorated sherd in this category worth mentioning is a grey ware plate rim fragment stamped with parading griffins (see p. 35, #3, cat. no. 79-24).

Bucchero represents a smaller portion of the total pottery finds from CD-2.  Fragments include discernable conical foot pieces, shallow bowl bases and plate rims.  Stamps with a series of concentric circles are often impressed on these bucchero wares (for example see p. 29, #9, cat. no. 79-17 and p. 35, #4, cat. no. 79-19).

The soft almost chalky consistency of the yellow/orange fine ware makes it difficult to identify smaller fragments with any precision.  Some pieces may have been painted, yet this too is easily eroded.  Most pieces appear to have belonged to an oinochoe shape.  A noteworthy double-tubed handle, stored in the representative pottery box under fine ware, is drawn on p. 25, #4 .