At the beginning of this shorter week, I continued clearing up the fill wall down in the pit (aka the pre-dug trench). The only interesting thing out of there was an amphora handle. Anyway, I finished that early on Wednesday, finally becoming able to see the ground beneath it. My task then became (and remains) to dig down to find the bedrock foundation of these two walls. During this task, hopefully I can find something (like a potsherd or a coin) that we can use to date the walls more specifically. But before I could start excavating truly, I had to clear out and even the levels in the pit, especially the area that had already been lying out in the open for two years, when it was originally excavated. I’m just glad that soil came up very easily in sheets. I just had to lift it up with my trowel…yay! The area has been sterile (i.e. devoid of artifacts) for the most part, but I found a few things. Also, this week, I have seen the absolute necessity of sweeping out my pit. It not only removes the loose dirt from the trench via a small bucket, but it also offers me a better picture of what I’m doing. This feature of my small broom means I can properly calculate where I should dig next. On the downside, I end up with piles of loose dirt that needs to go into a bucket that’s already been filled. Anyway, I see the point of sweeping up my trench and why I’m going deeper into this pit (although I’m not too sure how to respond to clicking or clapping for the bucket to come out of the trench, regardless of how full it is).
Image: Top view of the pit taken from the eastern side- photo by me
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