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2008 TRENCH PC 34
Field Supervisor: Elizabeth Wolfram, University of North Carolina
Field Supervisor Liz Wolfram
writing in her field notebook
Opening
Report:
This year we are
beginning excavation in PC 34. PC 34 is an entirely new trench,
although it is surrounded by previously excavated trenches on
all four sides. Since evidence of possible storerooms was discovered
in these previous trenches, we believe that PC 34 may contain
the remains of storerooms as well. Also, PC 34 lies near a previously
excavated area that contained several votive deposits; we hope
that we may find more votive deposits in PC 34.
Our trench team is made
up of Joanna Kowalski, Lisa Li, Christy Osborne, Cameron Turley,
and Catherine Yoon. So far this season we have removed the upper
strata (or soil deposits), which were formed mostly after the
ancient site went out of use. This week, however, we have finally
moved into soils that represent ancient contexts. Today we began
to find the remains of foundations for walls; other finds have
included two shots for a sling, a bronze coin, and the base of
a miniature ceramic vessel.
Students
excavating in Trench PC 34 during Week 2
 
Cameron Turley excavating a piece of black glaze pottery from
Trench PC 34
Midseason
Report
Field Supervisor Liz Wolfram
receives a find from a student
The pace has started
to quicken in PC 34. We have located a mudbrick collapse, and
may have discovered a floor layer beneath. Recent finds from
this area include a large area of burning, a possible intact
pot, and the remains of large storage vessels.
View from the south of Trench PC 34 during Week 4
Our walls continue to
puzzle us, but we are moving quickly to gain a better understanding
of their size and depth. Our most exciting find recently has
been an apparent votive deposit: a coarseware vessel with four
bronze coins, placed beneath a wall. This should help us to assign
a date to this wall, one of the main goals for our trench this
season. The trench team in PC 34 continues to impress, with each
student showing their strengths and working together to make
the most of the last few days of excavation.
Liz Wolfram excavates Feature 6 in PC 34
Above and below: Feature
6 in Trench PC 34 during Week 4
East scarp of Trench PC 34, with burn feature, tile, and wall
Trench PC 34 Team: Cameron, Joanna, Kathy, Christy, Lisa, and
Liz
Cameron Turley and Christy Osborne managing finds from PC 34
Joanna Kowalski digging in Trench PC 34
Christy Osborne takes a pass in PC 34
Catherine Yoon removes a tree stump from Trench PC 34
Lisa Li starts a new pass in Trench PC 34
View from southeast of Trench PC 34 team at work during Week
4
Final
Report
Field Supervisor Liz Wolfram
This week we have wrapped
up excavation in PC 34. Over the last few days we had concentrated
our efforts on two sections of the trench, in order to sink down
into lower strata in a few key areas. In the northeast corner
of the trench, Joanna Kovalski, Christy Osborne, Cameron Turley,
and Catherine Yoon moved through clear evidence of a mudbrick
collapse: key finds included loom weights, crushed storage vessels,
and a bone and bronze brooch. In the southwest corner, Lisa Li
successfully traced three courses of a wall running east to west
across half of the trench; she also located a surface level with
a layer of collapsed tile.
Looking back over the
season, I have been extremely pleased with our accomplishments
in PC 34. We met several specific goals for the trench as a whole.
We identified a wall seen in previously excavated trenches; in
addition, we found a deposit of coins next to the wall, a deposit
we hope will clarify the wall's chronological relationship to
the site as a whole. We also explored the younger strata of the
site, in order to shed more light on their stratigraphic relationships.
Finally, we located a possible floor level with evidence for
storage vessels, supporting early hypotheses that the area of
our trench was once a storage area.
Our trench team this
year has been fantastic. They honed their excavation skills,
from identifying strata to carefully defining walls. Everyone
was also always eager to work and laugh, important skills for
any excavation. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did, and
made as many warm memories. And to everyone in the Pirate Trench:
thanks for your pirate skills, from pirating cassetti to wielding
madocks to destroying roots to fighting off PC 35. May you find
many things as big as your face in the future!
Trench team at work in PC 34 during Week 5
View from the north of a completed pass in Trench PC 34 during
Week 5
Megan Burns photographs a level in PC 34
View from the south of Trench PC 34 at the end of the 2008 field
season
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