2009 TRENCH PC 38 Field Supervisor: Aksel Casson, University of Washington Field Supervisor: Alvaro Ibarra, University of Texas   Aksel Casson Opening Report   Alvaro Ibarra Final Report Field Supervisor Aksel Casson with find from PC 38 Opening Report - Aksel Casson: We're completing our first week of this season's excavation on the acropolis, or arx, of Poggia Colla and I am absolutely amazed by the amount of work that we've accomplished as a group. The students arrived on Saturday evening and, despite suffering from jetlag, were on the site Sunday morning ready for work. We proceeded to prepare three trenches for excavation, including two trenches which were begun last year: PC 33 and PC 34. My trench, PC 38, is the only trench with excavation beginning at the modern forest surface. During the first day, the students helped me place PC 38 within our site grid, by locating it's exact position on the plateau and then gridding a completely square (!) 5x5 meter trench in the far NW corner of the arx complex. The location of PC 38 was selected because we feel that excavating in this location will help us resolve the size and shape of some of the architectural features (preserved archaeologically as the stones that form the base of building walls) associated with multiple periods, or phases, of occupation. In particular, we hope to learn how the Etruscans used this prominent part of the landscape. For example, is there a shift in the primary use of the site over time, from one with primarily ritual importance to one with a more strategic, even defensive, focus? View from the southwest of Trench PC 38 during Week 3 In order to answer these and other questions, we'll be working long hours in the hot sun, collecting artifacts (we've already recovered bronze objects, loom weights, and hundreds of pieces of pottery, ranging from crudely made storage containers to exquisitely crafted decorative pieces) and carefully recording their three-dimensional location in space. And, yes, in PC 38, we've also begun to unearth two North-South trending stone walls! It promises to be another very productive summer in the heat of Tuscany. Field Supervisor Alvaro Ibarra surveying point in PC 38   Assistant Field Supervisor Nat Erb-Satullo writing in field notebook   Kellyn Biela sifting for small finds in PC 38 soil   Avery Bayard in PC 38   Arianne Keens working in PC 38   Arianne Keens, Avery Bayard, Billie Rolla, and Matt Naiman discuss progress in PC 38   Final Report - Alvaro Ibarra: Field Supervisor Alvaro Ibarra This year's excavation of Trench PC 38 at Poggio Colla produced a number of useful discoveries. In particular, the stratigraphic evidence that emerged from the area will contribute to the story of construction and eventual destruction of this particular part of Poggio Colla. The levels unearthed this season suggest the collapse of two buildings on the western edge of the Etruscan site. Trench team excavating in PC 38 during Week 4 The most exciting artifacts discovered in PC 38 this summer included two sizable bronze sheets. At one point, these sheets were likely folded over, wrapped in a textile, and burned alongside animal offerings in a typical ritualistic fashion. However, we must await further analysis before confirming this compelling scenario. PC 38 Team - back, left to right: Arianne Keens, Nat Erb-Satullo, Alvaro Ibarra, Matt Naiman Front, left to right: Avery Bayard, Cathy Yoon, Billie Rolla, and Kellyn Biela I owe much thanks to a crew of dedicated students (Billie, Cathy, Matt, Avery, Kellyn, and Arianne) and my tenacious trench assistant (Nat). None of my efforts would prove fruitful without all of their hard work. Matt Naiman and Nat Erb-Satulla taking a pass in PC 38   Alvaro Ibarra and Matt Naiman remove one of the tree stumps from Trench PC 38   Billie Rolla defining scarp in Trench PC 38 on the last day of excavation   Avery Bayard and Arianne Keens take levels in PC 38   Left: Matt Naiman and Billie Rolla sifting. Right: Cathy Yoon in Trench PC 38   View from the west of Trench PC 38 during Week 4   View from the west of Trench PC 38 near the end of the season   View from the north of team at work in PC 38 during Week 6   Corner block with three broken pan tiles covering it in Trench PC 38       Final photo of Trench PC 38, from the north   Final photo of Trench PC 38, from the east   Final photo of Trench PC 38, from the south   Final photo of Trench PC 38, from the west   Backfilling Trench PC 38 at the end of the field season