2001 TRENCH PC 18 Kate Topper, Field Supervisor Week 6:   Left: Kate Topper supervising her crew in Trench PC 18. Right: Assistant Field Supervisor Ashley Bennett excavating a circular area of dark soil in a locus of Trench PC 18 that has yielded ceramic fragments. Although I had hoped by this point to be able provide a more conclusive answer about what we are excavating in PC 18, the past week of excavation has produced as many questions as it has answered. We have found several notable pieces of pottery, but the context in which we are finding them remains unclear. Joshua Moran and Lindsey Fine triangulate points for PC 18 ceramic finds. I am becoming less convinced with every day of excavation that we have the foundations of a building in PC 18. The stones that appeared to run in a straight line when we found them in the southwest corner of Locus 1 at the beginning of the season now seem to be arranged in a more circular fashion; as we continue to define them, we are noticing a number of smaller stones around them that make the idea of a wall less probable. Although the larger stones still seem to be too regularly arranged to be part of a rock spill, I do not believe at this point that we are looking at the foundations of a building. View looking down into Trench PC 18 during the sixth week of excavation. While I am still searching for a convincing explanation for the stones, it is now clear that, for whatever reason, they mark off a section of the trench that is distinct for both the concentration of its artifacts and the color of its soil. Throughout most of the trench, stratum 5 has varied in color and has ultimately disappeared into stratum 6 or bedrock, and with the exception of a few large coarseware vessels that have been coming up in pieces all over the trench; the pottery has been fragmentary and fairly small. Immediately southwest of the stones, however, the soil has remained exceptionally dark, and the pottery is substantial. Since Friday, we have found pieces of what seem to be at least three or four bucchero chalices, some of them decorated. We have also found a blue glass bead, only a few millimeters in size, that is likely to have been set into a larger piece of jewelry. PC 18 from the southwest corner with Ashley Bennet (foreground) inside the curve of stones. View of PC 18 from the north, with conservators and students at work. With only a day left of excavation, I am doubtful that we will find anything this season that will provide a coherent explanation for what we are excavating in PC 18. Although I do not think that we have a building in PC 18, I still believe that there may be one close by, since we have found roof tile and a small amount of what appears to be mud brick. Furthermore, the large quantity of domestic pottery still suggests to me that we are digging close to an area of habitation. However, only with further excavation on this slope of the hill can we begin to form more solid conclusions about what we have begun over the last three seasons here. Ashley Bennett, Marlene Estabrooks, Joshua Moran, Lindsey Fine, and Paige Russell in PC 18. Left: Paige Russell and Lindsey Fine discuss a small find. Right: Paige Russell digging in PC 18. Marlene Estabrooks digging in Trench PC18. Amy Leach shows enthusiasm for the proceedings in Trench PC 18. Two of Kate Topper's drawings of a find from PC 18. Kate Topper's drawings of a ceramic find from three views. Kate Topper constructing a sifter for PC 18.   Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 - Final Report   Director, Gregory Warden gwarden@mail.smu.edu Director, Michael Thomas michael.thomas@tufts.edu While the team is in Italy during the summer field season, send e-mail to: mvap3@dada.it To email an individual on the team, enter the person's last name in the subject heading. Excavation house phone: 055-844-9834, or, when calling from the US: 011-39-55-844-9834. Introduction | 2004 Field Season | Poggio Colla Field School | What’s New | Staff | Students Site History | Directors' Diaries | Student Diaries | Excavation Friends | Facilities | Conservation | Surveys Robert Belanger | Katherine Blanchard | Josh Moran | Caitlin Vacanti | Ivo van der Graaff | Robert Vander Poppen QuickTime VR | Site Set-Up | Dig Daily Life | Excavation Process | Field Manual | Lectures | Season's End Archives | Finds | Research Projects | Publications | Bibliography | Mugello Area | Home