2002 TRENCH PC 23 Robert Vander Poppen, Field Supervisor Josh Moran, Assistant Supervisor Week 5: Assistant Field Supervisor Josh Moran and Field Supervisor Robert Vander Poppen discuss strategy for Trench PC 23, while Mike Glover digs behind them. Field School Participants: Tamee Bollinger Michael Glover Lynn Makowsky Sarah Titus Elizabeth Wallace The beginning of week 5 in PC 23 was a roller-coaster ride. Late last week we received another crewmember, Lynn Makowsky (a keeper of the collections from the University of Pennsylvania Museum). Lynn brings an excellent knowledge of Etruscan pottery and culture to the trench. On a less enjoyable note, the week has been one of the rainiest and coldest in the history of the excavation. Monday's weather was a torrential downpour, but due to the dwindling number of excavation days, the directors decided to excavate anyway. Monday's deluge directly on to the exposed soil of PC 23 has created approximately 4 inches of sludge in the southern three loci of the trench. I expect that they should finally dry to the point of allowing excavation by early next week. On Tuesday rain was less certain, and we excavated throughout the day in intermittent showers. Luckily, again on Tuesday it was the southern loci that flooded due to their lower elevation. This left the northern loci sufficiently dry to continue excavation. Crew of PC 23 at work in spite of heavy rains. Pictured are Tamee Bollinger, Lynn Makowsky, Josh Moran, Sarah Titus, Liz Wallace, and Mike Glover. For the remainder of the week we concentrated in this area of the trench, taking passes in two of the three northern loci. This week's excavation has served to confirm the identification of our floor level. Underneath what appeared to be the floor level, we began to excavate a packing of earlier fill used to provide a stable base for the beaten earth floor of the building. This floor packing has yielded as much information about the earlier phases of the building as it has for the phase to which the floor belongs. Inside the packing we have discovered a number of diagnostic finds which have helped to define the material culture of the earlier phases of the site. Josh, Lynn, and Justin (a volunteer from Franklin and Marshall University) all uncovered loom weights. Tamee has been unearthing a number of bone and metal fragments from the soil, and Mike, Sarah, and Liz have excavated out the densest area of the packing in the north end of the trench. Here they have been uncovering a number of black glaze vessel sherds and carbonized seeds. Josh Moran, Lynn Makowsky, and Tamee Bollinger in the northeast locus of PC 23.   Left to right in front: Sarah Titus, Liz Wallace, and Mike Glover, with Josh Moran behind Sarah. The next week of excavation in PC 23 will be our last, and I am hopeful that we will be able to take the trench down to the level of sterile soil across its entirety. Our focus in the coming week will turn to the excavation of the clandestino pit in the center of the trench, and the ancient pit associated with it. Hopefully our final week of excavation will yield as much information as the five previous weeks. Mike Glover taking a pass in Trench PC 23.   Sarah Titus and Liz Wallace in Trench PC 23.   Lynn Makowsky and Tamee Bollinger at work in Trench PC 23.   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