2004 TRENCHES PC 19, 22, & 27 Caitlin Vacanti, Field Supervisor Jessica Galeano, Assistant Field Supervisor Week 7: Field Students: Elizabeth Bair Rachael Henry Benjamin Luley Caitlin Vacanti, Benjamin Luley, and Jessica Galeano cleaning their trenches for final photos. The final week of our 2004 field season was spent wrapping up excavation and preparing the site for our departure. As of last Friday, I can officially (and happily) announce that excavation in PC 19 and 22 is complete, at least for the immediate future. Our last few passes through these trenches turned up no finds and it looks as though we are in sterile soil. Above and below: two views of Trenches PC 19 and 22 from the south. On Friday we also scrambled to finish a pass in PC 27, where we came upon a fairly extensive carbon feature. It was located in the same interior space as the storage rooms of PC 19 and 22 and contained several large fragments of burnt bone and wood. At the moment I cannot explain its presence amid destruction debris, aside from a ventured guess that the bones were already in the room when it burned down (as we by no means found a complete skeleton). View from the east: north end of PC 19 at left; PC 27 at right. Carbon feature upper right. On Monday Jess, Ben and I swept up the excess dirt for final photos and drew final plans while backfill in the Podere Funghi began. We then spent all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning backfilling Poggio Colla. Fortunately we had some cloud cover during most of the process, which made the strenuous work more bearable than if the days had been sunny. I found backfill to be quite fun because everyone worked together for the first time since the start of the season. I was absolutely amazed by the volume of earth we moved in just a few days, as we stayed ahead of schedule throughout. Benjamin Luley, Jessica Galeano, and Caitlin Vacanti drawing scarp in Trench PC 27. Our trench team reached all the goals set out for us at the beginning of the season and I'd like to extend my appreciation to them for all their hard work. Jess has been the best assistant one could ask for, and Ben, Rachael, and Liz made the season fun as well as intellectually stimulating. It was trying at times to excavate through such deep strata with few finds, but this work has yielded very important information on the early activity of the site. The two piles of stone rubble in PC 19 and 22 that were discovered last season were at first difficult to interpret--did people place them there and, if so, why? Further excavation this season revealed the answer. We found rubble packing at the same level used to fill openings to the fissure. It now seems clear that these stones were placed to close the natural gaps in bedrock and flatten the site in preparation for the floor level of a building, probably that of the second phase. Excavation of PC 19 and 22, though confusing at times, has provided insight into the architecture of Poggio Colla as well as the site's significance. I have spent a fascinating four seasons in these trenches, but, having learned a lot about this area of the structure, we are now ready to move north and focus on PC 27. Southeast quadrant of Trench PC 22.   Southwest quadrant of Trench PC 27. Work in PC 27 over two seasons has revealed one architectural anomaly after another. Here we are exploring to the north, at an intersection between the west and north limits of the (supposed) courtyard and the storage rooms behind the west wall. The complexity of this location along with its proximity to the perplexing curvilinear wall (Feature A) led us to dig here with theories on what stratigraphy and architecture we might find, but certainly no expectations. It turns out our flexibility in thought was essential, as we could not have predicted some of our findings. At the end of two seasons in this trench we have uncovered a wall heading north that abruptly stops midway through the trench, a more substantial wall running parallel that could have functioned in the fortification structure (see PC 20), and stone rubble throughout the center of the trench that seemingly is wall spill. The only hypothesized wall that does in fact exist is the one heading west to enclose the storage room in PC 19, and within it is a beautifully worked rectangular stone. This stone seems to be re-used from an earlier phase, but is too small to be considered a Phase II block. I think it may have been used at an earlier date as part of an interior structure, or at least a wall that was much less substantial than those we find around the circumference of the Phase II building. This can be supported by the large Phase II blocks we have found in PC 19 and 27 that sit in their original placement underneath Phase III construction. These stones are probably a part of a Phase II corner that ran directly under that of Phase III in the northwest corner. As PC 27 has been so cluttered with interesting architecture, our attention has been focused on defining which stones are structural and which are rubble. Now that we have a good understanding of the walls, we can move on next season to remove non-structural stones and work on mapping out the stratigraphy. We have yet to get through Stratum 3 in many loci here and I look forward to deciphering the function of these various walls in the future. Phase II blocks in Trenches PC 19 (left) and PC 27 (right). View from east. This season has taught us a lot about the overall plan of the site as well as its age. I've had a great time with our team and, once again, want to thank them for their important contribution to the site. It's always hard to say goodbye at the end of the season, but I feel confident we will remain in touch. You never know what will be found a year from now and how much it will change our theories, but this is the learning process that keeps us coming back. View of Trench PC 19 from the north with Phase II blocks inside the curvilinear wall Feature A.   PC 22 (foreground), PC 19 (curved wall), and PC 27 (background).   Survey plan of Trenches PC 19, 22, and 27 (prior to addition of hand drawn details).   For photographs of key finds from trenches in the recent season, see Finds.     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. 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