2004 TRENCHES PC 23 & 25 Robert Vander Poppen, Field Supervisor Martha Reichert, Assistant Field Supervisor Week 7: Field Students: Victoria Mead Sarah McCrory Jonathan Mort Olivia Spradlin Overview of Trenches PC 23 and 25 (at left) from the east. We began this season with a number of goals for PC 23 and 25. During the course of the season we were able to achieve some of these goals, but in other cases, new information and complexities within the trenches slowed up excavation. We had hoped to complete excavation within PC 23 this season. This we were unable to accomplish. We have been able to complete excavation in Locus 1 and Locus 4. In addition, Locus 2 has been excavated down to the top of sterile soil. We still have further work in the remaining areas of the trench. View of Trenches PC 23 and 25 (upper right) from the west. Two features of the trench this season have occupied the majority of our time. In the beginning of July we first encountered a line of rubble extending to the south and east. This feature was incredibly suggestive due to its shape and its orientation, which is according to the cardinal directions rather than the edges of the plateau. We spent most of this season working to clear down the stratigraphy on either side of the feature in the belief that the rubble represented a light structure such as a hut or small room. After much careful excavation we determined that the rubble is not actually part of any structure since we were unable to find any associated floor level. This type of feature represents one of the perils of careful excavation. We have spent most of the season working slowly through the stratigraphy surrounding the rubble only to discover that the rubble was nothing. Throughout much of the season we had worked to preserve this feature and define its limits in the case that it might be a significant piece of architecture. We have now decided that next season we will remove this rubble in order to get a better glimpse of the stratigraphy and see the other pieces of the trench in plan view. East end of Trench PC 23 as seen from the southwest.   East end of Trench PC 23 as seen from the north. The second feature of the trench that we have worked extensively on this season is the ancient pit into which a group of clandestine excavators penetrated in 2001. Over the past three seasons we have worked to excavate through this feature believing it to be a large pit. Over the course of this season we were able to determine a number of important pieces of information about this feature. We began to notice that the mix of materials within the feature was extremely disparate in date. Materials from as early as 675 B.C. and as late as 230 B.C. have come from the area. This leads me to believe that the feature is a pit of material gathered from elsewhere and used as a fill to construct the floor of the 3rd Phase Building atop the hill. In addition, we have now noticed that the feature continues deep into PC 17 and PC 25. It is now clear that the feature is not actually a pit, but instead a stratum of material gathered during the construction episode. Above and below: views of Trench PC 23 from the south. The western end of the trench saw activity almost as early as soil began to be accumulated. Throughout the rest of the trench we have discovered that the soil in some of the deepest portions of the trench may correspond to the strata associated with the deeper layers of PC 20. This discovery should help to piece together the history of the Archaic layers of the site. I would like to conclude by thanking the excavators of PC 23 and 25 without whom this seasons excavation would have been impossible. Martha, Sarah, Jon, Tori and Olivia have all done an excellent job in carrying on the legacy of Trench 23. Olivia Spradlin, Robert Vander Poppen, and Martha Reichert make final drawings.   Robert Vander Poppen, Jess Galloway, and Marty Reichert clean PC 23 for final photos.   Olivia Spradlin cleaning trench perimeter for final photos.   Aaron Bartels and Martha Reichert drawing PC 23 scarp.   Robert Vander Poppen, PC 23, and its well managed dirt pile.   Robert Vander Poppen giving the final tour of Trenches PC 23 (foreground) and 25 (left).   North scarp of Trench PC 23.   West end of Trench PC 23 as seen from the north.   View of Trench PC 23 from the east.   Survey plan of Trench PC 23 (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. 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