20 GIUGNO 2017  

Generale

Si è conclusa la seconda giornata di scavo. Le quattro aree sono state aperte, ripulite e documentate.

Area 2000

Dopo aver concluso l’apertura dell’intero sito nella giornata di ieri, oggi abbiamo iniziato lo scavo dell’Area. Gli studenti hanno pulito e la superficie in modo da evidenziare la stratificazione orizzontale e si è proceduto ad una fotografia di insieme. Per queste prime settimane l’attenzione sarà rivolta soprattutto all’estensione settentrionale dell’Area; già oggi sono stati messi in luce due depositi significativi, la cui indagine è appena iniziata: il primo consiste in una striscia di terreno friabile con grandi concentrazioni di ferro e pietre di piccola pezzatura. È possibile che si tratti di una sepoltura medievale, già tagliata da un’altra deposizione, indagata lo scorso anno. La seconda evidenza è una traccia scura estesa lungo l’angolo esterno dell’estensione; non abbiamo ancora abbastanza indizi per comprenderne il contesto.

After finishing our last portion of soft cleaning via brush, trowel, and dust pan we sprayed the burial area with water to look for changes in sediment color gradients, which may suggest disturbances, including burials; dark patches began to appear the northeast most corner of the burial This was followed by a brief lesson on medeival burial practices– christians would orient body facing east to face the rapture. We continued to clean the walls, and we initiated a deeper clean and spray.  This revealed two sections of possible rock clusters that were of interest because they look like backfill piles. We needed photos of the area so we laid out a northern-facing arrow, markers, and blackboards with the area number, site, year and stratigraphic context number. Because we had to wait, our area supervisor taught us how to fill a skeleton context sheet. After photos, we began excavation in the three sections that showed sediment color differences. Two of the sections were of interest due to the rock clusters that were present after our deep clean. One section did not reveal anything after about 2 cm of scraping. The other section with rocks was excavated about 4 cm down without anything of interest, but more is going to be done on this location. The third section was a sediment color gradient, and was dug about 5 cm down. Nothing was found, and the color was generally lighter. This area is also going to be further excavated. 

Area 3000

Anche nel corso di questa campagna di scavo, nell'Area 3000 le indagini saranno concentrate nel Settore B, ovvero in quello spazio di fronte all’attuale facciata della chiesa compreso fra il perimetrale settentrionale USM 3073, la facciata di XII secolo USM 3335 e 3380 ed il perimetrale meridionale USM 5003. Dopo aver completato lo scavo dei contesti cimiteriali e non riferibili al XV-XVI secolo, si procederà con la messa in luce dei livelli più antichi strettamente collegati con la frequentazione della conica di XI secolo, già in parte individuati lo scorso anno.

Today in Area 3000, we continued to clear the site of debris and expose the surface of the area to have a clean context for future excavation. After section A and B were sufficiently cleaned, the area was sprayed down to show differences in soil color to indicate potential areas of burial or other interests. We would've taken a photo to properly document the cleaned/sprayed area, but the tree shadow was covering a large portion of section B. We will take a proper photo tomorrow morning and make note of potential area for excavation. Letitzia (area 3000 supervisor) explained to us the general time periods of past finds in the area, and went over the history of the area's excavation. She told us about the material objects found with the remains and their positions to the different phases of the church, and all of their significance to the overall history of the entire site. We went over records of past years of excavations, which she has been a part of since the beginning of the excavation in 2011. It discussed various layers of the graves, past significant finds (bell furnaces, grave goods etc.) and notable details of both sections. 

Area 5000

E' cominciata la nuova stagione di scavo e come ogni anno ci stiamo dedicando alla riapertura delle aree. Nell'area 5000 ci stiamo concentrando quasi interamente sul settore B, situato nell'angolo Nord Est di questa, procedendo con la rimozione dei teli di protezione e la conseguente pulizia degli strati superficiali.

During the course of today's excavation we cleaned the southern end of the plot around the bell foundry and removed the last of the tarpaulin at the southern edge of the plot. Afterwards, Alan located a few areas containing discoloration and/or brick/slate deposits consistent with the other holes found in the area. In an attempt to determine if any more holes existed after several of the ones found in previous years turned out to be too shallow to be the post holes they were originally thought to be we excavated three to four centimeters down moving from the eastern edge of the plot near the fence to the western edge near the low cobble wall. Very little was discovered during this period. There were several small pieces of charcoal, a few small slate chips, and a small deposit of shale near the southern end of the site. We have not yet begun excavation of the areas marked as possible holes. 

Area 6000

Dopo la riapertura dell'area si è deciso di concentrare l'indagine sul settore meridionale, per approfondire le dinamiche cimiteriali del sagrato in fase medievale. Come primo approccio si sta provvedendo alla rimozione del superficiale strato argillo-limoso US 6032, con l'obiettivo di chiarire i rapporti fisici e cronologici tra le sepolture presenti al di sotto di esso (le cui tracce ossee affiorano ove US 6032 è già stato rimosso).

We arrived at the site and cleaned the south side of area 6000.  The cleaning entailed removing debris from the protective tarps and exposing the various relationships and contexts between elements of the site.  Water was used and a thin layer (6032) was removed to better visualize the various contexts.  Markers were utilized on the corners of the area and were mapped with a prism and total station to obtain X, Y, Z coordinates.  This process shows how the area fits relative to the site as a whole.  Bones and bone fragments were visible throughout the site and care was taken to prevent damage of the exposed remains.