19 GIUGNO 2019  

Area 6000

6000/A - The begininning of our morning was marked by cleaning the site so we could glean an understanding of the composition of the site as yesterday it was difficult to percieve any differences in the colour of the soil due to the dryness of the area. Once we washed it, it became apparent where the soil had been distrubed by previous fill activity which potentially marked the presensce of a cut followed by a fill, which is usually indicative of a grave. We continued to expose the surface bones in the western most area of the site as well as the graves which had begun to be excavated during the 2018 season. The southwestern area of 6000 A was cut horizontally prior to our excavation which compromised the condition of the remains leading to severe fragmentation of both the potentially partially complete remains of one individual as well as the numerous long bones intersecting the grave. The northwestern part of 6000A had distinct difference in the colour composition of the soil indicated the prescense of a fill so we excavated it today; however, we did not find reamins in the expected area of the fill, potentially indicating prior removal, though the northern edge of the fill did contain an ulna, humerus, and tibia, likely from the right side of a burial, and further excavation will be conducted tomorrow in relation to these remains. The southeastern group was excavating partially exposed remians that we thought were comprised of one individual; however, it became obvious during the excavation that the body had been rotated, and the prescense of the maxilla in relation to the metatarsals indicates that at least two individuals are in the grave and that the bodies had been rotated after the intial burial. The northeastern most part of 6000A is continuing to expose the remians that were partially excavated in the 2018 session, including the skull and humerus. We concluded by cleaning the site in preperation for excavation activities tomorrow. 

6000/B - Today, from 9:00 to 1:00 we finished cleanin the area and removing the top crust. Multiple bones and bone fragments were uncovered, including ribs, vertebrae, metatarsals, craniums, a femur, a broken humerus, a broken scapula, multiple other long bones. From 2:00 to 5:30, we washed off the area and took photographs of the site. The different contexts were numbered and three different fills were identified. A sketch was also created of the site after the cleaning. We began to expose the bones that were found earlier layer by layer. Tomorrow we plan on continuing to expose the bones. 

Area 7000

Today, we started by cleaning the southern half of the area. Then, hand axes were used to level the rough edge along the entire western size which held modern rock from when area 7000 was paved over to make a parking lot. We split into three groups to focus on the various layers covering the Northern side. One group excivated around the tomb and found 4 miscelaneous phalanges that were not removed from the ground. They were found by trying to level one layer to another. The second group worked on the northeastern side, where a rounded, darker layer was hypothesized to be covering a floor. There were two similar-looking layers on either side of the darker layer that were thought to be connected to create the floor. After finishing, we found that the two sides were connected, but the rounded layer was not fully removed, meaning it could have destroyed that part of the floor. The final group found a shard of pottery as well as a piece of the floor that was said to be within the area. While they were cleaning continously, a bunch of interesting things were found; such as the hole and the area expected to be a tomb. The whole area was then cleaned throughout and sprayed with water by Alan, with a plan set for tomorrow morning in our set of three pairs.