THESHIKHINEXCAVATIONPROJECT MANUALFORAREASUPERVISORS

(FormerlytheExcavationsatSepphorisManualforAreaSupervisors)

JamesF.Strange ThomasR.W.Longstaff DennisE.Groh

JamesRileyStrange Copyright2017,TheShikhinExcavationProject,Israel

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TABLEOFCONTENTS

IntroductionObjectivesPeculiaritiesofaRuinBibliography

ExcavationMethodsThe"RulesofExcavation"StartingaNewSquare

TheProbeTrenchDatumPointsLineLevelElevationsSurveyor'sElevationsLocationoftheDump

ExcavatingSpecificFeaturesWalls

Floors Pits Fills Dumps FoundationTrenches Burials ChoiceofTools Strategy Objectives Priorities

LayingOutaBuildingforExcavation:TheGridFieldsinourExcavations

TheRecordingSystemTheTopPlan

Definition Conventions

HeadingDrawingstonesElevationsLocusnumbers The"PointOne"Locus

Boundaries Potterybucketnumbers

Mini-balkdrawings

FieldNotesBoxingNumbersPageOrganizationText

What Why Where

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2244555555666667777778

888888888999

9999999

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ColorCompactionParticleSize

WallsTheLocusSheetPotteryTagsArtifactTagsCoinEnvelopesBiologicalMaterials

StratificationandStratigraphyDefinitionsColor

HueValueChroma

TextureComposition

ConditionofmaterialsConcentrationofmaterials

RecognitionofMethodsofDepositionWater-laidlayersWind-laidmaterialMan-madelayers

FillMake-upandlevelingoperationsAccumulationonfloorsCourtyardsFloors,pavedFloors,beatenearthPits

BalksTrimmingandMaintainingBalksNoThoroughfareTemporaryCrossBalksBalkTagsBalkDrawing

ScaleDatumlineDrawingthebalkCaller

BalkRemoval

WeeklyReportsWeeklyTopPlanTextIndices

Photographs

999

101011111111

121212121212121212121213131313131313131313

1414141515151515151616

16161616

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PrinciplesofFieldPhotographyRecordPhotosPublicationPhotosPhotographIndex

ArtifactAnalysisinCampPotteryReadingCrudeWaresFineWaresPotteryRegistrationPotteryRestorationArtifactRegistryComputerRegistryCoinReadingsPresupposedArchaeologicalPeriodsArchitecturalFragmentsArchitecturalFragmentListFillingOuttheLocusSheet

FinalCommentsandInterpretationsSketchofLocusStratigraphicRelationshipsAveragePhysicalDimensionsContentsParticleSizeRecordingPotteryReadingsTheMentionIndex

SampleLocusSheetSampleLocusSheetforWalls

GlossaryAppendix1:TheIdentificationofCharcoalAppendix2:SampleDailyNotesAppendix3:SampleDailyTopPlanAppendix4:SampleFilledinLocusSheetAppendix5:SampleFilledinLocusSheetforWallsAppen-dix6:SampleFinalTopPlanAppendix7:SampleBalkDrawingAppendix8:SampleweeklyreportAnnotatedBibliography:ExcavationMethodsin

PalestinianArchaeology

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PREFACE

(Adaptedfrom“TheAmericanArchaeologicalFieldSchoolinGalilee:PedagogicalGoals,EducationalOutcomesandParticipantImpact,”byPennyLongMarlerandJamesRileyStrange)Tothebestofourknowledge,themodelfortheShikhinExcavationProject(SEP)fieldschoolbegantotakeshapeintheearly1960s.In1963,YigaelYa-dinbeganusingbothIsraeliandforeignvolunteersatMasada.Probablyoneyearearlierin’62,DavidNoelFreedmanbeganasimilarpracticeattheAsh-dodExcavationProject.Bothexcavationstrainedvolunteersinmethod.AtAshdod,Freedmanmadethedig’seducationalgoalsandtraininginmethodexplicit,andheofferedlecturestovolunteers.In1964,HebrewUnionCollegeJerusalemandtheUni-versityofNorthCarolinaChapelHillofferedasum-merseminarinIsraelthatincludedsometimeexca-vatingatTellArad.Intothemid1970s,BernardBoydofUNCChapelHillcontinuedtoofferlectures,pre-sumablytobothstudentandnon-studentvolunteersatdigshehelpedtoorganizeatBeersheba,Lachish,andArad.In1964,WilliamG.Dever,astudentofG.ErnestWrightandveteranoftheDrew-McCormickExpedi-tionatShechem,beganusingstudentsandnon-studentparticipantsratherthanhiredworkersasthebasefortheexcavationcrewoftheHebrewUnionCollege/HarvardSemiticMuseumExcavationsatTellGezer.Devergivestworationalesformakingthischange:thefirstwastoassignthediggingtopeoplewhowereeducatedinarchaeologicalreasoningandexcavationmethods;thesecondwastopopularizeandspreadAmericanarchaeologicalmethods.H.DarrellLancewroteanExcavationManualforAreaSupervisorsforGezerin1967followedbyDever’sandLance’sAManualofFieldExcavationin1978.ArchaeologistswithtiestoGezerexportedandadaptedthismodeltoothersiteexcavations:nota-blyJoeD.SegeratTellel-ḤesiandEricM.Meyers,A.ThomasKraabel,JamesF.Strange,andCarolMeyersattheMeironExcavationProject(MEP).RobertJ.Bull,alsoaveteranofShechem,setupasimilarschoolatCaesarea.J.F.StrangewrotethemanualsforbothCaesareaandMeiron,andtheMEPin-creasedthenumberofeveninglectureswhileaddingafternoonandweekendsitetours.TheMEPgavetwocoursesforcredit(sixhours),andbeginningin1970placedan“EducationalDirector”onitsseniorstaff.

TheUSFExcavationsatSepphorisadaptedthemethodtotheircityexcavation,andtheShikhinex-cavationprojectalsomadeappropriateadjustmentsbutkepttheprovenpracticesintact.TheaimsoftheSEPfieldschool,therefore,aretocollectdataandtoeducatethepeoplewhocollectthedata.ThisMan-ualexplainshowandwhytoachievethefirstgoal.Itspurposeisthesecond.

INTRODUCTIONAtthesiteofShikhin,AreaSupervisorscontroltheexcavation,recovery,andrecordingofdatathathelpthedirectorsformapictureofdailylifeatancientShikhin.Accordingly,notaskismoreimportant.TheworkrequiresthatAreaSupervisorssomewhatin-geniouslymaintainbothscientificcontrolandSquaremorale,andthattheythinkbeyondthemomenttoanimaginedfuturewhendigdirectorscombthroughtheirfieldnotes,seekingtounderstandhowexcava-tionsproceededonaparticularday,grasponesoillayer’srelationshiptoanother,orevencorrectanerrorinaregistry.Itisessential,therefore,thatAreaSupervisorsknowthedetailsofthediggingandre-cordingmethod,andthattheyappreciatewhythesedetailsareimportant.Objectives:Beforesinkingaspadeintotheground,itisabsolutelyimperativethatAreaSupervisorshaveaclearideaof(l)whattheyaredoingand(2)whytheyaredoingit.Themorebasicquestionisthesecond.Iftheyhaveformedaclearanswertothisquestion,theyareinabetterpositiontoanswerthefirst.Ifthethrillandromanceofdiscoveryistheaim,thenmethodologycansimplybediggingholesforpots.Ifsomemoreglobalaimcontrolstheprocess,suchastheelucidationandreconstructionofhistoryandculture,orthediscoveryofthelawsofprocessinhumanculture,thenamuchmorecarefulapproachisinorder.Morethansixtyyearsago,W.Taylornotedthatthegatheringofdatafromanarchaeologicalsitere-allyfollowedfromthedesiretorecoverwhathecalledthe“humanenvironment”(1948).Twentyyearslater,R.A.HeizerandJ.A.A.Grahamcalleditthedesire“tolearnasmuchaspossibleabouttheformofcultureandwayoflifeof(ancient)people.”Sincethen,othershaveofferedthegoalofunder-standingculturethroughanexplicitlyscientificap-proach,throughsystemstheory,orthrougheco-logicalmodels.Othersseektodisclosepastwaysofthinkingaboutthingsasdeducedfromarchaeologi-calremains(cognitivearchaeology).Thenthereare

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concernsforgender,history,evolution,post-modernconcerns,andquestionsofvalueandreligion(orrit-ual).Allofthesehavefollowers,butwefindourconceptualhometobeclosesttothegoalsofsocialarchaeology,i.e.,thereconstructionofpastsocialsystemsandrelations(Renfrew1984).Archaeologymakesavailablethephysicalevidenceforpasthu-manactivityandvaluesandthusprovidesim-portantlydifferentinformationthanthatfoundinliterarytexts.Literarytextstendtofocusonunusualoratypicalindividuals,thosewhomakehistory.Ar-chaeologyprovidesabroaderrangeofinformation,oftenfromtheactivitiesofthosepeopleandgroupswhogounmentionedinliterarytexts.Broadlyspeaking,archaeologicalmethodisde-signedtorecoverandrecorddatainsuchawaythatthearchaeologistscaninferamodelofanevolvingsocialworld.Theinferenceisultimatelymadethroughverbaldescriptions(fieldnotes),top-plans,sections,andphotographs.Earliergenerationsofarchaeologistsconcentratedeitherontheverticaldimensionofdiggingdowntolivingsurfacesoruponarchitectureasdefinedexclusivelybywallsandroomsofagivenbuilding.TheSepphorisandShikhinmethodincorporatesbothoftheseformerconcernsandemphasizestheinterrelationshipofthelociandstrata(seebelow)andthestructures.Archaeologistsdigvertically,butancientpeoplelivedhorizontally:thatis,withinagivenspatialandtemporalperiod.Hence,stratigraphicarchaeologymaybesaidtobeamethodbywhichdepositsinspaceareturnedfirstintorecordsofinferredsequences(whichdepositscamefirstandwhichcamelater),andthenintocomplextechnologies,socialstructures,beliefs,andvaluesthatchangedovertime(thehistoricalandhumandimension).Inanycase,thepotentialarchaeologistneedstoknowthatarchaeologicalexcavationisadestructivescience.Intheprocessofexaminingtheevidencethearchaeologistdestroysit.Materialswillneveragainlieastheydobeforetheyareexposedbyanexcavation.Inotherwords,fieldworkbyitsveryna-turedismantlestheoriginalrecordinsoilandstone.Therefore,itmustfollowthattheresponsibilityoftheAreaSupervisororvolunteerasarchaeologistincludeskeepingascompletearecordasisreasona-blypossible.Itisevennecessarytorecordthingsthatmayappeartobetrivialorofnospecialsignifi-cancetotheneophyte.Oneneverknowswhatwillbeimportantlater. Consequently,justastheaimofarchaeologymaybeunderstoodintermsofthereconstructionofpast

socialsystemsandrelations,soitsmethodincludes(l)diggingwithmaximumcontroland(2)recordingformaximuminformationretrieval.Thepersonreadingthismanualshouldkeepinmind,then,thattheexcavationandrecordingsys-tempresentedhereisintendedtoreflectthistwo-foldconsideration.Itsusefulnesswillbejudgedbyitsabilitytoenabletheexcavatortofulfilltheneedforcontrolandtherecoveryofdata.PeculiaritiesofaRuin:Thereisanothercon-sideration,however,andthatisthenatureofthesiteitself.Aruin,suchasancientSepphorisorShikhin,makespeculiardemandsonthearchaeolo-gistthatatelldoesnot:namely,unlikeatell,inaru-in,lateroccupantsoftendugintoorevenclearedawaythedebrisofearlieroccupants.TellsarethemoretraditionalsitesofinterestinancientNearEasternarchaeology.InthecasesofSepphorisandShikhin,wehavematerial,sometimesdeep,some-timesshallow,depositedastheresultofnaturalpro-cessessuchaserosion,orasaresultofhumanactivi-ty.Wehaveoccasionaltracesofwallsatthesurface,undergroundchambers,re-usedbuildingstones,stonefall,andothercharacteristicsuniquetoaruin.Excavatinginthiscontextrequiresauniqueresponsefromtheexcavator.Thismanualistheresultofmanyyears’digginginruinsandinafewtells.Ithasbenefitedfromcriticismsfromstudents,AreaSuper-visors,FieldSupervisors,andothers.Itistothemthatitisdedicated.ShortBibliographyBell,JamesA.(2009)ReconstructingPrehistory:Sci-

entificMethodinArchaeology.Philadelphia:TempleUniversityPress.

Dever,WilliamG.andLance,eds.,1978.AManualof

FieldExcavation:HandbookforFieldAr-chaeologists.Jerusalem:HebrewUnionCol-lege.

Groh,Dennis(2014)“TheAmericanFieldSchooland

theFutureofBiblicalArchaeology.”InACitySetonaHill:EssaysinHonorofJamesF.Strange,ed.DanielA.WarnerandDonaldD.Binder.MountainHome,Arkansas:BorderStonePress,128–160.

Hodder,Ian.(1991)“PostprocessualArchaeology

andtheCurrentDebate.”InProcessualandPost-ProcessualArchaeologies:MultipleWaysofKnowingthePast,EditedbyR.Preucel,pp.30–

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41.CAISouthernIllinoisUniversityatCarbon-dale,OccasionalPaperNo.10.

EricM.Meyers,Editor.(1997)TheOxfordEncyclo-

pediaofArchaeologyintheNearEast.AmericanSchoolsofOrientalResearch,Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.

Praetzellis,A.(2000)DeathbyTheory:ATaleofMys-

teryandArchaeologicalTheory.AltaMiraPress.BruceTrigger(1989).AHistoryofArchaeological

Thought.CambridgeUniversityPress.

EXCAVATIONMETHODSBeforelaunchingintoadiscussionofexcavationmethods,afewwordsaboutsurveyingwillbehelp-ful.MostexcavationslikethoseatSepphorisandShikhinbeginwithanarchaeologicalsurvey,con-ductedeitherbythearchaeologistswhodigthesiteorbyaseparateteam.Forourpurposes,“survey”referstotwoactivities.Thefirstistowalkthesiteandsimplytolookatit.Volunteersspreadoutinalineandwalkslowly,witheyestotheground,watch-ingforanythingthatinterruptstheorganicjumbleofnature:concentrationsofpotterysherds,architec-turalfragments,threeormorestonesinastraightline,cuttingsinbedrock,cisternopenings,tombs,andsoon.Suchindicatorsofhumanactivityallowarchaeologiststomakeeducatedinferencesaboutwheretosinktheirfirstprobes.Also,althoughtheywillnotbetiedtoparticularloci(seebelow),thetypesofpotterysherdsandtheirrelativefrequencyenablearchaeologiststoformhypothesesaboutthelifeofasettlement(foundingdate,periodsofgrowthanddecline,andabandonment),whetherpotterywasmadelocallyorimported,wheredo-mesticspacesprobablystoodindistinctiontoindus-trialandothertypesofspace,andmanyotherthings,allofwhichcanbetestedbyexcavating.Theseconduseof“survey”matchesmorecloselywhatmanythinkof:inthe“olddays,”theuseofsurveyor’stransit,chains,andrangepoles;andmorerecently,theuseoftotalstationorextremelypower-fulGPS(globalpositioningsatellite)orGNSS(globalnavigationsatellitesystems)receiverstocreateacontourmapofthesiteanditsfeaturesofarchaeo-logicalinterest.Aswithothertechnologiesthathavetransformedwhatusedtobedoneonpaperalone,themapiscreateddigitallybeforeeverbeingprint-ed.Indeed,itmayneverseepaper.Also,itcanbecombinedwithaerialphotographyofthesitetocre-ateaGIS(geographicimagingsystem)database,

whichitselfcancontainastartlingamountofdata,includinginformationfromremotesensing(satellitephotos,LIDAR,andothertechnologiesthat“seethrough”vegetationandeventhesoil)aswellasrawdatacollectedinthefieldintheformofdrawings,photographs,andevenhand-writtenfieldnotes.Thedatabasecanthenbemadeavailableon-lineandininteractiveform,anditcanbecontinuallyeditedandupdatedasmoredatacomeoutofadig,towhichsubjectwenowturn.The“rulesofexcavation”arederivedfromtworeadilyunderstandableprinciples:(1)Onedigseachlocus(orthree-dimensionalfeature,includingsoillayers—seeGlossary)separatelyfromallotherloci,andonedoessowithmaximumcontrol.(2)Theaimofstratigraphicdiggingistoseparatetheartifacts,pottery,biologicalsamples,etc.fromeachlocusascleanlyaspossible,aseachlayerisunderstoodbyitsownuniquecontentsanddatedbythelatestartifactwithinit.InAmericanexcavationsintheMiddleEast,oneormorecontemporarylocimakeupa“phase,”asetofphasesconstitutesa“stratum,”andthevarious“strata”formthematerialhistoryofthesite.Forex-ample,allofthelocithatdatetoadiscreetsub-historicalperiodconstitutea“phase,”suchastheEarlyRomanphase.Allthephasesthatdatetoahis-toricalperiodconstituteastratum—i.e.,onemayhypothesizethattheERstratumiscomprisedofEar-lyRomanphases1and2.Butourunderstandingofthecharacteristicsofstrata,phases,andlociintermsofrelativeorabsolutedate,typeofoccupation,andsoforthrestsuponourknowledgeofthedistri-butionsoftheartifactsandpotteryinthelocithem-selves.Thedistributionscanonlyberecoverediftheyhavebeenexcavatedandrecordedseparately,withminimumcontamination,locusbylocus.Ourstudyoftheseparatedartifacts,layerbylayer,distributionpatternbydistributionpattern,enablesusasarchaeologiststoinferatypologicalhistoryoftools,weapons,pottery,etc.Wecanalsoinferthedevelopmentoftechnologyforasite.Inaddition,wewillreconstructthesocialsystemsandrelationsofthepeopleofSepphorisandShikhin.Wewillevenforgeamodeloftheirreligions,values,politics,andaesthetics.Eventually,wewilldeducethedevelop-mentoftheeconomicsandreligionorothersocialrelationsofthepeopleforanentireregion.Butwithoutthepriorseparationofartifactualmaterialbylociandthecarefulrecordingofposition,thetaskisrenderedvirtuallyimpossible.

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Consequently,contaminationofonelocusfromanother,ortheintrusionoflaterartifactsintoearliercontexts,isagrievouserrorinexcavation,foritcompletelyskewsthedatauponwhichwebaseourinterpretations.Eachlayermustberemovedinsuchawaythatnolatermaterialiscarelesslymixedwithearlier.Therefore,(l)digonelocusatatime.Ifyoumustdigtwolociatonce,makeprovisiontodigthemfarapartsothatyouminimizethedangerofcontamina-tion.(2)Digthelatestlocusfirst.Forexample,pitsarealwaysexcavatedbeforediggingthelayer(s)intowhichtheyarecut.(3)Digthelocusatthehighestelevationfirst.(4)Selecttoolswiththetypeofearthremovalinmind:pickandhoeformajordirtmoving,hand-heldpick(“patish”)andtrowelforsmallareas,andknittingneedle,spoon,ordentaltoolsandbrushfordelicatework.(5)Digatoneelevation,i.e.,exca-vatetheentirelayeratoncesothatstructuresemergeallatthesametime,ifpossible(called“dig-ginginphase,”seebelow).Itisgenerallypreferabletofinishdiggingonelocusentirelybeforestartinganother.Inpractice,howev-er,itisnotalwayspossibletofollowthisdictum,asitmaynotbefeasibletokeepanentirecrewbusyononelocus.Ifso,thenanotherlocusmaybeduginaremovedpartofthesquareifproperprecautionsaretaken.Potterybucketsaretobefarapart(oneforeachlocus)andevenofdifferentcolors,ifpossible.Tagsmustbepredominatelydisplayedandveryclearlymarked.Objectboxesandbonebagsneedtoremainbytheirrespectivepotterybuckets.Gufas(rubberbaskets)ofsoilaretobetaggedtoavoidcontaminationatthesifter.Allpossiblecorrectivesneedtobebuiltin,foroncecontaminationtakesplace,onecanneverbesureofsuccessful“decon-tamination.”Ifonedigsthelatestlocifirst,onereducesthepos-sibilityofcontaminatingearlierloci.Diggingtwolociorareasofdistinctdateiscalled“diggingoutofphase”andistobeavoidedforthereasonmen-tioned.Inpractice,thismeansthatallpits,burials,andfoundationtrenchesmustberemovedbeforeprobingtheearlierlayersintowhichtheseintrusionspenetrate.Onemayevenhaveto“overdig”afoun-dationtrenchorpittobesurethatallofitisgonebeforecontinuing.Thismeansdiggingintothelociintowhichthefoundationorpitwasduginantiqui-ty.Diggingslightlyintoanearlierlocusdoesnotdis-tortthedating,asanyearliermaterialthatcomesupwiththelaterlocuscannotalterthedatingofthatlaterlocus.Ontheotherhand,leavingevenafew

sherdsoflaterpotteryinanearlierlocuswilldefi-nitelychangetheestimateddateoftheearlierlocus,asitmustbedatedbyitslatestcontents.Therefore,removethelaterlayersfirst,diginphase,anddigcleanlyatonelevel.Justafinalnote:ifinthecourseofdiggingyouthinkyoumaybecomingontoanewlocus,butyouarenotsure,thencleanup,changebuckets,andtakenewelevations.Thisisawayofprotectingyourselfincaseofdoubt,asthenewbucketcanal-waysbeassignedtothenextlocus.Butifthereisanypossibilitythatitcontainspotteryorotherarti-factualmaterialfromtheoldlocus,thenassignittotheold.Rememberthatthedateoftheupperlayercannotchangebyhavingearlierpotteryinit.StartingaNewSquareItiswelltorememberthatyou,theexcavator,willalwaysdigblindly,evenifyouhavesomeideaofwhatliesbeneathyourfeet.Therefore,itbehoovesyoutomovecautiouslyatfirst,carefullyselectingyourareaoffirstearthremoval.Thismeansinprac-ticethatyoumustremoveallgrassandothervege-tationfromtheentiresquare(includingbalks)be-foreyoucanlayoutthefirstprobe.Vegetationandotherorganicmattercanconcealagreatmanyim-portantdetails.Afterclearingvegetation,yourfirsttask,ifitisnotdoneforyoualready,istostringupyoursquare.Thismeansstretchingstringsfromthefourcornersofyoursquaresothatyoucanisolateyourplotfromalltheothersaround.Thisalsoensuresthattheareayouexcavateisasquarethatcanbepreciselylocat-edonthemastergridforthesiteandlaterincorpo-ratedintoamasterplanfortheexcavation.Thesurveyorshouldhavesurveyedinbyopticalinstrumentatleasttwo,ifnotallfour,cornersofyour5x5m.square.Ifthesurveyorhaslocatedtwocornersongrid,e.g.theNWandNEcorners,thenyoucanstretchonetapefivemetersfromtheNWcornerandstretchasecondtape7.07metersonthediagonalofthe5x5m.squaretofindthefourthcorner.Usestringandlinelevelstoassurethatthemeasuringtapesarelevel.Checktheplacementbymeasuringfromtwootherknownpoints.

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Fig.1:5x5and4x4metersquarestriangulated.

Thefigureshowsthetriangulatedcornersofthe4x4meterdiggingplotwithinthe5x5metersquare.Youwillusebalkstringfortheprocess,whichislikeancientEgyptianorGreekgeometry(stringstretch-ing).Rememberthatyouwillleaveyournorthandeastbalksunexcavated.The4x4meterdiggingar-ea,then,islocatedwhollyinthesouthwestpartofthesquare.Anoteonsafety:toavoidcreatingtriphazardswithstring,stringuponlytheareatobeexcavated(the4x4squareoraprobewithinit),andstringon-lywhenyoumustusethestringstodelineatetheexcavationareawhenyoubegin,totrimbalk,todrawtopplan,orforsomeotherpurpose.Therestofthetime,coilthebalkstringsneatlynearthecor-nernailssothattheyarereadytobere-strungasneeded. AtSepphorisandShikhinweusetheprobetrenchmethodoftrialexcavation,whichisarefinementoftheWheeler-KenyonmethodusedwithsuccessatTellGezerandotherdigs.Thismeansthatasmallarea,perhaps2x4m.or1x2m.inoursquares,islaidoutalongamajorbalkanddugratherrapidly,butwithseparationoftheloci.Thisexposesasam-pleofthestratificationsothattherestofthedigginginthesquareisnotentirelyblind.Itsmaindisad-vantageisthatsomestratificationmaybemissedintheprobetrenchbecauseofthespeedwithwhichitisdug,thoughthiscanusuallyberecoveredintherestofthesquare.Layoutyourprobetrenchacrossthehighpointofyoursquare.Wegenerallylayitoutagainstamajorbalk(northoreast,seebelow)sothatamajorsec-tionisexposedfirst.Itisthemajorsectioncom-posedofseveralbalksthatcontainsthemajorstra-tigraphyofthesite.InFig.2,forexample,weshowthefirstprobesetupagainsttheeastbalk,forthatisoneofyourtwopermanentbalks.Theotherperma-

nentbalkisthenorthbalk.Yourfirstprobethenliesagainstthenorthbalkandeastbalk,yourtwoper-manentbalks(seeFig.2).

1 m.

2 m.

Fig.2:1x2m.ProbelaidoutinNE

Beforeyouremoveanysoil,however,youmustknowatwhatelevationyouarestarting.ThismeansthatyouasAreaSupervisorhavealreadyascertainedwhereyourrelativedatumpointsare(indicatedprominentlyinyoursquare)sothatyoucancalcu-laterelativeelevationabovemeanMediterraneanSealeveloffeaturesinyoursquare.Eachdatumpointissurveyedbythesurveyororbysomeonewiththenecessaryskills.Oftenthisisthetopofoneofthestakesthatmarktheintersectionofthe5x5gridlines.MARKYOURDATUMPOINTORDATAPOINTSPREDOMINANTLY.

THE TOP OF THE STAKEIS THE DATUM.

SUBTRACT DISTANCE

TAUTSTRING

LINELEVEL

Fig.3:Takinglevelsfromaknowndatum.

Normally"linelevels"aremeasuredoffaper-manentdatumpointwithastring,linelevel,andmetertape,thoughattimesyoumayaskforasur-veyor'selevation(seebelow).Thisbitofinformationisenteredonyourtopplan,inthenotes,andontheappropriateplaceinyourlocussheets.Themechanicalprocessoftakinglevelsissimpleenough:onepersonholdsastringtautatthedatum

YOU MUST RECORD THEELEVATION OF EVERYBUCKETOFPOTTERY

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pointwhilesomeoneelseholdstheotherendoverthepointwheretheelevationisdesired.Thesecondpersonholdsametertapeverticallyfromhorizontalstringtoground.Ithelpstoholdthetapewithaplumbbobtokeepitvertical.Thelinelevelisat-tachedinthemiddleofthestringtoinsurethatitisheldlevel.(Thehorizontalstringactuallyformsaca-tenarycurvebecauseofgravity,sothelinelevelmustbeinthemiddleofthestring.)Whenallislev-el,thedistancefromstringtopointismeasured.Thismeasureissubtractedfromthefigureforthedatumpointtoyieldtheelevationofthelocusinquestion.(Thisoperationisbetterseenthande-scribed.)Youmayhaveuseofa“dumpy”(optical)levelinthefield.Thislevelshouldbesetupbysomeonewhohasbeentrained,andthesetupshouldbecheckedbeforeeveryelevationtakentomakesurethatthemachineremainslevel.Ifthelevellingbub-bleisnotcentered,theentiresetupproceduremustberepeated.Thesetupprocedureisasfollows.First,setupthetripodlegsforthedumpylevelsomeplaceinthefieldawayfromregulartraffic,thenscrewtheleveltothetopofthelegs,tighteningonlytofingertight-ness.Usingtheadjustablelegs,raiseorlowerlegsuntilthelevelingbubbleisroughlywithinthecircle,thenusethelevelingknobsatthebaseoftheleveltopreciselyalignthebubble.Theprocedureforusingthelevelisasfollows.Onepersonholdsthe“rod”(polewithcentimetergradu-ations,adjustableinlength)onadatumpointwitharecordedelevation.Thepersonatthedumpylevelusestheverticalcrosshairtotelltherodpersonwhenheorsheisholdingtherodlevel,thentellstherodpersontorocktherodbackandforth,awayfromandtowardthedumpy.Thepersonatthedumpyreadsthelowestnumberindicatedbythehorizontalcrosshair.Uponeachsetup,allAreaSu-pervisorsusingthedumpyshouldrecordthesetupforthatday.Hereishowthatisdone.Placetherodonadatumpointinthefieldthatishigherthanthepointstobemeasuredinthesquares,recordthenumber,andaddittotheelevationofthedatumpoint.Thisistheelevationofthedumpylevelfromwhichalleleva-tionswillbesubtracted.WhenyoutakeBDorEDelevations,elevationsforpotterybuckets,oreleva-tionsonartifacts,subtractthenumberreadviadumpyfromthedumpyelevation.Forexample,iftheelevationofthedatumpointis186.385m.and

therodmeasurementabovethatdatumis1.299m.,thedumpyelevationis187.684m.Iftherodmeas-urementoverthepointinthesquareis1.478m.,theelevationofthatpointis186.206m.(Thisoperationisalsobetterseenthandescribed.)Surveyor’selevationsonthevariouslociarealsoindispensable.Whenallofonelocusisexposed,forexample,itisagoodideatocallinthesurveyorsothatyouhaveinstrumentelevationsonthatfeature.Thisisparticularlyimportantinthecaseofbeginningandendingelevationsonmajorlociortopandfoundingelevationsonwallsandfloors.Italsopro-videsagoodcorrectiveonwhatevercumulativeer-rormayhavecreptintoline-levelordumpyeleva-tions.Note:onalltopplans,indicateline-levelanddumpyelevationswith“+”or“x.”Indicateallsur-veyedelevationswith“⊕”or“⊗.”Onecannotoverestimatetheimportanceofele-vations,or“levels”astheyareoftencalled.“Begin-ningoftheDay”(“BD”)elevationsareyesterday’s“EndoftheDay”(“ED”)elevations.Thesebracketyourexcavationdaybothinyournotesandonyourtopplans.Topandbottomelevationsoneachandeverylocusmustbetaken.Topelevationsandfoundingelevationsonwallsareabsolutelyindis-pensable.Everyfeatureinasquare,andthereforeeverylocus,hasabeginningandendelevation,andseveralmore,ifthelayerorfeatureinquestionslopesorisotherwiseirregular.Nothingismorefrustratingthantryingtointerpret“cold”archaeo-logicaldatawithoutelevations.Beforedigging,therefore,cleanthevegetationfromyoursquare,layouttheprobetrench,andtakeelevations.Youmustalsodecideontwootherthings;wheretodumpandwheretoputthesifter.Locationofthedumpismorecriticalthanyoumightthink.Morethanonearchaeologisthashadtodighisorherowndumpbecauseofpoorplacement.(Thisiscalled“Wooley'sLaw”inarchaeology,be-causeSirLawrenceWooleydughisowndumpsoof-tenatUr.)Therefore,locateyourdumpfarenoughawayfrominterestingfeaturesthatitisnotindan-gerofbeingexcavated,butcloseenoughtobecon-venient.Ideallyitwillbenexttoyoursharedsifter,forobviouslythesifteddirthastobedumped.Loca-tionofsifteranddumpisnormallyamatterofcon-sultationwithotherAreaSupervisorsandyourFieldSupervisor.TheRegionalArchaeologistoftheIsraelNatureandParksAuthoritywillwishtoseegood

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placementofthedump.ExcavatingSpecificFeaturesWallsareallowedtoemerge,sotospeak,assoillayersaredugaway.Soillayersagainstawallpre-servetherecordoftheusageofthewallafterthefloororsurfacefirstassociatedwithitwentoutofuse,includingtheusecalled“abandonment”.Thatis,donotfollowthetopofawalltoseewhereitgoes,asthisprocedurewillseparateawallfromitscontext.Rather,takedownthelayersabovethewallallatonce,asusual.Youmaywanttoleaveasmall,temporarybalkacrossthewallsothatyoucaneasilyseethestratificationagainstit.Innocasewilltrenchingalongthefaceofawallenableyoutore-coverstratification!Itisalsoimportanttoseparatematerialononesideofthewallfrommaterialontheothersideofthewall.Sincewallsdefinetheuseofspace,itmaybepresumedthattwodifferentlociareidentifiable,especiallywhenseparatedbythewall.Ifthesoillayersarefillmaterialwhichhasbeenlaidinorhaserodedinoverthewall,thetwolocicanlaterbecombined.Itiseasiertocombinetwolociintoonethantotrytoseparateonelocusintotwo. Floorsmayeitherbepavedorofbeatenearth.Pavingishardtomiss,butbeatenearthfloorsmaynotbesoeasytofind.Whenexcavatingwater-washedorwind-blownlayers,itisimportanttore-memberthattheselayerswerelaidontosomething,andthisislikelytobeafloor.Thereforeexcavatesuchlayersatonelevel,carefully,sothatmaximumexposureofafloororotherlevelfeatureisdetected.Theflooritselfwillusuallyrevealitselfaboveallbyitscompaction,thoughthereareafewotherindica-tors:(l)small,flatstones,sherds,coins,andcom-pactedearthlayingflat.(2)Accumulateddebrisabovebutnotembeddedintothesurface,thisin-cludespotteryandartifacts,dung,charcoal,bone,andcoins.(3)Ahighpercentageofclay,plaster,orotherhardermaterialinthesuspectedfloor.Pitsaretheperfectexampleofthearchaeologist’snightmare,fortheyaretheprimereasonsforcon-tamination.Pitsaresometimesdifficulttodetectinsoillayers,butmustbealwayssuspected,expected,anddetected.Pitsusuallydeclaretheirpresenceinthesamewayasotherloci:bychangesincolor,contents(ortex-ture),andcomposition.Generallytheyarerathercircularinplan.Thereforearoughlycircularchangeincolor(theyareoftennoticeablydarkerfromashorlighterfromlime),compaction(theyareusuallysofter),orcontents(lotsofkitchenmiddens)isim-

mediatelysuspect.Fortunately,somepitsareclayorstone-linedandthussimpletodetect.(Forfurtherinformationondetectingpitsseep.15below.)Fills.Ancientworkmenoftenneededtolevelanirregularsurfaceinordertobuilduponit.Soiladdedinthiswayisoftenrecognizablebyitssoftcom-paction,itsvaryingsoiltypeandcolor,andthewidevarietyofitscontents(stonesandpotteryofwidelydifferingsizesandconditions),andbythefactthatthesoillinesinthebalkrunhorizontally(therefore,humanshaveleveledthefill).Dumps.Likemodernpeople,ancientsoftendumpedsurplussoil,gravel,pottery,plaster,andothermaterials.Adumpmaybedifferentiatedfromafillbytherandomtiplinesinthebalk.Workerstippedcontainersofdumpmaterialsoverawallorstructure.Aseachloadofmaterialwastippedovertheedge,itleftdiagonaltracesofitsdeposit,call“tip-lines.”Humansoftenwalkedonthetopsofdumpsinan-tiquity,andtheircompactedtopscanbemistakenforalivingsurfacesuchasafloor.However,inanordinarydump,sherdsareoftenembeddedinthetopatrandomanglesratherthanintheflat-lyingpo-sitioncharacteristicofafloororlivingsurface.Mate-rialsindumpstendtobegravity-sorted,theheaviestmaterialsbeingatthebottomofthedump,thelightestbeingatthetop.Whetherexcavatingapit,afill,oradumpthebestprocedureistoremoveonlyhalfthematerialatfirst,untiloneissurehowthematerialwaslaid.Foundationtrenchesarenormallypartofeverywallthatisnotbuiltonbedrock.Theyareanecessi-ty,asawallwithnofoundationisvulnerabletowa-tererosion.Therefore,whenawallisconstructed,thebuilderdigsatrenchasdeepashefeelsisneces-sary,laysinseveralroughcoursesofstoneforthefoundation(ordinarilylargerstonesthanthoseinhiswall),thenlaysintheupper,visiblecourses.Hefillsthefoundationtrenchwithfillbroughtinforthepurpose,soitoftenhasthecharacteristicsofpitfill.Hemaythanleveltheinsideofthebuildingwithmorefill,andabovethishewillconstructhisbeatenearthorpavedfloor.Thelayersofleveling(“makeup”)andbeatenearthorpavingsealthefoundationtrench,whichisquiteimportantfromthearchaeologicalpointofview.Inotherwords,thefoundationtrenchis"sealed"beneathapurposefullylaidmake-upforafloorandbytheflooritself,sothefoundationtrenchremainsuncontaminatedbylater

8

debris.Ittakesabitofexperiencetofindafoundationtrench,sinceonoursitesoilwillsiltdownthefaceofawallpreservedtoaheightofseveralcourses.Gen-erally,afoundationtrenchisspottedbyapatchofloosefill-soilwiderthan.01-.03cm.fromthewall.Afoundationtrenchisusuallyassociatedwithacom-pactedsurfaceonwhichtheworkmanstoodtodigthetrenchandfoundthewall.Inremovingafoundationtrench'sfill,theassociat-edsurfaceonwhichtheworkmanstoodmustalsoberemovedfirst,asitisnormallythelastfeaturebuilt.Itisincludedwiththebuildingphase.Ifitisnecessarytoremoveawallinordertopro-ceedtothenextcoherentphaseinyoursquare,youwillneedtodismantleinreverseordertotheabovesequence.Thatis,removeseparatelythepaving,themake-up,thewall,thefillinthetrench,andthefoundingcourses,inthatorder.PLEASENOTETHATALLTHESEFEATURESRECEIVESEPARATELOCUSNUMBERS.Fromthepointofviewofchronology,thefoun-dationtrencheffectivelydatesthefoundingofthewall.Thematerialsealedbeneathafloordatesthatfloor,and,ifitismadeuptothewall,providesadateforoneuseofthewall.Sometimestheintervalbetweenfoundingandlastuseofawallissurprising-lylong.WehavewallsatSepphoristhathavelasted350years.Burialsarealsoasub-categoryofpits,thoughspe-ciallycharacterizedbytheircontents.Theymustbeexcavatedbothasintrusionsandaspotentiallyvalu-ablebearersofhistoricalandculturaldata.Excava-tionofnecessityproceedswithhandtools,evendel-icatetools,particularlywhendigginginandaroundbones.Yourfirstobjectiveistoexposetheskeletonandburialgoodswithoutdisturbingthem.Then,af-terrecordingindiarynotes,sketches,andphoto-graphs,allcontentsareremoved,boxed,labeled,andthepitiscleanedup.Choiceoftools,asyoumayhavegathered,isgen-erallydictatedbythetypeoflocusthatyouareabouttodig.Ifitisasurfacelocus,thenpickandhoeareinorder,atleastpartiallybecauseofthegreatcompactionyouwillencounter.Ifitisathinneroc-cupationlayer,itmaybenecessarytousepatish(handpick)andtrowel.Ifitisamatterofanex-tremelydelicatelayer,orofsoilinandaroundpot-terysmashedinsitu,thenuseaknittingneedle,

spoon,ordentaltoolsandbrush.(Weknowwesaidthisearlier.)Inanycase,itisuptotheAreaSupervi-sortodecidewithoneeyeontheskillofhisorherteammembersandtheotheronthesoiltobere-moved.Erronthesideofcaution,aslesswillbelostifsoilismovedtooslowlyratherthantooquickly.StrategyNormallystrategyisdecidedbyweighingover-allstratigraphicobjectivesagainstparticularexcavationpriorities.Yourstratigraphicgoalistoexposethecoherentoccupationalphaseswithinyoursquareoneatatime.Diggingprioritiesarethenasfollows:(l)Afterfinishingaprobe,exposeallofagivenlayerwithitsassociatedwallsorotherfeatures(hearths,artifactsinsitu,tabuns,columnbasesandotherar-chitecture,etc.).(2)Locateandexcavateallpits,bur-ials,drainsandwaterchannels,anderosionchan-nels.(3)IftheDirectorsandtheFieldSupervisoragreethatyouaretoproceedtothenextphase,thendismantlethewallsifyouhavebeentoldtodothat.Thenexcavatefoundationtrenches.(4)Checktoseethateverythinghasbeenrecorded(drawingsandphotographs),thenlayoutyourprobeforthenextadvance.Layingoutabuildingforexcavation:TheGridThetwomainobjectivesofarchitecturalarchaeol-ogyaswepracticeitare(l)toexposeanentirestruc-tureincontextand(2)tolearneverythingpossibleofitsfounding,use,andabandonment.Thesetwoaimsrequireexposureandbalks,thoughthebalkswilleventuallycomedowninthefinalfewdays.Theseaimsaremetbyfollowingtheclassicvaria-tionsontheideaofagrid.AtSepphorisweusetheHebrewUniversityGrid,setupbyEhudNetzerandassociatesin1985beforeourseconddiggingseason.AtShikhinweuseagridthatweestablishedthefirstseasonofexcavationin2012.Thisgriduses100x100meterplotswithinwhichwelayoutour5x5m.“squares”or“areas.”WedesignateasaFieldaco-herentexcavationunit,usuallyofassociatedarchi-tecture.ThesearedesignatedwithRomannumeralstodistinguishthemfromtheareas,whicharedesig-natedbyArabicnumerals.Thistypegridhasnobuilt-inregardforarchitecture,whichmayruninanydirection,butalwaysaccordingtosomeoverallpat-tern.However,the5x5m.gridcanbeadjustedwherenecessarytoallowforpeculiaritiesofthesite.Forexample,atSepphoriswehavedug5x7.5m.squares,andatShikhin5x10m.squares,even

9

thoughwearetherebydiggingtwodifferent5x5m.gridsquares,wherethearchitecturewarrantedit.AtSepphoris,squaresaroundthefoundationofthe“citadel”werealignedwiththewalls.Thereislittlepointinstickingtothe5x5m.gridsquaresifviolat-ingitmeansyouwillgainabetterunderstandingofthedata.Anysizeororientationofsquarecanbeused,provideditcanbedrawneasilyonmillimeterpaper(withrespecttothesizeofthesquare,amul-tipleof25cm.isdesirable).FieldsinourExcavationsatSepphoris:FieldI:probesonthetopofthesiteagainsttheRo-manTower(“TheCitadel”),inWaterman’strench,andinthecommonbath.FieldII:TheRomanTheaterFieldIII:AProbeonthesouthsideofSepphoristhatyieldednoancientoccupation.FieldIV:TwosquaresonthenorthsideofSepphorisandeastoftheFranciscanproperty.FieldV:Thecivilbasilicadownthehilltotheeast.FieldVI:AmodernhouseattheNEcornerofthecivilbasilicainFieldV.FieldsinourExcavationsatShikhinFieldI:Associatedbuildingsonthecrownofthenorthernmosthill(A1).FieldII:InstallationslocatedduringagradiometersurveynorthofFieldI.FieldIII:ThenecropolisonthewesternslopeofJebelQat(D)totheeast.FieldIV:ThemiqvehsouthofFieldI.

THERECORDINGSYSTEMTherecordingsystemisadirectdescendentofthatusedbytheJointExpeditiontoTellBalatah(ancientShechem)inthe1960s,bytheJointExpeditiontoTellGezerinthe1960sand1970s,andbytheMeironExcavationProjecttotheendofthe1970s.Itmakesuseofafieldnotebookineachareathatcon-tainsalocuslist,coinlist,photolist,bucketlist,ar-chitecturalfragmentlists,balkdrawings,photosheets,alternatingsheetsoftopplanpaperandnotebookpaper,andasheafoflocussheets.Thetopplanpaperisfortopplans,thenotebookpaperisfor

notes,andthelocussheetsareforrecordingloci.Thesheetsforlistsareforrecordingthosepiecesofinformationthattheirnameimplies.AninnovationinPalestinianfieldarchaeologywasthetopplan,introducedbyPaulLappinthe1960s.Itsusehasbeenthoroughlytestedandvindicatedinthefield.Thetopplanisadaily,stone-for-stone,scalerec-ordofeveryfeatureinyoursquare.Itshowsallthelociwithlocusnumbers,elevations,andpotterybuckets(seesampleplan).Alltopplansaredrawnatascaleof1:25ontopplanpaperespeciallyprintedfortheexpedition.Traceyourtopplansforthenextdayfromonemasterplaninordertoavoidcumula-tiveerror,orpersuadesomeonetodosoaspartofhisorherarchaeologicaltraining.FollowthefollowingTOPPLANCONVEN-TIONS:1.PrinttheheadinginLARGELETTERSwithsite,date,FieldandAreadesignations,andscale.Includeanortharrow(northshouldbeattop).Thismustallbereadilyreadable.2.Stonesshouldbedrawnwith"characteristics"sothattheyresemblerealstonesratherthanjellybeansorflatirregularities.Duringthecourseoftheday,markallstonesthatyouremovewithan"X"ontheplan.Donotcopyremovedstonesonthenextday’stopplan.3.Enterlinelevelelevationsontheplanwitha"+"or"x"andsurveyor'selevationswitha"+"or"x"withinasmallcircle.Putthismarkontheplanpre-ciselywheretheelevationwastakeninthesquare.Thisincludesendofthedayelevationsorbeginningofthedayelevations,whicharemarked"E.D."or"B.D."Writetopelevationsforwallsonthestonewheretaken.Writefoundingelevationsbesidethepointunderneaththewallwheretheyweretakenandfurnishthemwithan"S"-shapedarrow.4.Labeleverythingwithlocusnumbers,precededbyacapitalL.Allthelocusnumbersforyoursquareconsistofthreedigitsaddedtothesquarenumber.Thus,forexample,ifyouarediggingSquareV.31,yourmodernsurface(wherethegrassgrows)isL31000.ThenextdiscernablelayerthatyouexcavateisdesignatedL31001,andsoforthtoL31999,whichisourconventionforbedrock.NOTE:Locusnumbersbetween100and199(e.g.L31100,L31123,etc.)arereservedfortheexcava-tionofundergroundchambers.

10

The“pointonelocusnumber”designatesthefirstfivecentimetersofathick,dirtfloor.Forexample,ifthefloorisL1022,thenthepotteryandotherarti-factsimpressedintothefirst5cm.areremovedseparatelyasL1022.1.Thispotteryisimportantevi-dencefordatingthelastuseofthefloor.Write"POINTONELOCUS"onthepotterytagtoalertusinpotteryreading.Boththefloorlocusandthepointonelocusare,naturally,critical.5.Indicatetheboundariesofprobetrenchesandotherlimitedareasofexcavationwithdashedlines(-----).Allprobesshouldbeimmediatelyidentifiablebythisconvention.6.Aroundthemarginsofyourdrawing,enterpot-terybucketnumberswitharrowstotheplacesfromwhichtheyaredug.7.Ifyoudraftadrawingofamini-balk,drawitonthebottomofthetopplan,ifitfits,otherwiseonaproperlylabeled,separatepieceofbalkdrawingpa-per.Indicateonthedrawingwhichtemporarybalkitis.Forexample,labelthemini-balkdrawing"SectionA-B",thenshowpoints"A"and"B"onyourplan.In-dicatethescaleofthisminibalkdrawingdirectlyonthedrawing.

FIELDNOTESAnywhereinyourtextthatyouhappentomentionalocus,besuretodrawarectanglearoundthenumber(tomakeitstandout)afteryouhaveen-teredthedateonthebackofthelocussheetforthatlocus.ThisistheMENTIONINDEXandisveryim-portantfortheFieldSupervisororDirectorsorwho-everhastomakefinalsenseofthatlocus.Itshowseverypageinyournotebookwherethatlocusismentioned.Youaretoorganizefieldnotesaroundpotterybucketnumberswiththeirlociandelevationsneartheleftmargin(seesamplepage).Thatis,theleftmarginwillhavetheField.Square.Buck-etnumberfollowedbytheboxedlocusnumber,andbeneaththattheelevationforthisspecificbucket.Forexam-ple:I.33.75L33002

207.22THELINEUNDERNEATHTHEBUCKETNUMBERMEANSTHATTHISBUCKETNUMBERHASBEENENTEREDONTHELOCUSSHEETINTHESPACEPROVIDED.Underlinethenumberafterenteringthebucketonthelocussheetasawayofcheckingtobesurethatitisdone.Inthelinestotherightofthemarginentryillus-tratedabovewritewhatyouaredoingandwhy.Inyourveryfirstsentence,notethenumbersofthesquarestothenorth,east,south,andwest.Writeanyhypotheses,observations,speculations,ortheo-riesaboutthearchaeologyofyoursquarethatyouwish.Youmayspeculateabouttherelationoflocitooneanother.Itisalsovaluabletotheorizeabouttherelationshipsbetweenthelociofyoursquareandthoseofneighboringsquares.Inotherwords,whichlayersthatyouarediggingarealsotobefoundinthesquaresaroundyours?IfyourDirectorsorFieldSupervisorsinterpretsomething,recordtheinter-pretation,butyourowninformedopinionandtheevidenceyouadduceisalsoworthrecording.Includeabriefdescriptionofwhereinthelocusthediggingisgoingonandalsowherethelocusliesinthesquare.Yourdiscussionwillalsoencompasscol-or,compaction,andcontents(“theThreeCs”).Men-tionrelationshipstootherloci(abovewhat,underwhat,nexttowhat,identicalwithwhat?),itstiporslope,andothervariableslistedonthelocussheet.ItscolorwillbegiveninMunsellnotation,andwillbeanaveragecolor,butyoushouldnoteifyourunintopatchesofyelloworblackorwhatever.Compactionisarelativemeasure:veryhard,hard,ratherhard,somewhatsoft,soft,verysoft,loose.Water-washedmaterialisratherhard,unlessitisgravel.Air-laidparticlestendtoberathersoftunlesswalkedon.Dirtfloorsareveryhard,evenwhenex-posedtowindandwatererosion.Suchfloorswerepoundedwhilewetduringtheirmake-up,thenthor-oughlytroddendown.Besides,theyoftencontainafairamountofclayorlimeorboth.Alwaysrefertoparticlesizequantitatively,i.e.,givearangeofparticlesizeincentimetersormillimeters.Itismorehelpfultosaythatyourgravelis2-3cm.(indiameter)than"cherrysized."Ifitislessthan1mm.,sayso.Itmaybesilt-sized,sosayso.Youwillalsoneedtomentionhowyouthinkthislayerwaslaid

11

down,asthisisacorrelationofcompactionandpar-ticlesize(texture).Wasthislayerwashedin,blownin,orbroughtinbyhumansoranimals?Water-washedlayerstendtobecompactedandtheparticlesaresortedinsize:thesiltisonthebottomandthegravelremainsontop.Ontheotherhand,wind-blown(air-laid)parti-clestendtobeuniforminsizeandrathersoft.Silt-sizedparticleswilldominate.Therewillalsobemuchlesshorizontalstriationsorlayeringinair-laidmate-rial.WALLSrequireratherextensivediscussion,butwitharchitecturalvariablesalsoinmind.Eachwallisaseparatelocusandshouldbenumberedinsequencewithotherloci.Thenumber,however,isprecededbyacapitalWratherthananL,andonlythenumberitselfisboxed(example:W33014).Filloutthespe-ciallocussheetforwalls(seebelow).Besuretorec-ordthefollowingdescriptorsasyoudiscoverthem:1.Preservedlengthinmeters.2.Preservedwidth(probablyarange,as61-72cm.).3.Preservedmaximumheightabovefoundation.4.Topelevations(selecttwoormorehighspots).5.Foundingelevations(selecttwoormorelow

spots).6.Isitfoundedinatrench?Whatisitsnumber?7.Isitfoundedonbedrock?8.Bondswithwhichwalls?(See“Bondjoint”inGlos-

sary)9.Buttswithwhichwalls?(See“Buttjoint”inGlos-

sary)10.Associatedfloors,includingfloorsuponwhichit

sitsandfloorsmadeuptoit.11.Associatedfeatures,suchasdoors,windows,

niches,bins,orotherdomesticfeaturesbuiltagainstit.

12.Wind-blownheapsorrefusepilesagainstit.13.Isitrobbedout(robbertrenchnumber?)orcut

byapit(itslocusnumber?)orotherwisedis-turbed?bywhichloci?

14.Thiswallcutsintowhichotherloci?15.Numberofrowswide.16.Isthererubblebetweenatwo-rowwidewall?17.Numberofcourseshigh.18.Averagesizeofstones.19.Aretheyfieldstones(undressed)?20.Aretheyhammerdressedonly?Thatis,noone

cutthem.21.Arethemarginsdraftedwithaboss(seeGlossa-

ry)leftontheface?22.Arethemarginsdraftedandisthefacecutlike

Herodianstones?

23.Mortaredwithwhat?24.Arethestoneskeyed(pecked)foralayerofplas-

ter?25.Numberofcourseslaidinthefoundationtrench.26.Numberoffinishedfaces.Ifthereisonlyonefin-

ishedface,whichisit?(Thefinishedfaceordinari-lyisintendedtobeseen,soitfacesoutside.)

27.Areanyofthefacesplastered?Ifonlyone,whichone?(Oftentheplasteredfacefacesinside.)

28.Arethestones"drylaid"(nomortar)?29.Doesthewallbetrayarepairorrebuildfromdif-

ferentsizeordressingofthestones?where?30.Whereisitfoundinthesquare?31.Directionitruns(approximatecompassorienta-

tion).32.Whatisitsevidentfunction?(Northwallofroom

terracewall,outsidewall,screenwall)DON’TFORGETTOINCLUDEASKETCHOFTHEWALLINTHEGRIDPROVIDEDONTHEWALLLOCUSSHEET.FILLOUTTHEBACKOFTHEWALLLOCUSSHEETASYOUWOULDTHEBACKOFASTANDARDLOCUSSHEET.Whenyoudismantlethewall,theremaybepot-teryandotherartifactsbetweenthestonesormixedintheplasterormortar.Thispotteryistobetaggedandsentinasisanypottery,andthebucketnum-ber,date,reading,andassociatedartifactsaretobeenteredonthelocussheet.TheLOCUSSHEETistobekeptuptodate,whichusuallymeansfillingintheblanksfromyourfieldnoteseitheronthesiteorintheeveningsatcamp.Itisimperativetoenteronthelocussheetallthedes-criptorsastheybecomeknown,particularlypotterybucketnumbers,dates,andreadings.Alsoenterarti-factcategoriesonthelocussheetastheyarefoundwitheachpotterybucketnumber.Itisimpossibletooverestimatetheimportanceofthelocussheet,asitgivesinbriefalltheessentialinformationaboutanygiventhreedimensionalfea-tureinthesquare.OneofthesurestmeasuresoftheseriousnessthatanygivenAreaSupervisorgivestoherorhisnotebookcanbefoundinthecarewithwhichsheorhedoesthelocussheets,astheyab-stractalltheinformationrecordedelsewhereontopplansandinthefieldnotes.Sometimesthishasbeenreferredtoasthe"cursedpaperwork,"butthisismainlywhatwehavewhenwegetbackhome.Thepointofthecontinuousrepetitionofinformationonthevariousformsistoprovidea"fail-safe"systemofrecording,sothaterrorsmadeon(e.g.)apotterytagorinthefieldnotescanbecaughtandcorrectedinthe(e.g.)locussheets.

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POTTERYTAGSgiveallnecessaryinformationforagivenbucketofpottery.Fillthemoutwithsite,date,Field.Square.Bucketnumber(writethesethreewithperiodsbetweenthem),andlocusnumber(initsrectangularbox).Ifthebucketisfromacriticallocus,markthetag“CRITICAL.”Insituationswhereyouthinkthepotterycanberestored,markthetag"RESTORE."Ifitispossiblycontaminated,markthetag"POSSIBLECONTAMINATION."Inthefirstin-stanceitispassedontotheFormator,inthesecondinstanceitwillbeprobablythrownoutafterbeinggivenitsdueinFieldPotteryReading.

Figure4:PotteryTagArtifacttags.Artifacts(exceptforbonesandcoins)arelabeledontheartifactboxesinpencil(sothattheboxcanbereused)withthepotterybucketin-formation,exactlylikethepotterytag,writtenonthelid.Inaddition,aoneortwoworddescriptionofthecontentsoftheboxiswrittenbelowthepotterytaginformation(nail,lamp,lampfragment,glass,ring,etc.).Thisoneortwoworddescriptionalsoap-pearsonyourlocussheet.TheRegistrarwillbemoreexhaustive.Inyournotes,describewherethearti-factwasfound.Takeanelevationonfindspotsforallcoins,lampmolds,wholevessels,orothersignif-icantartifacts(theelevationofthepotterybucketwillserveforotherartifacts).Includeasketchincaseofmix-uplater.Onyourtopplan,putasmall"x"wheretheartifactwasfound,drawanarrowtoit,andindicateinthemargintheword"nail"orwhateveritwas.Onthelocussheet,onthebackwherepotterybucketsandpotteryreadingsgo,writethesamewordtotherightofpotteryreadings.Coinsaretobeplacedincoinenvelopesuponwhichiswrittenthesamepotterytaginformationtogetherwithyourown"Cnumber."Thisisaserialnumberyouassigntocoinsfromyoursquare.Thatis,yourfirstcoinisC-l,yoursecondisC-2,andsoon.Youshouldalsoenteronyourcoinpagetherecordofthiscoin:

C-No. DateBucketLocus CommentsorI.D.C-l 6/172330010 Probus.C-2 6/17433002Foundinsitubetween

stonesofwall33004

Biologicalmaterials.Therecoveryofbiologicalma-terialsneednotbeadifficultprocedure,andtheev-idencefromsuchremainscanprovidevaluablein-formationwhichisaccessibleinnootherway.Fromplantandanimalresiduesitisoftenpossibletore-constructanancientecosystem,understanddetailsofapeople'sdietandhealth,anddrawconclusionsabouttheirmethodsofmanagingbothflocksandfields.Itmaybeusefultothinkofbiologicalsamplesintermsoffourgeneralcategories:[l]microflora(in-cludingsuchmaterialsaspollens,spores,andphyto-liths);[2]microfauna(primarilytheremainsofin-sectsandothersmallanimals,includingfishscales);[3]flora(includingseeds,grain,nuts,wood,char-coal,fabrics,oranyotherplantresidue);and[4]fauna(usuallylimitedtohardtissue:bones,teeth,horncores,andshells).TheDirectorsmayaskyoutoobtainsoilsamplesfromthelociwhichyouexcavate.Takethesecare-fullytoavoidcontamination(aparticularlygreatdangerwhenoneisdealingwithmaterialsofmicro-scopicsize).Athinlayerofearthshouldbecarefullyremovedwithatrowel(usuallybyscrapinggently).Auniformquantityofearththengathered,placedintoa"zip-lock"plasticbagandsealedatoncethentaggedlikeanartifact.Therecoveryofmicrofloraandmicrofaunaisnotafieldprocedure,butrequirescarefulworkinabiologicallaboratory.Largerbiologicalmaterialsmaybeobtainedusingmethodsemployedtorecoverotherartifacts.Care-fulobservationandscreening(sometimessup-plementedbyflotation)willenableonetopickoutthebones,teeth,shells,fishscales,charcoal,andotherbiologicalmaterials.Thesematerialsareoftenparticularlyfragileandsusceptibletodamagebe-causeofthechangesintemperature,humidity,acid-ity,etc.towhichtheyareexposedbyexcavation.Placethesematerialsintoapaperbagorcardboardbox(thelatterisparticularlyusefulifthesampleap-pearstobeparticularlyfragile).Donotsealtheminaplasticbag,asthiswillacceleratethedeteriorationofthesample.Thebagsorboxesshouldbemarkedwiththesameinformationasthepotterybucketwithwhichtheyareassociatedandturnedinalongwithotherartifactualmaterialattheendofthe

Sh13 6/15

I.5.75

L5002

CRITICAL

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workday.Biologicalmaterialswill,ofcourse,berec-ordedinthefieldnotesandonthelocussheets.

STRATIFICATIONANDSTRATIGRAPHYItisimportanttoobserveanelementarydis-tinctionhere.Thelayersastheyarefoundarestrati-fication;theinterpretationofthemisstratigraphy.Inotherwords,wedonottakethelayershomethemselves,butourrecordsofthem.Recognitionofstratificationisalearnedskill,buttheprinciplesofthisskillcanbesetdown.Itissimp-lyamatterofrecognizingdifferencesin“thethreeCs”:Color,Compaction,andContents.Thehumaneyecanrecognizemoredifferencesincolorthanyoumightbelieve.Youwillneedtotrainyourowneyetonoticesignificantdifferencesalmostunconsciously,althoughaperusaloftheMunsellSoilColorChartwouldhelpyoutodiscoverwhetheryoutendtonoticedifferencesinhue,darkness/lightnessofhue,orstrengthofhue.Huereferstothepointonthespectrumthatacol-oroccurs,itswavelength,ifyouplease.IntheMun-sellsystem,colorsofsoilsadvancefromred(R)toyellow-red(YR)toyellow(Y),eachonadifferentiat-edscalefromonetoten.Thatis,theoretically,“red”rangesfrom1to10,inwhich5Risthemiddleofthescale.At10Rwestartwith1YR(Yellow-Red)onitsscaleof1-10,andat10YRwemeetwith1Y(yellow),untilwereach10Y,thelastsoilcolorinthechart.Itisobviousthat10Risidenticalwith1YR,and10YRisidenticalwith1Y,butthesesheetsdonotoc-curinthesoilcolorchart.Hueslightenonaverticalscale("value")from2-8(1and9-10aretoodifficulttomanufactureasyet).Huesalsovaryinintensity(theamountofpigment,called"chroma")onahorizontalscalefrom2-8,orsometimes2-10.Thusalmostanysoilcolorcanbecloselymatchedwithacolorchipinthesoilcolorchart,whichlocatesthecolorinthreedimensions.Practicewiththechartincreasesaccuracy,andsomevolunteersalreadytrainedincolordiscriminationareavaluableasset.Inanycaseyouneedtobethor-oughlyfamiliarwiththeMunsellnotationsystem,asitisastandardinmanyexcavations.IthaslongbeeninuseinAmericanandEuropeananthropologicalarchaeology.Note:AmoredetailedexplanationoftheMunsellsystemisfoundintheJapanesesoilcolorchart;in-troduction.SeealsoA.H.Munsell,AColorNotation,

1946,pp.14-16.NOTE:NEVERDUMPSOILDIRECTLYONTHECOLORCHIPS.Texture,whichincludescompactionandparticlesize,hasalreadybeendiscussedonpage10.Itisveryimportantthatyoudevelopadiscriminatorysenseinthismatterandthatyouworkon"quanti-fying"it.Thatis,youneedtofamiliarizeyourselfwithparticlescalesthatusemeasuresinsteadofanalogiesasameansofstandardizingnotation.Themetricsystemshouldbecomefamiliarenoughtoyouthatyoucanlookatarockandgaugeitsdiame-ter(withinarange,as10-12cm.)incentimeters,withoutmentalconversion.Estimatingdegreeofcompactionisstillrelative,butcanbedonesystem-atically.TheContentsasasoilvariablereallyreferstothecontents.Forexample,agivenlocusmaycontainlargequantities(relativetootherloci)ofpotterysherds,plasterchunks,ash(blackissmotheredash;whiteisburned-outash),charcoal,slag,glass,water-washedgravel,sand,silt,organicfibers,animalbonefragments,snailshells,etc.Ineachcaseanexpla-nationofthepresenceofsuchmaterialsiscalledfor.Furthermore,theconditionofthesematerialsisim-portant,asthatisacluetotheirprovenanceanduse.Aretheywaterworn,burned,crushed,sub-angular(withsharpedges),patinated(fromoxida-tion),heavilycorroded,lightlycorroded,decom-posed,sun-bleached,orwhat?Alsotheirconcentra-tionordistributioninalocusisimportant.Thatis,dotheyalloccurtogethernexttoawall,oraretheyspreadoutratherregularly?Allsuchgroupingsortheirconversecallforexplanationandhelpusun-derstandthenatureofthelocusinquestion.Whenexcavatingalocus,whentwoofthethreekeycharacteristicsoflocusdescription(color,com-paction,andcontents)change,itisusuallybesttochangelocusnumbers.RecognitionofMethodsofDepositionAllthelayersthatyouwillfindwerelaideitherbynaturalforces(generally,“erosion”)orbyhumanbeings(“fill”or“dump”).Asidefromanimalburrows,thetwoagentsofnaturaldepositionareeitherwa-terorair.Earlierwementionedsomecriteriaforrecognizinghowlayersaredeposited,butitiswellherebothtoreviewandexpandthatdiscussion.Water-laidlayersusuallyarenotlevelexceptin

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thebottomofcisterns,sumps,andpits.Suchlayerswherewaterstoodforalengthoftimeoftencontainpredominantlysilt-sizedparticles,arerathercom-pacttoveryhard(dependingonwhethertheywereeversunbaked),andhomogeneous.Butthoselayersthataredepositedfrommovingwater,eitherinanerosionchannelorinarapidwashacrossanaban-donedfloororcourtyard,areusuallysortedbyparti-clesize(gravelontop;siltonbottom,rathercom-pact,andheterogeneousincontents.Oftenthecon-tentsincludewater-washedandbattered(smoothed)stones,animalbones,pottery,andothermaterials.Theconditionofthecontentsisanexcel-lentcluetothemethodofdeposition.Wind-laidmaterialismostoftenrecognizablebyitssoftness,silttosandparticlesize,andbyitspilingupincorners.Oftenunderamagnifyingglassitwillcontainmaterialcharacteristicofoccupation:tinypiecesofpottery,animalbone,ash,charcoal(bone,wood,ordung),organicfibers(grass,weeds),shell,wood,andsoon.Ontheotherhand,itmaycontainrelatively"sterile"particlesofsand,silt,stone,andorganicfibers.Itisimportanttonotecompositionofwind-laidmaterialexactlythesameasanyotherlo-cusasacluetoitsprovenance.Human-madelayersdivideintofill,make-up,level-ingoperations,floors,courtyards,andaccu-mulations.Fillcanberecognizedmainlybytheran-domarrangementofitscontents(sherds,stones,wood,etc.)andbyitssoftness.Ifthefillhasbeendeliberatelythrownintoanabandonedcisternorotherholeofsomedepth,itisusuallygravity-sorted.Thatis,theheavierstonesrollfurthertowardthebottomasthedirtdescends,whilethesmaller,lighterparticlesslidelessfarandmoreslowly.Suchfillisoftenveryloose.Make-up(offloors)andotherlevelingoperations,ontheotherhand,areoftenidentifiablebyamoreorlesshorizontalorientationoftheircontents,aresultoftheirhavingbeenspreadaroundbythepeoplewhobroughtthemin.Theyaremuchmorecompactthansimplefill,thoughnotashardasbeatenearthfloors.Accumulationonfloorsisoftendifficulttodistin-guishfromtheflooritself,ifthefloorispoorlycon-structed.Accumulationisapttohaveahigherashandcharcoalcontentthanotherlayersandmuchmorepottery.Itwillbelesscompactthanthebeatenearthfloors.DirtCourtyards,iftheycannotbediscernedbytheirlocation,oftencanbedetectedbothbythedungashandwoodcharcoalintheircontentsandbythecastsofseedsthatappearinquantity(feed).An-

imalandhumanactivitychurnsuptheseareas,sothecontentsareoftenworn,broken,andbattered.Anothercharacteristicofdirtcourtyardsisthehighincidenceoferosionpatterns,perhapsbecauseof-tentheroofwasmadewithagutterthatemptiedintothecourtyard.Suchchannelshaveadifferenttextureandcolorfromthelayersthattheycut,par-tiallyfromparticlesize,butalsofromthewell-washedcontents.Floorshavealreadybeendiscussedbrieflyonp.6.Youwillneedtolookforthethreecharacteristicsmentionedthereifyoususpectthepresenceofabeatenearthfloor.Wefindearthenfloors,oreventransientsurfaces,onoursite,soyoumustbepreparedtodiscriminatebetweenothercompactlayersandfloors.Thelatterareusuallymuchmorecompactthanthelayersthatrestuponthem.Theyarefurtherdistinguishedbytheirowncompositionandbytheflatorientationofmaterialrestinguponthemorpressedintothem.Theyoftenexhibithorizontalstriationsinsection,thoughtheircolormaynotdifferdramaticallyfromthelayersabovethem.Ifyouarediggingacourtyardfloorinparticular,youmustbepreparedtolookforPITS.(Pitsarealsodiscussedonp.6.)Herearesomethingsyoucandoifyoususpectthepresenceofapitbutarenotsure:(l)Scrapelightlywithyourtrowelthelayerfromwhichthepresumedpitiscut.Achangeintextureorcompositionoftenresultsinadifferent"feel"orinthesoundofthetrowel.(2)Standawayfromthesuspectedareatogetadifferentperspective.Youmightalsotrydifferentlightingconditionsatdiffer-enttimesofday.(3)Asktheopinionofthosewhoaretrainedtodetecttinydifferencesincolor(artists,arthistorians,geologists,peoplewhoworkwithdyes,experiencedfieldpersonnel,etc.).Ifallelsefails,layoutasmallprobeacrossthesuspectedpitanddigoutaboutfivecentimeters.Cleanuptheprobeandexamineitsbottomandmini-balks.Eventhemoststubbornpitwillusuallyyieldtothis.Be-causepit-materialisusuallysofterincompactionordarkerthanthesurfaceorsoillayercutbythepit,thehorizontalextentofapitcanoftenbetracedfromthetopbycarefuluseofatrowel.Scrapethehardersurface,allowingthetrowelpointtopene-trategentlyintothesofterpit.Thisisausefulwaytooutlinetheintrusivepit.Balknailscanbeusedtomarkforsubsequentexcavationsthepointswherethetrowelhasgoneoffthehardsurfaceintothepit.

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BALKSThesinglemostindispensablestratigraphicrecordinthefieldisthebalkasaverticalsectionthroughthelayers.Sometimesacarefuldressingandreadingofthebalkhasclarifiedahostofstratigraphicprob-lems;therefore,youshouldunderstandthepurposeandpropercareofbalks.TrimmingandMaintainingBalksYouwilldigwithinfourverticalbalks,andtheymustbecutascleanlyandverticallyaspossible.Thepointincuttingbalksthiswayis1)topreserveastratigraphicrecordofyourexcavation,particularlyinrelationtothestructuresandinstallationsinyoursquare;and2)toremovematerialthatcancontami-natelowerandearlierloci.Thisproblemoccurswhensloppybalktrimmingleavesa“bathtubeffect”atthebottomofthebalk,whichisthenremovedwiththeearlierlocus.Asageneralrule,ifit’stimetochangelocus,it’stimetotrimbalk.Duringthecourseofdiggingyouwillhaveyourpickpersoncutasverticallyaspossible,remaining5–10centimetersawayfromwhatwillbethefin-ishedbalk.Allvolunteersmustunderstandthattheyaretoleavefinalbalkcuttingtowhoeverhasbeenproperlytrained.Theywillthengetinthehabitofexcavatingnocloserthan5cm.fromthebalk.NormallyallteammembersincludingtheAreaSu-pervisoraretrainedinbalkcuttingat"balkschool"inthefieldorinsomeotherway.Theywillthereforealwaysbeoncalltokeepyourbalkstrimmedandstraight,preferablydaily.Beforeyoucancutyourbalk,youmustbesurethatthebalkstringsareaccuratelylaidoutandtaut.Youwilltrimstraightdownwiththepatishfromthebalkstring,usingaplumbbobtoinsurethatyoure-mainvertical.First,cutaverticaltrackinthebalk5–10cm.wide,checkingfrequentlywiththeplumbbobandtapemeasuretomakesureyouarenotun-dercuttingthebalk.Undercuttingisaseriouserror,aswhatisremovedcannotbeputback.Aneffectivewayofcheckingthatyoucutverticallyistohangaplumbbobfromapickorhoehandlethathasbeenlaidacrossthetopofthebalk,butthatisnotlyingonthebalkstring.Measurehorizontallyfromtheundisturbedbalkstringtotheplumbbobstring.Thatmeasureshouldremainconstantallthewaydownthetrackasyoucut,measuringfromtheplumbbobstringtothebalk.Inotherwords,ifthemeasurefrombalkstringtoplumbbobstringatthetopofthebalkis15cm.,thentheplumbbobstringshouldal-

waysbe15cm.fromtheinsideofthetrack.Contin-uetocutverticaltracks,spacedaround10cm.apart,andthencutoutthesoilbetweenthem.Youcancutthebalkfacefairlyaccuratelywithapatish,butthefinalcarefultrimmingistobedonewithatrowel.Stonesarenottobepulledout,asalargepieceofbalkmaycomewiththem.Neitherarestonestoechiseledthrough.Trimsoilaroundstonesinthebalkflushwiththeverticalfaceofthebalkandleavethestoneinplace,unlessthereisobviousdan-gerfromalarge,loosestone.NEVERATTEMPTTOSECTIONTHROUGHAHARDSTONE.Keepyourbalkstrimmedtowithinabout5-10cm.ofthebottomasyoudig.Ifyougettoofarbehindinfinaltrimmingitwilltaketoolongtocatchup.Itisalsoimportanttocutbalksinanotherpartofthesquareawayfromyourmajorexcavationwork,asallmaterialfrombalkcuttingortrimmingisprimecon-taminatingmaterial.Rememberthatbalktrimmingscomefrommuchhigher,thereforeearlierloci,andwillconsequentlycontaminatewhatyouareremov-ingbelow.Also,balkmaterialismixedfromseveralloci,thereforeitistobethrownout,unlessitisasignifi-cantfind,suchasacoin,lampmold,orotherim-portantartifact.Furthermore,youoryourregularbalktrimmermustcleanupthisdebrisconstantlysoasnottotreadcontaminatingmaterialintolowerlayers.Tomaintainabalkinitscleanest,mostreadablecondition,itmaybenecessarytoavoidusingitasacatwalk.OftenalineofstonesorsandbagsislaidacrossabalktoerectasmallbarriertoindicateNOTHOROUGHFARE.Butsometimesonemustwarndistractedarchaeologistsandvolunteersseveraltimes,andperhapsforcefully,DON'TWALKONTHEBALK!TemporaryCrossBalksareavaluabletoolforkeepingtrackofthestratigraphyofafeaturethatdoesnottouchanyofyourfourmainbalks.Forin-stance,youmaydiscoverthestubofawallinthemiddleofthesquarethatdoesnotintersectanyofyourbalks.Youmaythenfinditusefultoleaveatemporarycrossbalkextendingfromamainbalk,runningacrossthewall.Inthisway,youpreserveclearproofofitsstratigraphicrelationshipstootherwallsandfloors.Ifaredearthlayerrunsoverthiswallandovertheothermainwallsinyoursquare,thenallthewallsareearlierthantheredlayer.If,ontheotherhand,youdiscoverafoundationtrenchin

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theredlayerfortheisolatedwall,thenitislaterthanboththeredlayerandtheotherwalls,eventhoughitmaybeatthesamefoundinglevel.Thesetemporarycrossbalksaretobedrawnlikeamainbalk,butthedrawingisenteredonthebottomofthetopplanforthatday.Itistreatedasallbalkdrawings(seebelow).BalkTagsarepartofeverysquare.Suchtagsareverysimpletoreadandextremelyusefulforkeepingtrackofstratification,especiallyifyouspendlocusnumbersfreely.Everylayerorotherfeatureinthebalkistobetaggedassoonasyouhavenumberedit.ThetagreadsL1008,forexample,andispinnedtothecen-terofthatlocuswithanail.Ifthereismuchwindorthatparticularlocusissoft,youmayhavetousetwonails.Butinanycasetagyourbalks.Youmayhaveaninerrantmemory,butyourDirectorandcol-leaguesdonot.BalkDrawingTheconventionatSepphorisandShikhinistodrawthenorthandeastbalks.TheDirectorwillinformyouifitisnecessarytodrawanother.Balkdrawingsarethefinalpermanentvisualrec-ordofthestratificationofyoursquare.Inprincipletheyaretobedrawnbytheonewhodidthedigging,or,ifheorshedoesnothaveanydraftingskill,bysomeoneunderhisorhersupervision.AreaSuper-visorsareresponsibleforthebalkdrawingsinyoursquare.Intermsoftimespentonbalkdrawing,youwillprobablyfindthatyoucanstayaheadifyoudrawexposedfeaturesregularly,thatiseitherweeklyordaily.Whateverintervalyouchoosetokeepyourbalkdrawingsuptodateisnotasimportantasmak-ingsurethattheyareaccurateandclear.Balksaredrawnatascaleof1:25onspecialbalkdrawingpaper,whichisfourcentimeterstotheme-ter.Onetinysquareonbalkdrawingpaperrepre-sentstwocentimeters.Atthisscale,youraccuracyis±1cm,whichiswellwithinatolerablemarginofer-ror.Beforeabalkcanbedrawn,however,itmustbetrimmed,andthenprovidedwithaDatumLine,whichismerelyastringstretchedbetweentwoironrodsdrivenintothebalkatthesameelevationneartwocorners.Surveyor'selevationsaretakenonthe-

sedatapointsandthisreadingisthenattachedtotherod.Thatis,writeitonapotterytagwithamarkingpenandtieittothedatumpoint.Alsomarkitonthebalkdrawingpaper.Consultthesamplebalkdrawingintheappendix.Noticethatnothingisdrawnschematically,butthateverythingisdraftedstone-for-stonetothenearest1cm.Thereisareasonforthis:namely,sothatthemaximuminformationmayberetrievedfromthebalkdrawing.Awell-executedbalkdrawingismannafromheavenforthearchaeologistporingoverfieldnotesanddrawinginthewinter,oradecadelater.Heorshemaydiscover,forinstance,thatalayerclearlyappearstobegravity-sortedinthedrawing,butthatthenotesimplythatthelayerisdeliberatelycompacted.Thiscallsforexplanation.Therefore,drawonlywhatisthere,butdoitfullyandaccu-rately.Theactualmechanicalprocessofbalkdrawingissimpleenough.Youmustfirststretchametertapealongyourdatumline,fasteningittothedatapointswithclothespinsorpaperclamps.ThisestablishesanX-axisandtellsyouwhereyouarehorizontallywithreferencetothecornersofyoursquare(thistapemustbesetupaccuratelysothatthe1m.mea-sureisinfact1m.fromthecornerstake).Markyourhorizontallineonthepapertorepresentyourdatumlineandlabelitwithitselevation(seebalkdrawing).Nearthetopofyourbalkdrawingpaper,printaleg-endwithFieldandArea,balkdesignation,date,andyourname.Whenthesepreliminariesaredone,youarereadytolocatethesurfaceonyourpaper.Yourcallerwillcallheightofsurfaceabovedatumforyouevery25-50cm.alongthedatumline(youdecideonthein-terval).PlaceaLIGHTpencildotonthepaperatthe-sepoints,andthendrawinthislineasinadot-to-dotgame.Dotsshouldbelightenoughthatasyouconnectthem,theydisappearintothepencilline.Addtheconventionforgrass:

Figure5:ConventionforGrass

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Drawthebottomofthebalkinthesameway.Yourcallerwillnowcallpointsonthestonesforyou,andyouwilldraftinthestoneonthepaper.Thiswillin-cludewallsthatintersectthebalk.Finally,drawinthelinesthatindicatetheseparationbetweenlay-ers,havingyourcallercallthepointsthemexactlyasshecalledthesurface.Labeleverylocusonyourdrawingandincludetherectanglearoundthenumber.Checkthatyouhavenotmislabeledanythingorleftanythingout.Payat-tentiontodetails,suchastextureofalocus,i.e.,in-cludegravelorspecksofcharcoalconcentratedsomewhere.Artistictouchesneednotbeincluded,asaestheticsarenotasimportantasaccuracy.Thedrawingsofanytwobalksthatintersectoneanoth-er,forexample,shouldmatchattheiredges,justasthebalksdo.BalkRemovalRemovalofabalkinthesenseofcatwalkisaspe-ciesofanysoilremoval.Youhavethedistinctad-vantageofknowingwhatisthere,foryouandyournorthandeastneighborshavelabeledthebalkonbothsides.Youhavetheusualtask,then,ofcarefulstrati-graphicremovalofthelayersinoppositesequencetotheirdeposition.Thesinglecomplicationisthatyouaretorecordthenumbersthatyournorthernandeasterncolleagueslaveassignedtothelocusintheirsquare.Youarealsotorecordanydiscrepan-cies.Thesedatabelongbothonthelocussheetun-der"remarks"(e.g.thisL1035=L2019inthenextsquareeast)andinyournotes.Note:Rememberthatthenorthandeastbalksareyours.Yourneighborswilldealwiththesouthandwestbalks.

WEEKLYREPORTSWeeklyreportsarepreparedbytheAreaSuper-visortoenablethedirectorstohaveapermanentbriefaccountofactivitiesintheareas.Itisalsouse-fulfortheAreaSupervisor(whogetsonetypedcopy)towritedowninbriefcompasshergoalsandhowsheisachievingthem.Shefulfillsthisrecordingrequirementinathreepartreportcontainingtheminiatureschematictopplan,atext,andtheindices.TheWEEKLYTOPPLANispreparedatascaleof1:25asusual.Itsimplyrepresentsthemainfeatures

inyoursquare,thougheverythingislabeledwithitslocusnumber.Itisaninvaluablevisualreferenceforthepersonreadingyourweeklyreport.Thetextisaboutapageofdescriptionofyourgoalsthatweek,howyouachievedthem,didanyproblemsthatremainoutstanding.Thisisahighlycondensedversionofyourweek'snotes.Theindicesaremerelylistsfortheweekofnewitemsineachofthefollowingcategories:1.Potterybucketswithlocusnumbersandelevations2.glass3.coins4.bone5.tesserae6.metal7.plaster8.architecturalfragments9.newloci10.photos11.drawings12.organicsamples13.soilsamples14.miscellaneousIfnotesseraewerefoundthatweek,thenwrite"none"foritem5.Ifyouturnedintoregistryfivemetalartifacts,thenlistwhatpotterybucketsandlocitheyareassociatedwith.Turninanelectronic,typedcopybySundayeven-ing.

PHOTOGRAPHSPhotographsareoneofthemostimportantmeansofrecordinginformationthatwehave.Thereforeithelpstoknowsomeoftheprinciplesoffieldpho-tography.l)Photographsaresupposedtostoreinformation,thereforetheymustbeclear,distinct,andwellcom-posed.Thisalsoimpliesthatthesubjectmustbeclean.Nooneknowshowdeepdirtisfromthepho-tographalone,thereforeitisimpossibletoguesshowmuchhasbeenconcealedbywhatyouasexca-vatorknowtobeonlyonemillimeterdeep.2)Photographsrecordnotonlytheappearanceofthesubjectsuchastheconstructionofawall,butalsoitsrelationshiptootherfeatures(suchastherelationofthewallstofloorsandothersurfaces).

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3)Photographsmayalsobedesignedtorevealdaybydayexposureofsomeimportantfeature.Forex-ample,aseriesofend-of-the-dayphotographsmayrevealhowalocuswascoveredinthefirstplace,animportantpointinfinalinterpretation.TheAreaSupervisormakessurethateverythingisabsolutelycleanforthephotographer.Thelastoneoutofthesquaremustactuallybrushawayhisorherfootprints.Thisismostimportant,asanyoneknowswhohasbeenfacedwiththeproblemofin-terpretingphotographsofimproperlycleanedwallsandfloors.(Isthepotterysmashedwithinthefilloruponthefill,astheexcavatorsuggests?)Basically,therearetwokindsofarchaeologicalphotographs:(l)Informalphotos,and(2)publicationphotos.Eachhasitsownjustification.Theinformalphotoor“recordshot”isintendedtobeaspotrecordforyouofwhatisgoingoninyoursquare.Itisnotasubstituteforapublicationpho-tograph.Therefore,youorthedigphotographerwilltakedigitalphotosonlytoclarifysomethingforyourownuse,notforapermanentrecordofwhatisthereorwhathashappenedstratigraphically.Goaheadandmounttheminyourbook.Thinkofthemasoflimitedandtransientuse,butessentialtoun-derstandingwhatgoeson.Onetypenotebookphotographistheso-called“end-of-the-weekshot.”ThisissimplyarecordofhowfaryourexcavationhasproceededbyFridayofeachweek.Youcleanupforthisphotoinexactlythesamewayasforanyotherrecordshot.Recordphotosareproperlymountedandanno-tatedonanotebookpageandinsertedwithinthenotepagesinyournotebook.PublicationphotographsarecalledforbyyourDi-rectorswhohaveconferredwithyouandaresatis-fiedthatthisfeatureisnowcompletelyexposed.Of-tenseveralsuchphotosofvariouswidthanddepthofframemayberequiredtorecordalltheinfor-mationdesirable(thewholesquare;aparticularwall;therebuildinthewall;asinglestonewithgraf-fito).Consultthephotographer,bytheway,forhisorherprofessionaljudgmentasphotographer.ConsultyourDirectorsfortheirprofessionaljudgmentasar-chaeologists.Inanycase,youshouldknowthatallphotos

shouldbetakenwithoutshadows,ifpossible,forshadowscreateahostofproblems.Thismeansthatthebestpublicationshotsaretakeneitherveryearlyorverylate,whenthesunisbelowthehorizon,buttheskyisstillbright.Itmaybenecessarytocleanupat1:00andcomebackbeforesunset.Theuseofa“Joshuacloth”enablesphotostobetakenafterthesunhasrisenorbeforeithassetPhotographsaretobemountedinthenotebook.Besuretorecordthephotographnumber(whichthephotographerwillgiveyou),theorientation(com-passdirection),locusorfeaturebeingphoto-graphed,andanyotherexplanatorycommentsyoufeelarenecessary.YoualsoneedtokeepaPhotographIndexinthefrontofyournotebook.Thisissimplyarunninglistbydateofnumberedphotographsinyoursquare.Suchalistwillbearrangedneatlyasfollows:DatePhotoNo.Subject(locusNo.)

ARTIFACTANALYSISINCAMPThepurposeofthissectionissimplytointroduceyoutoourartifactprocessing.Perhapsifyouhaveagoodunderstandingofthisprocessyoucanaidinitsexpedition,particularlyinthecareyouexerciseinpreparingartifactandpotterylabelsinthefield.Potteryisprocessedinaregularunvaryingprocess.Thefirstdecisionaboutimportanceorsignificanceismadeinpotteryreading.Thisistheprocessofsepa-ratingpotteryintocategoriesaccordingtoitschro-nologyandsometimestypologyforthepurposeoffindingoutwhatarchaeologicalperiodsarebeingdug.Butthepointisthatthedecisiontokeepordis-cardpotteryisreservedforthepotteryreadingta-ble.Attendanceatthedailypotteryreadingisman-datoryforexcavatorsintraining.Potteryrepresentsthequickestandbestindica-tionofthechronologicalhorizonsofalocusunderexcavationandacquaintancewiththemainformsfoundonoursiteconstitutesanessentialpartoftheexcavator’scompetency.Rims,bases,andhandlesare“indicator”sherdsthatmosteasilydesignatethetypeofvesselanditschronologicalhorizon.WeclassifythepotteryfoundatSepphorisandShikhinintocrudewaresandfinewares.CrudewareswerelocallymanufacturedinPales-tineand,inthecaseofoursite,weremadevery

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nearSepphoris.Seventy-fivepercentofcrudewaresatSepphorisaremanufacturedatnearbyKefarḤan-aniahandanothertenpercent(includingsomeofourmostdistinctiveforms,liketheSepphoreanBowlorLid)weremadeatancientShikhin(the“Asochis”ofJosephus).AtShikhinwehaveuncoveredexten-siveevidenceofpotterymanufacturing.Crudewaresincludethecoarsely-madepotteryusedincookinganddailylife—plates,bowls,cookingpots,jugsandjuglets—andlargerstoragejarsandamphorae.FinewaresintheGalileeareallimportedfromotherregionsoftheEasternMediterranean.Themorefinelylevigatedclayandtheredwash(“slip”)thatcoatstheirsurfacedifferentiatesthemeasilyfromthecrudewares.ThethreewidelyusedwaretypesoflateAntiq-uity—CypriotRedSlipWare,AfricanRedSlipWare,andPhocaeanRedSlip(LateRoman“C”)Ware—arerepresentedatSepphoris.WehaverecoveredverylittlefinewareatShikhin.Crudewareformstendtochangeslowly,sincethesamegeneraltypeofcookingandcommercialvesselsarepreferredbyseveralgenerations,buttheydoevolve(withinonehundredtoonehundredandfiftyyears),andtherecognitionofthisevolutionhelpsinourchronologicalidentificationoftheloci.Finewares—fancierandmoreexpensiveves-sels—aremoreresponsivetochangesinhumantasteandpreferenceand,hence,providetheexca-vatorwithgreaterchronologicalprecision(withinfiftytoonehundredyearsusually,withsub-typesrevealingevenshorterchronologicalhorizons).Fieldrecognitionofsuchformsgreatlyaidstheexcavator.Afterpotteryiswashed,dried,andread,itgoestoPotteryRegistry.Thesherdshavebeenbaggeddur-ingReading,andinsomeinstancesthebagismarked“RESTORE.”AllbagsofsherdsthengotoPotteryRegistrytoberegistered.Thisistheprocessofmarkingonthesherdwithwaterproofinkitssite,field,andsquaredesignationwiththeserialnumberfrom1toNforthatspecificbucket.Thatis,ifthebucketcontains22sherds,thenthesherdsaremarkedasabovewithaserialnumberfrom1to22.Thelicensenumberalsoappearsoneachsherd.RegisteredpotteryisthensenttotheRestoratororFormator,ifitismarked“RESTORE.”Otherwise,itgoesdirectlytodraftingtobedrawnandthentobe

photographed.Notallpotteryisdrawn,andnotallthatisdrawnisphotographed.Butallpotterythatistobepublishedmustbedescribed.Thedescriptionofpotteryusuallyinvolvesrecordingcolorinside,outside,andofthecore,colorofsliporwash,typeandcoloroftemper(quartz,sand,calcite,“grog,”organicfibers,etc.),andsizeandpercentdistribu-tionoftemper.Thesevariablesareimportantfordistinguishingimportedfromlocallymadepottery,forexample.Potterythathasbeendesignated“draw”istakentodrafting.Thereitisdrawninoutlineinaspecialcomputerizedprocessthatwillproducetheinkeddrawingfromthedigitizedpenciledoutline.Thedig-itizeddrawingsarestoredinthecomputerwiththedescriptionsofeachsherdforproductionofthepot-teryplatesforpublication.Artifactsareprocessedinmuchthesameway,ex-ceptthateachseparateartifactisassignedaregis-trationnumber,called“R-number”forshort.ThisisaserialnumberfromR-1toR-N,dependingwhatthenumberofthelastartifactfromShikhinwillbe.ThefirsttwodigitsoftheR-numberarethelasttwodig-itsoftheyearexcavated.Forexample,R133252tellsustheartifactwasexcavatedin2013andwasthe252ndrecordedthatyear.Inthisprocess,Registrymustdecidewhicharti-factsaresignificantandthereforetobekeptandregistered.Inanygivendayseveralhundredtinyfragmentsofglassmaybesentin,forexample,butperhapsonlyadozencanbesuccessfullydrawnandphotographed,thoughonsomedaysfully90%ofallglassisretainedassignificant.AgainthisisadecisionforRegistryandnotforthefield.Artifactsthatarekeptareeachplacedinseparateboxes,aredrawn,photographed,anddescribed.Thedescriptionwillincludematerial,extentofpreserva-tion,color,manufacturingtechnique(s),form,andothersignificantvariables.Artifactsareenteredontospreadsheets,bothincampandbackintheStates.Thecategoriesthatweuseareasfollows:Site “S”(forSepphoris) 1letter “Sh”(forShikhin) 2lettersYr Year 2digitsNo. RegistryNumber 2digitsF. Field 2digitsSq. Square 2digitsLoc. Locus last3digits

20

Pail BucketNumber 3digitsPart Rim,handle,etc. Artifact Itsidentification Technique Howitwasmade Color Munsellnotation Decoration (orthedate) Material Stone,ceramic,etc. Coinsundergoaratherspecialprocessingaftertheyareregistered(asartifacts),forthentheymustbecleanedand“read”byanumismatist.Coinread-ingthenbecomesasignificantaidindeterminingwhicharchaeologicalperiodsarebeingexcavatedinthesquareaspreliminarycoinreadingsareenteredonthecoinsheetunder“comments.”Ofcourse,duringthewinterthepottery,artifacts,andcoinsundergodetailedstudy.Thismayrequirecorrectingearlierfieldreadings.Potteryreading,artifactanalysis,andcoinreadingspresupposeasetofARCHAEOLOGICALPERIODS.Thefieldpotteryreadings,forexample,arerecordedas“LR”or“EB”,anditishelpfulifyouareawarewhatthisrefersto.Hereisthechronologyofar-chaeologicalperiodspresupposedatShikhintogeth-erwiththeirabbreviations:IronI I1 1200–1000B.C.E.IronII I2 1000–586B.C.E.Persian P 586–333B.C.E.Hellenistic H1 333–152B.C.E.Hellenistic H2 152–37B.C.E.EarlyRoman ER 37B.C.E.–135C.E.(phase1 37–)(phase2 70–135)MiddleRoman MR 135–250C.E.LateRoman LR 250–363C.E.EarlyByzantine EB 363–451C.E.LateByzantine LB 451–640C.E.EarlyIslamic EI 640–950C.E.LateIslamic LI 950–1291C.E.Note:ThedatingoftheMRandLRperiodsdiffersfromthecurrentchronologyinuseinPalestinianar-chaeology,butbestrepresentswhatwecurrentlyseeemergingatoursite.ThedividingofERintotwophasesfollowsthatoftheSepphorisRegionalPro-ject.Ofcourse,youmayalreadyknowthatattellswithearlieroccupation,EB,MB,andLBrefertoEarly,Middle,andLateBronzerespectively.Wedonotan-ticipateanyconfusionhere,however,asouroccupa-

tionstartswithIronIIpottery.TreatArchitecturalFragmentsratherlikeartifacts,buttheyarehandledinthefieldratherthanbytheRegistrar.Youwillneedtoassigneveryarchitecturalfragmentthatyouunearthan“AFnumber,”whichisaserialnumberforyoursquare.Thatis,thefirst“Arch.Frag.”youfindwillbe“AF-1,”thesecond"AF-2,"andsoon.YoushouldmarkonthepieceofstoneinquestionyourField.AreadesignationanditsAFnumber.AlsopaintontheArchitecturalFragmentourlicensenumber.Thiswilldistinguishitfromoth-erarchfragsfromothersquaresandfromthoseex-cavatedbyanotherexpedition.KeepyourArchitecturalFragmentListuptodate.Fillitinaccordingtothesamplebelow:No.DateLocusDescriptionAF-16/1833088Columndrum.51cm.dia.,5.12m.

long,uniformdiameter,brokenatoneend.

AF-26/1833089 Pieceofmolding,9x2x

11cm.Aroughsketchinyournoteswillalsobenecessaryanduseful,aswilladigitalphotograph.Itshouldap-pearonthenotepageforthedayitwasfound.Therefore,yourarch.frag.listiscross-referencedtothatsketchbydate.Ofcourse,onyournotepagewillappearacompletedescriptionofdimensions,orientation(whereitfell),decoration,dressing,sur-face,treatment(plastered,painted,polished,etc.),andsoforth.TheLocusSheetcontainsasummaryofallthein-formationgleanedfromthecourseoftheexcavationseason.Thelocussheetsareoftenthefirstthingthatthedirectorsturntoafterthedigseasonisover,andtheinformationonthemisformattedtogivequickaccesstotheinformationtheywant.Keepyourlocussheetsuptodateandinpencil.Theyaretobetreat-edlikelaboratorynotebooks,astheyrecordtheprimarydatabytheAreaSupervisoronthedaysofdiscovery.Alterationsafterthefactareverytrouble-someandneedtobeinredinktoshowthattheyarecorrections.Hereisaline-by-lineexplanationoftheLocusSheet:FinalCommentsandInterpretationservesasasummaryofthelocussheet.Althoughitisoneofthe

21

firstthingslistedonthesheet,itusuallywillbethelastthingyoufillout.Itallowsyoutosayintheendexactlywhatyouthinkthelocusis.IftheDirectorsthinkdifferentlylater,theywillnotewithgratitudethatyoutookthetroubletotrytointerpretitany-way.YoumayaswellconferwiththeDirectorsonthisoneifyouhaveanyquestions.Besuretoincludethearchaeologicalperiodofthelocus,derivedfrompotteryreadings.Ifthelocusiscriticalfordatingfeaturesinyoursquare(especiallyifitisasealedlocus),indicatethatbycircling“critical?”.SketchofLocusisarelativelynewfeatureofthelocussheet.Itgivesthereaderabasicvisualimageofthelocustocorrelatewiththefinalcommentsandinterpretationswithouthavingtoflipbacktodailytopplans.StratigraphicRelationshipsreferstohowthislayerorfeatureisrelatedtoothersaroundit.Listthefirstlocusaboveit,thenextlocusbelowit,andthoselociaroundit(“adjoining”).ConferwiththeareaSupervi-sor(s)inthenextsquare(s)toseeifthislocusistobefoundthereaswell.Recordwhatyouthinkitis.Lo-cussheetsfrompreviousseasonsusedtohaveaplaceforyour“Tentativeexplanation”:yourinfer-enceofwhatthestratigraphicrelationsaddupto.Youmightconcludethatthisfeatureisaheapofashuponfloor3029andunderwind-blownsolid3022againstwall3010intheeastofyoursquare.TheseinferencesarenowincorporatedintotheFinalComments.Averagephysicaldimensionsisfairlystraightfor-ward.Iftheheightordepthofthislayerisnotcon-stant,thenyouhavetosayso.Youmustalsosaywhereitisthatitis10cm.thickandwhereitis15cm.thick.Ifitslopesdowntotheeast,thensayso.Ifitappearsinabalk,indicatewhichone.Ifitappearsinnoneofyourbalks,thenenter“none.”Contentssummarizeswhatisinthesoillayer,ifitisasoillayer.EntertheMunsellcolorreadingandthenameofthecolor.Refertothespecialsheetonparticlescaletofillinthesizeofparticles.For“com-paction”itisonlynecessarytouserelativelanguage,like“soft”and“rathersoft”or“hard,”anditisveryhelpfultonotetheexcavationtool:pick,patish,trowel,ordentaltool.Besuretolistcontentssuchasashorbones,asthisiscriticaltotheinterpreta-tion.“Explanationofcontents”isanopportunitytoexplainhowthestuffyoulistedjustabovegotthere.Youmaydecidethatallthisblackashimpliesthat

thissoilisnearafirethatwasneverallowedtoburnoutcompletely.Isitahearth?Sayso.ParticleSize:Thefollowingparticlescaleispre-sentedintheinterestofquantifyingouridentifica-tionofparticlesize.ItisessentiallyasimplifiedandsomewhatexpandedversionoftheWentworthscale,whichisastandardusedbygeologistsforanalysisofsedimentandrockparticlesize.Obvious-ly,youwillnotbeabletoidentifyclayandsiltparti-clesexactlywithouttheaidofsomeopticalmeasur-ingdevice,butthisidentificationisofferedhereforyourunderstandinganduse.Clay lessthan0.002mm.indiameter.Silt 0.002–.06mm.Sand 0.06–2mm.Pebbles 2–4mm.Gravel 0.4–6.4cm.Cobbles 6.4–10cm.Flagstones 10–25cm.Boulders largerthan25cm.Recordingonthebackofthesheetcontainscross-referencestothefieldnotesandothersourceswhereoneshouldlookforphotographs,drawings,andotherrecordsofthelocus.“Photography”in-cludesrecordshotsandpublicationphotographs.“Architect'sDrawings”meansthosecompletedbytheexpedition'sarchitectorbythearchitect’sstaff.Theyarenumberedand/ordated.Enterboththenumberandthedateofthedrawing,wherethatisknown.Indicatewhenthesurveyorshotinofficialelevations.Indicateotherreportsthatyoumayhavereceived,suchasreportsonorganicremains,onsoil,oranythingelseyoufeelispertinent.Potteryreadingsarefilledinatthepotterytable.Addalistofobjects(coins,architecturalfragments,lampfragments,andotherartifacts)later.Thementionindexallowspeopletolocateeverypageofyournotebookonwhichyoumentionthelocus.Keeptheindexuptodate,asitisanarduoustasktocompletementionindicesattheendofthedigseason.Theindexisacriticaltoolforthosewhoreaddignotebooks.Oftensupervisorsdonotappre-ciatetheimportanceoftheindexuntiltheyareread-inglocussheetsfromsomeoneelse’sbook.Followingaresamplesofthelocussheetandwalllocussheetusedatoursite:

LOCUSSHEET,EXCAVATIONSATSHIKHIN,20_____22

DATEOPENED:_______________LOCUSIDENTIFICATION:FINALCOMMENTSANDINTERPRETATION:

LOCUSNO.:____________IDENTICALLOCIINADJOININGAREAS:CRITICAL?(circle)

STRATIGRAPHIC RELATIONSHIPS:Lociabove:Lociadjoining:Locibeneath:Topelevations+datesexcavated(potterybucketelevations):Meansofdeposition:Appearsinwhichbalks?

SKETCHOFLOCUS:

AVERAGEPHYSICALDEMINSIONS:HeightorDepth:Width:Length:Tiplineorslopedowntothe:

CONTENTS,etc.:Munsellcolorreading:Particlesize:Compaction:Contents,suchasash,charcoal,gravel,pottery,bone,etc.:

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Date BucketNo. Reading Objects,etc.

RECORDINGPhotographydatesandnos.Architect’sdrawing(e.g.finaltopplan),Dateandname:Bestsketchtoscale(e.g.dailytopplan),Dateandname:Appearsinwhichbalkdrawings?Othersamplesandreports(e.g.biological)

MENTIONINDEXDate Page

LOCUSSHEETFORWALLS,EXCAVATIONSATSHIKHIN,20____ 24

LOCUSSHEETFORWALLS,EXCAVATIONSATSHIKHIN,20____ 25

Date BucketNo. Reading Objects,etc.

RECORDINGPhotographydatesandnos.Architect’sdrawing(e.g.finaltopplan),Dateandname:Bestsketchtoscale(e.g.dailytopplan),Dateandname:Appearsinwhichbalkdrawings?Othersamplesandreports(e.g.biological)

MENTIONINDEXDate Page

26

GLOSSARYarchitecturalfragment:Atechnicaltermforabuild-

ingfragment,suchasacolumndrum,capi-tal,columnbase,cornice,lintel,etc.,foundoutofplace.Theyareassignedar-chitecturalfragmentnumbers("A.F.num-bers"),thenumberispaintedonthem,andtheyaremovedtotheirstorageareas.

area:Atechnicaltermforthe5x5m.orlargerplot

withinaField(q.v.).Alsoknownasa“square.”

artifact:Anymaterialobjectthatisalteredbyaper-

sonforsomepurpose,suchasastoneormetalknife,acoin,clayfiredintoafigurineorvase,etc.

balk:(l)Theverticalfaceofthewallofsoilleft

aroundatrench,cut,orsquare,i.e.,thetwo-dimensionalface;or(2)the1meterwidecatwalkleftaroundfoursidesofasquare.Allsquaresinageometricgridleavetheirnorthandeastbalks,whicheffectivelyleavesfourcatwalks.

bondjoint:Ajointbetweentwowallsinwhichthe

stonesinthecoursesoverlapacrossthejoint.Inthistypeofjoint,thetwowallsarebuiltatthesametime.Onewallcannotbedismantledwithoutdisturbingtheother.

boss:Theuntrimmed,projectingfaceofastonewith

draftedorsquaredmargins.PopularintheLateHellenisticandEarlyRomanperiods.

buttjoint:Ajointbetweentwowallsinwhichthe

laterwallsimplyrunsupagainsttheearlier.Thesewallscanbedismantledseparately.

caller:Theonewhoassiststheonedrawingbalks.

Thecaller’sjobistocallthex-ycoordinates,referringtothedatumlineandasteeltapeheldatrightangles,foranyfeatureinthebalkthatthedraftsmanmayrequest.Allcallsaregiventothenearestcentimeter.

cameo:Areliefportrait,usuallyformedbycutting

awayathinlayerofonematerialsothattheresultingportraitisaccentedagainstadarkermaterial,suchasacameobonepor-traitonstone.

chroma:IntheMunsellcolornotationsystem,

“chroma”referstotheintensityorstrengthofcolor

core:Thethin,darkerlineofless-wellfiredpottery

insideasherd.Thatis,thecrosssectionofasherdmaylooklikethreelayers,inwhichthecenterlayeristhe"core."

course:Eachlineofbricksorstonesatoponeanoth-

erisa“course”ofmasonry.crudeware:coarselymadepottery,kitchen,

transport,andstoragepurposes,charac-terizedbygrittycores(See“core”)androughdullslips(See“slip”).

datumline:Thestringacrossthefaceofa balkat

somespecificelevation.This lineisstretchedbetweentwodatum points(q.v.).

datumpoint:l)Anypermanentfeatureuponwhich

ispainteditssurveyedelevationabovesealevel.Thisisthereferencepointforderiv-ingreducedelevations(q.v.).

2)Astakeinthefaceofabalkatsomespecificelevation,usedforthedatumline(q.v.).

description:Inpotteryanalysis,thisisatechnical

termforrecordingsurfacetreatment,tem-per,color,andhardness.Byanalogyitisatechnicaltermforobservationandrecord-ingofallstandardvariablesinanalysisofanyartifact.

dump:Theareawhereexcavated,siftedsoilisdis-

carded.Also,discardedmixedmaterialsfromearlieroccupationsusuallytippedoverthesideofawallorotherstructureinordertoclearanancientareaforbuildingorre-building.

elevation:l)Asurveyor’smeasureofheightabove

orbelowmeanMediterraneansealevel.Itisnormallymeasuredbytotalstationfromafixedpoint,suchasoneoftheBritishOr-dinanceSurveytriangulationpoints,oroneestablishedbytheSurveyofIsrael.

2)Areducedelevationismeasuredfromadatumpoint(q.v.)besideasquare.Theverticaldistancefromthedatumpointto

27

thefeatureissubtractedfromthedatumtoyieldthereducedelevation,popularlycalledthe“level.”

erosion:Soil,gravel,sand,etc.,broughtinbynatural

processes,suchaswindorwater.Contrastwith“fill.”

fall:Stoneorbrickremainsfromthecollapseofa

wallorotherarchitecture.field:Oneofthelargeplotsmadeupofmany

"squares"(q.v.).fill:Soil,gravel,sand,etc.,broughtinspecificallyto

levelupunderneathaplannedfloororoth-erstructureinantiquity.I.e.,itistheresultofhumanactivity.Contrastwith“erosion.”Oftenoccupationdebris(q.v.)isused,inwhichcasethefillwillcontainartifactsandpotteryfromallearlieroccupationonthesite.

fineware,see“redware.”Formator:Alsoknownas“Restorator.”Theperson

chargedwithreconstructingpotteryfromsherds.Alsoreferstoanyonewhorecon-structsancientwalls.

foundingelevation:Thelowestpointofawall's

foundation,i.e.,beneaththefoundationstones.

foundationtrench:Thelong,narrowtrenchdugin

antiquityforthefoundingcoursesofawall.Oftensuchatrenchisquitewidesothatthemasoncanstandinthetrenchwhileas-semblingthefoundation.Ontheotherhandsomearenarrow,whichrequiredthemasontokneeloutside.Onoccasionatrenchmayexhibitfeaturesofbothtypes.(C.F.Kenyon,Beginning,p.81)

gastropod:Technicaltermfor“snail.”graffito,pl.graffiti:Anycasualwritingonplaster,

pottery,stone,andsoforthinantiquity.grog:Atempermaterialinpotterymadefrom

groundandcrushed,firedpottery.Usuallyappearsred,yellow,oralmostblackunderastereo,50xmicroscope.

gufa:(Arabicqufa)Arubberbasketformovingexca-vatedsoil.

header:Inmasonryabrickorstonewithitsnarrow

faceor"head"endinthefaceofawall.Usuallytheyextendallthewaythroughthewallformingakindofbinderorstrengthen-er.Theoppositeof“stretcher”(q.v.).

hue:Thetechnicaltermforcolor;thewavelengthof

reflectedlight.hammerdressed:Amethodofremovingthemost

prominentirregularitiesfromwallstonesbymerelyknockingthemoffroughly.

indicatorsherd:thepartsofabrokenvesselwhich

mostsurelyindicatethatvessel'stypeanddate:usuallyahandle,rim,orbasefrag-ment.

insitu:Pronounced“insee-too”means“inplace”

andreferringtoundisturbedartifactsandarchitecturalfragments.

intaglio:Theoppositeofcameo.Anengravedpat-

tern,usuallyonagem.locus,pl.loci(pronounced“low-cuss,low-sigh”:Any

threedimensionalfeatureinasquare,suchasalayerofearth,awall,pit,bin,etc.

make-up:Oftensynonymouswith“fill,”but"make-

up"isreservedforthelevelingoperationunderneathfloors.

MentionIndex:Thelistkeptonthebackofthelocus

sheetbydateofeachmentionofalocusinthenotes.

NS:“NotSaved,”referstopotterysherdsthatare

thrownoutinthepotteryreading(q.v.)be-causethebucketiscontaminatedorthesherdsarenotdistinguishableinperiod,or"UD"(q.v.).

occupationdebris:Soilmixedwithothermaterials

characteristicofhumanoccupation:tinyparticlesofbone,pottery,charcoal,ash,seeds,andorganicmatter.

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patish:Hebrewfor“hammer,”butonAmericanar-chaeologicalexcavationsinIsraelreferstoasmallhandpick.

patina:l)Onchert(“flint”)referstothesurfacelay-

erthatisoftenstainedyellow,brown,orred.Alsosometimesusedfortheglossycut-tingedge,whichhasbeenpolishedfromcuttinggrain.

2)Withreferencetocopperorbronzein-dicatesthegreenishlayerofcorrosionandcompacteddirtonthesurfaceofthearti-fact.

3)Withreferencetoglass,theopalescentcoatingcausedbyweatheringorchemicalinteractionwiththesoil.

phase:l)Asub-divisionof“stratum”(q.v.) 2)Arebuildorre-useofsomestructureor

smallerfeature,suchasarebuildorrepairofawallorre-surfacingofafloor.

phytolith:Asiliconcastofanindividualcellfroma

plantformedwhenwaterevaporatesthroughthecellwallsleavinganincreasingconcentrationofsilica.Aftertheplantdiesandtheouterwallofthecelldecaystheresidumisasmallsilicastoneintheexactshapeofasinglecellfromtheplant.

pithos,pl.pithoi:Anylargestoragevesselintended

tostayinoneplace.pointonelocus:Aspecialtypeoflocusnumberused

toindicatethefirstfivecentimetersofma-terialinafloor.Forexample,ifthefloorisdesignatedL1088,thenthepotteryandotherartifactswithinthefirstfivecentime-terscomefromL1088.1.

potteryreading:Theprocessofidentifyingtheperi-

odsrepresentedinabucketofpotterysherds.

probetrench:Sometimesmerely"probe."Thesmall,

rapidlydugtrenchthatisexcavatedsoastoclarifythenatureoftheunderlyingloci.Thisenablestheexcavatortoproceednotentirelyblindly.

relief:Atypeofcarvinginwhichthedecoratedele-

mentisraisedabovethebackground,which

iscutaway.Theoppositeof“intaglio”or“engraving.”

redware:Aspecifictypeof4thto6thcenturyByzan-

tinepotterycharacterizedbyrepeateddec-orationandred,oxidationfiring.Sometimesslippedwiththesameclay.See“terrasigil-lata.”

restorator,seeFormator.robbertrench:Thelong,narrowtrenchthatremains

afterrobbingoutawallinantiquity.row:Thelinesofstonesthatformthethicknessofa

wall.screenwall:Looselyusedtoindicateawallthat

buttsatbothendsonearlierwallsandisonerowwide.Perhapstobeassociatedwithanimalenclosures.

section:l)Thetwo-dimensionalfaceofabalk.2)Thebalkdrawing.slag:Theglassy,wastematerialthatisformedasa

by-productinironorcoppersmelting.slip:Theclaycoatingonpotteryformedbydipping

thepotintoclay+waterofpeasoupcon-sistency,thenfiringit.

square,seeareastratification:Thelayersandotherfeaturesina

squareastheyareuncovered.stratigraphy:Theprocessofobservation,inter-

pretation,andrecordingofstratification.stratum,pl.strata:Ahistoricalandculturalperiodof

habitationofasite,asthe"RomanStratum.Strataaredistinguishedfromoneanotherbydifferencesinartifacts,pottery,andoth-erarchitecturalorientation.

stretcher:Inmasonryconstructionastonewhose

longsideisinthefaceofawall.Cornersofwallsareoftenmadeofheaders(q.v.)andstretchers.

surface:l)Themoderntopsoil. 2)Theancienttopsoil.

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3)Afloor,courtyardorotherplaneuponwhichpeopleoranimalswalkedinantiqui-ty.

tabun:Abeehive-shapedovenmadeofclay,firedin

place,andoftenwithlargesherdsim-pressedintoitsoutsidesurface.

TBD:“Tobedrawn,”adesignationforpotteryorar-

tifactstobereservedfromtheregistry(af-tertheircompletedregistration)andsenttotheartist.

temper:Anarchaeologist'stermforthematerial

addedtoclaytoreduceitsplasticity.Pot-tersmoreoftensay"filler."Thismaterialiscommonlygrog(q.v.),calcite,sand,quartz,ororganicmatter,thoughothermaterialsareused.

tessera,pl.tesserae:Thesmall,cubicstonesof

whichmosaicsaremade.terrasigillata:l)AnEarlyRomanpotterycharacter-

izedbywhiteclayandthin,redglossyslip.Oftenitissignedorstamped(sealed)onthebottombythepotter,whichaccountsforitsname.

2)Popularlyusedinageneralsenseforred-slippotteryofvariouswaresfromthesecondcenturyB.C.tothefifthcenturyC.E.moreproperlycalled“redware”or“fineware”(q.v.).

tipline:Slopinglinesinthebalkthatindicatethatthelayerinquestionwasthrownout.Suchmaterialisoftengravitysorted,evidencedbythegradualincreaseinparticlesizeasonefollowstiplinedown.

topplan:Thedailyscaleplanofagivenarea

(square).typology:Classificationofartifactsaccordingtode-

velopmentofafeatureorfeatures(form,decoration,surfacetechnique,manufactur-ingtechnique,etc.)overtime.

ud:“undistinguished,”usuallyreferringtobody

sherdsofpotterythatdonotmanifestiden-tifiablecharacteristics,i.e.,theyarenotun-ambiguouslyclassifiabletoanyperiod.

unk:“unknown,”usuallyreferringtoanunfamiliar

potteryform.value:Thedarknessorlightnessofacolorinthe

MunsellColornotation.wash:Anunfiredcoatingonpottery,usuallythinand

easilywornoff.whiteware:AspecifictypeofByzantinepotteryon

theonehandand13thcenturyArabpot-teryontheothercharacterizedbywhiteclayandnoglazes.TheArabvarietyhasin-cised,geometricdecoration.

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APPENDIX1:THEIDENTIFICATIONOFCHARCOALCharcoalcanbeidentifiedashardwood,softwood,orbonebysimplybreakingit.Ifawoodgrainshowsinthebreak,itisobviouslywood.Hardwoodexhibitsafinegrainandsoftwoodalargegrain.If,ontheotherhand,thesampletendstobreakinonlyonedirection,namelylongitudinally,thenitisprobablybone.Ifthereisnodiscernibledirectionofbreakorofgrain,thenitisdoubtlessdungcharcoal.Theremaybetimesthatyoumaymistakebonecharcoalforhardwoodcharcoal,butbyandlargeitisrathersim-pletoidentifythesamplecorrectlybycarefulexaminationafterfracturingit.

31

0

32APPENDIX2:SAMPLEDAILYNOTES

33APPENDIX3:SAMPLEDAILYTOPPLAN

34APPENDIX4:SAMPLELOCUSSHEETFILLEDOUT

APPENDIX5:SAMPLELOCUSSHEETFORWALLS,FILLEDOUT

APPENDIX6:SAMPLEFINALTOPPLAN

Note:Nofinaltopelevationswereenteredonthisplan.Yourswilldefinitelyhaveelevations.

38APPENDIX7:SAMPLEBALKDRAWING

39APPENDIX8:SAMPLEWEEKLYREPORTSepphoris1994V.90WeeklyReport7/4-7/8AreaSupervisor:AlysiaFischer Thisweekweexcavatedtwomainareas,andforsimplicity'ssakeI’llexplainthingsbyarea. Thefirstareaisthecircularworkspace,whichisdefinedbyaringofmortaredstoneswhichincludesreusedcolumndrums.Webeganbyexca-vatingthecentralloosesoil(90013)whichdatedtotheByzantineIIperiod.Inthislocuswefoundpigbones. Surroundingthecentralloosesoilandbor-deredbytheringofstoneswasamuchharderverycompactedlayerofsoilinwhichwefound3coins,glass,alampfragment,asandalnail,anail,andpig,chicken,andsheep/goatbones.Thishardpackedlayer(90014)appearstohavebeenlaidduringtheByzantineIperiod. Underneaththehardpackedlayerween-counteredanewlocus(90018)definedatthetopbyalayerofbrokenpottery,anddefinedatthebottombybedrock.Inthislocuswefoundglassandthepot-terydatedtotheLateRomanperiod. Intheeasternsectionoftheworkspace,underneath90014,weencounteredanashylocus(90022)whichappearstobemortarlaidonbedrocktocreateasmoothworksurface.Inthislocuswefoundmanyburnedolivepits,whichsuggestthatacrudeoliveoilmayhavebeenproducedhere.ThepotterywasLateRoman. Wealsoexcavatedbetweenthestonesring-ingtheworksurface(90017),andtothewestofthestones(90020).Bothoftheselociyieldedonlyun-distinguishableshardsandnootherinformation. So,stratigraphicallyspeaking,thisareasawitsfirstuseintheLateRomanperiodasamortarfloorlaiduponbedrockusedforsomesortofoliveindustrythatinvolvedburning.DuringtheByzantineIperiodaringofstoneswasfoundedwithahardcompactedsurfacetocreateaworkspace.Thisworkspacewasstillinuse,orreusedduringtheByz-antineIIperiod.Theonlyinformationwehavecon-cerningthisworkspaceisthegoldjewelryfounddi-rectlyoverit(whichcreatesmorequestionsthananswers),andthefactthatduringtheByzIIperiodtheceilingoftheworkspaceburnedandfellin,pre-sumablyendingtheuseofthisspace. Theotherareaweexcavatedthisweekwasassociatedwithatrenchtothewestofthework-space.Thistrenchappearstoberoughlyinlinewiththeprojectedwallofthebuilding.Aswebegantoexcavatethetrenchweencounteredalargenumberofartifactsassociatedwiththetoplocus(90016):

glass,4nails,lampfragments,aglassbead,3glasstesserae,sheep/goatandchickenbones,andafishstampedpotteryfragment.ThislocusdatedtotheByzantineIIperiod.Afterthislocusthetrenchwasdividedintotwosections.Inthenorthwestcorner(90024)wefoundacoinandcowbones.OneofthreepotterybucketshasbeenreadanditdatestotheRomanperiod(BSonly).Thislocusendsonbed-rock.Thesoutheastsectionofthetrenchendsinanashylayerwhichcontainsburnedolivepitsandprobablyrelatestotheoliveindustryin90022.Thepotteryforthislocushasnotyetbeenread. NortheastofthetrenchwasaseparateareawhichwasatfirstdefinedbyalocusfullofcobbleswhichdatedtotheByzantineperiod.Directlybe-neaththecobbleswasanotherlocuswhichdatedtotheByzIperiod.Bothlociwereprettydry,artifac-tuallyspeaking.Thelastsoillayerpriortothetrenchandthisnortheastcornerjoiningin90023,containedlampfragmentsandcowandchickenbones.Thepotteryonthislocushasnotyetbeenread. Asforthisweek,wephotograph,drawbalksanddrawtopplans.Oursquarehasshownlit-tletonoinformationconcerningtheoriginalbuild-ing.Infact,insomewaysitarguesagainstthebuild-inghavingextendedthisfar.TheLateRomanoliveindustryisfoundedonbedrock,notonsomeearlierstructure.Wedidfindatrenchwhichmaylineupwiththebuilding(andIunderstandsomestonesemergedlateFriday,andtheymaybefoundationstones--unfortunatelyIwassick,andsoIamonlyhypothesizing).Anyway,lookforwardtomoreofthistypeofargumentinmyforthcomingfinalre-port...Wasthereanextensionoftheoriginalbuildinginthissquare,ifso,whendiditgooutofuse?

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