Trench BB Square H1 and H2

Over the course of the season I’ve been working in trench BB, mostly in the H1 and H2 squares. Initially, H was a five by five meter square. At the beginning of the season, we extended the section by opening the five by two and a half meter square, H2, to see if we would be able to find the continuation of a wall and the other half of two stone circle features found in H1 during the previous season.

We started out by picking at the ground with large pickaxes that are better used in rocky terrains to loosen the topsoil, rocks, and tureas to rake the loose dirt into the buckets. Once we got down to the cultural layer of soil we switched to using small pickaxes, trowels and dust pans. As we removed soil in H2, we noticed it was very rocky so we removed rocks and soil in a level pace until it was clear. There were certain features such as the continuation of the two stone circles which were both about one and a half meters in diameter and the continuation of the west wall which was seven and a half meters in length in H1 and H2. We also found another wall near the west circle feature that connects to the wall that divides H1, H2, and the section that Allen Reinart has been excavating. 

 

Once H2 was the same level as H1 we switched to working in H1. In H1, we worked on removing the north stone circle feature which was about 2 meters in diameter to see what was below it and lowering the entire H1 square as well. Underneath the stone circle we had an arc of stones on the west side of what had been the stone circle, which we aren’t sure if it has cultural significance or if it is just rock collapse. During the leveling of H1 we found what we thought was a continuation of the wall coming from the bulk and a line of stones that connect to the wall bulk and go through the arc of stones. We are still unsure whether either of these features is a part of the rock collapse or have cultural significance.

Recently, we found pottery with mud brick on top of it and some mud brick nearby. This is significant because this was found the adjacent room where Allen has been working and it may be an indication of a floor or of collapse. 

 

As we finish our final dig and begin our final sweeps to close the trench for the season, we have noticed that the once extremely rocky H2 section has become even and with minimal rocks whereas H1 that we thought would be less rocky has an abundance of rocks that we were unable to remove before the final sweep and pictures. H1 leaves much to be questioned about the rocks. Will we find more mud brick underneath these rocks? Is the extension of the wall bulk a continuation of the wall? These and other questions we hope to answer in the next season.