Day Thirty-Two

One of the questions we are often asked is what we find when we excavate. One answer, perhaps an obvious one, is dirt in all its various colors and textures. Those colors and textures can tell us a lot too. Is the dirt full of ash? Maybe something was burned nearby. Is the dirt full of clay or bricky material? Perhaps it isn’t dirt at all but a mudbrick wall or floor. Is the dirt a little green? Maybe we found a pit full of organic waste.

Searching for artifacts in the dirt

What do we find in that dirt? Well, there are two very common types of artifacts. The first is pottery. We find everything from bowls and lamps to large storage jars and imported fine wares.

Pottery in Grid 33

We also find a lot of animal bone, fragments both large and small.

Excavating the leg of a horse in Grid 94

Animal bones found in Grid 33

This isn’t all we find, of course. We also find glass, metal objects, worked stone, and, most importantly, architecture.

Grid 23/24

The weekend is almost over. We are back in the field tomorrow as we enter Week 6 and head toward final photos, inventory and the end of the season.