Today we started by laying out the trench, oriented N-S, around the kurgan. It measures 9m (E-W) x 11.5m (N-S). The first thing we did was begin to remove the topsoil, starting in the corners of the trench, in order to locate the edge of the mound. This was more easily done in the northern part of the trench, since the line of large stones was visible in the slope. At the end of the day, it wasn\'t clear where the line runs in the southern end of the trench, possibly because there is more overburden. Additionally, a stone uncovered in the northwest corner of the trench suggests that the west side of the trench may be a little short, as it may connect up with a line of rocks visible in the topsoil to the west of the current trench boundary.