Today marked the completion of backfill removal and the transition to new excavation. Once the tarpaulin was removed and all backfill excavated, architecture was cleaned and initial photos taken. Four loci were then opened: 15 in the northeast corner, 16 in the southeast, 17 in pit 402 (old locus 10), and 18 in north pit 402, old locus 8. Levon is concentrating on the work in pit 402, while I guide the downward progression in trench east. Both of these ongoing situations consist of bisection tactics. Locus 15 has featured VERY rocky silt to date, difficult digging, but suggestive of deep, undisturbed EB deposits.
A clear clay floor level, between 3 and 5cm thick, is now visible in the north and south sections of trench east, it appears to sit both under (south section) and above (north section) the locus 6 floor and this represents a stratigraphic issue that needs to be resolved.
We spent a good deal of time today locating a number of ABBM points in anticipation of renewed mapping efforts. We will bring the total station tomorrow for the first time.
Successful data entry trench-side was also effected--this will be a big time-saver, I believe!
Finally, having identified some dark, circular landscape impressions in some fields to the south of the site (approx. .25-.5 km away), we stopped work a little early to investigate potential burials. What we identified was a field of kurgans, to be mapped as landscape Ar/Ak! The mounds appear to be composed of small stone "shields" and there was at least one example of exposed cromlech stones. Sunken/missing capstones suggesting past robbing was visible at the center of at least two mounds. We counted approximately 10 mounds in total, with a rough estimated average mound diameter of 8m.