With less wind and overall better weather today, work at Aragatsi Berd proceeded in all trench sectors. We photographed and cleared the SW trench EB floor down to its bedrock base, further defined all rock formations in the trench "extension" opened during the first week of July, and opened the final 2008 portion of trench West that remained.
In trench East, weather permitted photography of the in situ ceramics materials sitting on the locus 29 floor, which was followed by the progressive removal of all floor and artifact materials initially by trowel and then by shovel as the clay floor gave way to a pebble/clay/burned rock mixture that featured remarkably reduced artifact frequencies. As was observed in the NE trench corner, the EB level is still deeper downslope here, suggesting that while this is a living surface of some kind, it is not a level one, and perhaps represented "outdoor" EB space.
At the center of AB4, above the 401 pit, we continued to clear topsoil matrix from the rock formations above the ostensible Wall 401 extension, the putative cist burial in trench NE center, and the rocks situated east of the latter. Operation 28 was opened at the NW trench edge here, a downward movement into pale yellow silt generally NE of the cist formation, coming down on additional cobbles and featuring generally low artifact frequencies.
Because the cist burial appears to continue into the unexcavated portion of AB4 W, I decided to open this area up today as well, meaning that the entire 10 x 3 area of AB4 is now open. This was also done because space was rapidly diminishing for 4 workers and 1 supervisor in the 2.5 x 3 area of completely unexcavated matrix at trench center (or even 3 workers and 1 supervisor)! Material densities were high in this new locus 30. LB pottery dominate at present, but there are EB materials as well. With the EB occupation now localized on the eastern portion of the second terrace, it is interesting to consider the potential for additional EB occupation spaces on either the upper second terrace, the first terrace, or the destroyed citadel. Our goal is to bring locus 30 level with locus 24 and work down from there simultaneously.