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Code
SB17.13
Season
2017
Narrative

Today we took a daylong hiatus from Mirak Operation 02 to open Mirak Operation 03. We made this decision as Operation 02 was very muddy from the previous night's rain storm and I had Lori's help during part of the day to set up the trench. This trench is a 2mX2m directly against the inside of the fortress wall on the lowest, westernmost section of the terrace created by the fortress wall. The trench location was decided by Ruben at an early point. The grass behind the wall had been scythed, and we spent much of the day clipping plants off the top of the two faced, cyclopean fortress wall. This location for the trench was chosen as the wall in this area is one of the most intact sections. We placed the datum on a large, mostly buried stone less than a meter from the SW corner. The back dirt pile is located about 3m west of the trench. The operation here is twofold. We are hoping to develop a stratigraphy for the fortress with the trench. We are also hoping to identify the period during which the circular fortress wall was built by cleaning off the vegetation. This will also prepare the wall for regular photos and potentially drone photos. We managed to remove the topsoil and continued to take the trench down by maybe 10-15cm. The soil in this part of the fortress is much more difficult to dig in and consists of clay as opposed to Op. 02. The second half of the day Lori returned and help me dig and manage the boys which was a relief as I have a pinched nerve in my neck. I am also learning new ways to better manage my workers every time someone visits Mirak which has been very helpful.