Corinth Basket Nezi Field, context 5541

Collection:		Corinth
Type:		Basket
Name:		Nezi Field, context 5541
Area:		Nezi Field
Context Type:		Fill
Title:		Ashy fill
Category:		Deposit
Notebook:		1101
Context:		5541
Page:		0
Date:		2008/05/19
Stratum:		20% incl: roof tile frag., mixed cobbles, bits of bone, ash
Description:		Top slope of the context is level. The soil color is dark mixed. The soil compaction is soft. The soil is poorly sorted. It is sandy silt.
Notes:		Two deposits were revealed in the E part under context 5531, a reddish brown and a dark ashy deposit. This ashy deposit was dug in this context, 5541. A test water sample was taken to see if the blackish soil was due to carbonized organic material. Once the ash passed through the sieve, no carbonized material came to the surface of the water. After a thorough cleaning, it appeared that part of the soil's color was due to small black and dark inclusions. Could this context be backfill from the 1960s? It is contained within the boundaries of the baulks left in the 60s to the N, E, and W. As we continued excavating, figuring whether this context was backfill became our main objective. A straigth vetical cut defined the western edge of this context, dividing this ashy fill from the reddish brown deposit to the W. This cut is striaght and oriented N-S at 266.50. The length, straightness and uniform appearance of this cut makes us believe it is from a previous excavation. What will help us in our determination of the formation of this context is whether the ashy fill runs under the square baulk to the E that was created by the 1960s excavations. Currently, we are trying to discover all the edges of this potential 1960s cut. As a result this context may be contaminated. In conclusion, it appears that 5541 is most likely not a result of 1960s excavations. Once the reddish brown deposit is excavated we will know for sure. To the S of this context we found a cut (1040N) that appears to continue E. A cleaning basket will be taken to the E since we have yet to excavate this area. CK 23-5-08 This context was mixed due to the fact that we started with a clear ashy deposit in the W and attempted to find its boundaries within the "horseshoe" shaped area left by the 1960s excavations. The ash did not appear to continue all the way to the center, but wrapped around to the S and E. Our workman found very strange shaped cuts that defied explanation (see especially the curve down to the S seen in the plan). It was discovered later with the edges of pit 5595 that this strange cut in the SE corresponded to this pit (see plans for 5563 and 5567). However, the ash deposit, which forms an L-shape, cuts into pit 5595 to its W. This is clearly seen in 5595's scarp, where the ashy fill spills into 5595. The confusion we had over this deposit was because we were dealing with two separate cuts with different fills. The ash from the L shaped cut spilled into this other fill of pit 5595 and made the distinction between the two difficult. The shape of the L-shaped ash deposit is still strange and may still have something to do with 1960s excavation interference. See updated plan of the bottom of 5541.
Context Pottery:		Coarseware. amphora. 16 bodysherds. ; Fineware. premedieval2 bodysherds. ; Coarseware. pitcher. 1 handle.
Pottery Summary:		50 frag(s) 1.14 kg. (0% saved) coarseware.
		8 frag(s) 0.13 kg. (0% saved) cooking ware.
Context Artifacts:		Bronze fragment 1; iron hook 1
Period:		Late Byzantine (1059-1210 AD)
Chronology:		11th npd
Grid:		268.35-266.55E, 1040-1043.44N
XMin:		266.55
XMax:		268.35
YMin:		1040
YMax:		1043.44
Site:		Corinth
City:		Ancient Corinth
Country:		Greece
Masl:		84.27-84.33m.
References:		Report: Nezi Field 2008 by Thanos Webb (2008-04-07 to 2008-06-13)