Corinth Basket Nezi Field, context 6476

Collection:		Corinth
Type:		Basket
Name:		Nezi Field, context 6476
Area:		Nezi Field
Context Type:		Wall
Title:		foundation
Category:		Cut
Notebook:		1103
Context:		6476
Page:		0
Date:		2009/05/27
Lot:		Lot 2009-063
Stratum:		50%: small subrounded and subangular cobbles, minimal pottery
Description:		The soil color is light yellowish brown. It is sandy silt. Structure materials: roughly worked stones and inverted tile bonded with mudbrick. Material size: small subrounded cobbles: 0.15 x 0.07 x 0.1. Material finish: roughly faced. Material construction: regular coursed. Material bonding: mudbrick. Features: sub foundation for threshold 10085.
Notes:		Prior to excavating th efoundation that lay beneath leveling tiles 6475 and threshold block 10085, we spent some time examining the west-facing section of the north-south wall. The question was whether the orthostate immediately to the north of 10085, which had been ostensibly cut in order to function together with the threshold block, was of a contemporary period of construction or not. Although the stones used in the foundation below the orthostate (currently known as wall 10078) do appear the same (i.e., subrounded and subrectangular cobbles, sporadically interspersed with tiles on edge), the foundation depths differ significantly. That is, the foundations for wall 10078 are significantly deeper. The difference is enough for us to decide to take THESE foundations separately (6476]. We can imagine 10078 bein gin prior use, with a high threshold 10085 having been built later, elevated by [6476] and 6475. Bounding the foundations to the south are huge, squared horizontal stones, clearly different in construction. *It should be noted in excavating this context that the surfaces that we have been excavating run against the foundations we're digging- (e.g., 6451, 6445), as does the surface exposed by the excavation of 6451. However, because the threshold was so far above these surfaces, it's likely that these foundations replaced a wall that had been previously robbed. In fact, the above idea is supported by a discovery near the bottom of this context; the large, squared blocks to the south, placed end on end and visible in the west-facing wall section, have a northward continuation. The northernmost block of that line had been worked to create a kind of hollow, against which cobbled foundation 6476 lay. The same block, on its southern face, projects westward for almost 0.30 m. The story, then, could be something like this: a wall comprised of large, squared horizontal block, once bounded the eastern side of this room, cornering westward after east-west wall was demolished and the room was expanded northward. At the bottom of these foundations, we were able to see clearly that this threshold construction was created at an equal depth with the orthostate block directly to the north of it. This runs counter to our original interpretation of this area, but makes sense considering their dual cuttings. We will revisit this section of wall once we're certain of the walls' phasing and the sequencing of what their removal ought to be.
Context Pottery:		Cooking ware. collar rim stew pot (1000-1100)1 rim. (saved to lot) .; Fineware. premedieval9 bodysherds. ; Fineware. ww plain (700-1120), cup. 1 rim. (saved to lot) .; Cooking ware. triangular rim stew pot (1100-1270)1 rim. (saved to lot) .; Fineware. ww stamped, plate. 1 bodysherd. (saved to lot) .; Fineware. ww plain (700-1120), plate. 1 bodysherd. (saved to lot) .
Pottery Summary:		3 frag(s) 0.01 kg. (67% saved) fineware.
		29 frag(s) 2 kg. (3% saved) coarseware.
		169 frag(s) 0.4 kg. (1% saved) cooking ware.
Context Artifacts:		iron nail round shank 1; iron nail square shank 1; glass bracelet fragment 1, as Corinth MF 13356; Bone- humerus of Capra aegagrus hircus (Sheep/Goat) - 1 fragment(s). ; Bone- indeterminate of Mammalia, md (Mammal - Medium) - 3 example(s).; Bone- mandible of Capra aegagrus hircus (Sheep/Goat) - 1 example(s).; Bone- mandible w/teeth of Sus scrofa (Wild Boar or Domestic Pig) - 1 example(s).; Bone- metapodial of Sus scrofa (Wild Boar or Domestic Pig) - 1 fragment(s). ; Bone- radius of Sus scrofa (Wild Boar or Domestic Pig) - 1 fragment(s). ; Bone- rib of Sus scrofa (Wild Boar or Domestic Pig) - 1 example(s).; Bone- tibia of Capra aegagrus hircus (Sheep/Goat) - 1 fragment(s). ; Bone- tooth of Capra aegagrus hircus (Sheep/Goat) - 2 example(s).; Bone- tooth, canine,man of Sus scrofa (Wild Boar or Domestic Pig) - 1 example(s).; Bone- tooth, incisor of Sus scrofa (Wild Boar or Domestic Pig) - 1 example(s).
Period:		Late Byzantine (1059-1210 AD)
Chronology:		end of 11th/early 12th
Grid:		281.51-281.05E, 1025.54-1026.65N
XMin:		281.05
XMax:		281.51
YMin:		1025.54
YMax:		1026.65
Site:		Corinth
City:		Ancient Corinth
Country:		Greece
Masl:		84.94-85.63m.
References:		Coin: 2009 145