Corinth Basket Nezi Field, context 6288

Collection:		Corinth
Type:		Basket
Name:		Nezi Field, context 6288
Area:		Nezi Field
Context Type:		Well
Title:		well structure
Category:		Cut
Notebook:		1103
Context:		6288
Page:		0
Date:		2009/05/09
Description:		Structure materials: limestone boulders, tile. Material size: .7 - .30 m. Material finish: rough. Material construction: random uncoursed. Material bonding: plaster. Features: foot holes, excavation scars.
Notes:		6635 is the cut for the well; 6636 is the fill inside the cut; 6524 is the last fill removed from the well. 6628 is a well, first exposed in 1961, given the designation Well OA/107, but only excavated for less than a meter that year (NB 229, p. 109). We decided to excavate the fil inside the well but not to dismantle the structure itself. We removed the top c. 45 cm of fill to make sure there would be no contamination and then proceeded with stratigraphic excavation startying with context 6286. The well was excavated for 11.88 m from the top. 32 contexts were removed (6286-6524). We stopped excavating c. 30 cm after we reached the water table for safety. Although the well structure was not excavated, we can make some statements about its construction. The preserved top 1.91 m was the built part of the well, with small boulders set in a limestone plaster. Approx. 50 cm of the outer side of the well head was exposed. This consisted mainly of the yellowish plaster with some stones visible. Inside the well, the stones were arranged in a random uncoursed style with horizontal tiles interspersed. The boulders were roughly hewn, with their inner faces cut slightly concave to match the diameter of the shaft below. On the east and west sides of the interior, space had been left between stones for footholes. These were spaced very regularly every 40-50 cm down the entire shaft, including the red bedrock portion. At an elevation of 83.00 m (1.91 m from the top), the built portion ended on the bedrock. For the rest of the shaft, the diagonal scars of the original sinking of the well were visible, most 20-30 cm long. The diameter of the shaft was, on average, just over 1m. There were variations in the diameter, however, noticed when Wells went down after the removal of the last context, 6524. The following measurements were taken: Bottom of the built section: 1.0 m 4.91 m deep: .95 m 6.91 m deep: 1.10 m 8.91 m deep: 1.03 m 9.71 m deep: 1.03 m 11.08 m deep: 1.40 m last context: 1.03 The water table was reached at a depth of 11.51 m (elev. 73.40). The well was closed at a depth of 11.88 m (elev. 73.03). This well is presumably a real well and not a man hole giving access to a cistern such as that found in the middle of the courtyard to the west. 6288 went down much deeper than that one without opening up into a larger space. We did not hit the bottom, however. As for the construction date of the well, we only have a TPQ of the 10th/11th century, taken from a small portion of the construction fill (6636). The pottery and the coins taken from the well all date to the 3/4 of the 13th century. Given the quality and homogenous character of the pottery, we can say that the well was filled in one action and not over many years. This perhaps can be linked to a larger reorganization of space in this area of the house.
Site:		Corinth
City:		Ancient Corinth
Country:		Greece
Masl:		84.91m.
References:		Report: Nezi Field 2009 by Martin Wells, Katie Rask, Dreya Mihaloew (2009-05-18 to 2009-05-19)