| Collection: | Corinth | |
| Type: | Basket | |
| Name: | Nezi Field, context 865 | |
| Area: | Nezi Field | |
| Title: | Tile Destruction Layer West of Wall 746 | |
| Category: | Deposit | |
| Notebook: | 1106 | |
| Context: | 865 | |
| Page: | 0 | |
| Date: | 2012/05/31 | |
| Lot: | Lot 2012-045 | |
| Stratum: | Tile (40%), pottery, bone, carbon, pebbles, cobbles, glass; inclusions 50% | |
| Description: | Top slope of the context is slight down to the N. The soil color is dark brownish brown. The soil compaction is loose. The soil is moderately sorted. It is silt. | |
| Notes: | This is the upper layer of a tile destruction. We are hoping that it continues down below, though soil to the N (against the E-W wall bordering N of Nezi) is the same reddish color that seems to slope down from S-N through this area of the trench, and does not seem to have much tile in it at first glance. Guy has spotted petal-ware in our pottery, so we have switched to 100% sieving (from 20% in the first few wheel-barrows). There is a greater concentration of tile next to wall 746. Found glass base or rim. Context left open at end of day. 1 June 2012: Kalo mina! We continue to excavate the reddish earth as it continues around to the NW where it was cut by Frankish pit 856 (C867). The tiles continue to dominate in the perceivable cultural material, although as one moves to the W and the Frankish pit the amount of tile decreases significantly. This would make sense given that parts of the pit's cantilevered sides were constructed with tiles. More tiles underlay the initial destruction context. Digging has continued to the S side of 865 in the SW near where the ground is sloping NE. Far fewer tiles found. Many tiles coming out in the center of the context below where the most tiles were initially found, adjacent to wall 746. Tiles are quite large and heavy. The same patterns of tile concentration are noticed as we dig deeper. Again where the large amount of tiles is located near the wall, two joining fragments of marble (sculpture? Relief?). To the N of 865 a line of stones running E-W has begun to be exposed, just S of this line of stones two pieces of clear glass found (will mend). As we dig deeper a larger concentration of tiles has been founf to the SW, leading us to believe that the tiles fell towards the SW and were concentrated from NE-SE beginning at the edge of 746. It appears in section that the collapse cut the red earth which is sloping down towards this context from the SW. Adjacent to the line of rocks in N of context a fragment of mosaic floor recovered. As we dig down and around the Frankish pit (C867=856) many large rocks, some smooth as well as a good amount of plaster or cement - perhaps from collapse of 746? Also a good number of tiles and a fragment of marble (flooring?). The tiles found here indicate that the collapse extended here as well. Due to scarcity of finds switched to sieving 1 of 5. Context left open at end of day. 5 June 2012: We reached a red layer similar to the earth, perhaps, in the scarp of 193. Panos uncovered another tile pile that cuts the other red layer (referred to from here as the pink layer = 879) that slopes down from SW to NE. As a result he believes that the tile concentration may have been yet another fill. The tile layer at the bottom of 865 appears to be concentrated in the SW corner of 865 within the red clay layer. This is roughly where we noticed more and larger fragments of tile during earlier passes across 865. The red clay layer at the bottom of 865 appears to run underneath the sloping ''red'' layer which we are excavating as 879. We are following Panos in distinguishing between these two ''red'' layers by calling the upper one (sloping down towards wall 746 from the SW) the ''pink'' layer (=879) and referring to the red layer at the bottom of 865 as the ''red layer with tile''. Context 877 was laid on the pink layer 879. 16 June 2012: Sculpted marble fragment, preserving front and back surfaces; broken along sides. Back possibly burnt, roughly finished (shows chisel marks). Carved to form curving inset area as if an arched frame for sculpted relief. | |
| Context Pottery: | Coarseware. white ware amphora1 handle. (saved to lot) .red painted; Fineware. LRC, unidentified. 1 rim. (saved to lot) .; Cooking ware. concave thickened rim stewpot (800-950)3 rims. 1 handle. 28 bodysherds. (saved to lot) .silver mica; Fineware. premedieval50 bodysherds. ; Coarseware. LR amphora 21 rim. (saved to lot) .micaceous fabric; Cooking ware. cookpot1 bodysherd. (saved to lot) .incised wavy line; Cooking ware. cookpot2 bodysherds. (saved to lot) .gold mica; Coarseware. Pitcher, combed, pitcher. 1 bodysherd. (saved to lot) .combed; Fineware. ww plastic (700-1120), cup. 1 rim. (saved to lot) .petalware; Coarseware. LR amphora 13 rims. (saved to lot) .misbehaving | |
| Pottery Summary: | 52 frag(s) 0.23 kg. (4% saved) fineware. | |
| 785 frag(s) 12.66 kg. (1% saved) coarseware. | ||
| 142 frag(s) 1.38 kg. (25% saved) cooking ware. | ||
| Context Artifacts: | waster, 1 (saved to lot); glass, clear, green tinge, from rectangular form, bs, 2 (saved to lot); marble, greyish white, carved, joins with 886, see notes for description, 1 (saved to lot); marble, rosso antico, opus sectile, triangle, 1 (saved to lot); glass, opaque, red, bs, 1 (saved to lot); marble, white with dark grey streaks, schisty?, revetment?, 1 (saved to lot); marble, white, flat thick pieces, 3 (saved to lot); lamp, Hellenistic, bs, 1 (saved to lot); glass, clear, colorless, inward thickened rim, rim, 1 (saved to lot); lamp, Roman, bs, 1 (saved to lot); lamp, Late Roman, bs, 2 (saved to lot); glass, clear, green, tubular ring foot, restored diam. 0.007, stemmed goblet as MF 69-275 or MF 69-276, base, 1 (saved to lot); glass, clear, green, stemmed goblet, tubular ring foot, flat base variety, base, 1 (saved to lot); glass, clear, colorless, tubular ring, rim?, diam. 0.11, cp. MF 88-11, 1 (saved to lot) | |
| Period: | Early Byzantine (610-802 AD) | |
| Chronology: | 8th to early 9th | |
| Grid: | 274.33-271.3E, 1011.07-1014.15N | |
| XMin: | 271.3 | |
| XMax: | 274.33 | |
| YMin: | 1011.07 | |
| YMax: | 1014.15 | |
| Site: | Corinth | |
| City: | Ancient Corinth | |
| Country: | Greece | |
| Masl: | 85.79-86.15m. | |
| References: | Report: Nezi Field 2012 by Kyle Mahoney and Rachel McCleery (2012-05-28 to 2012-06-15) |