Corinth Basket: Nezi Field, context 908
Collection:   Corinth
Type:   Basket
Name:   Nezi Field, context 908
Area:   Nezi Field
Title:   Hard Red Soil Under 907
Category:   Deposit
Notebook:   1106
Context:   908
Page:   0
Date:   2012/06/11
Stratum:   Inclusions: lime, stones, bones, tiles, pottery
Description:   The soil color is light brownish red. The soil compaction is compact. The soil is poorly sorted. It is clayey sand.
Notes:   The present context 908 lies under the black soils of 907 and 906, which may be equal to one another. 908 is broad and encircles the well (542). To the NW is the rock circle under 904. The red soil is rocky and has large boulders, the largest of which are about 0.20 m to the W of the N half of the well and SW of the well at the same distance.
It is quitting time, and the context seems to have hit the bottom to the N. Along the N is lime running E-W. Given the proximity of 908 to the less well-defined W wall of the plaster pit, this would suggest that we have a continuance of the plaster pit (878).
Further sweeping has revealed yet more lime N-S on the E side.
12 June 2012
This morning we continued excavating this context. The fill is very rich in lime. The contexts appear to come on a hard-packed blackish soil, rich in lime and tiles.
Digging has ended and has revealed what appears to be more of the plaster pit. Excavation of the area to the west of well 542 ended up being shallow, and hardly any of the west side of the well was revealed. A rocky layer lues underneath. The portion of 908 N and SW of the well, however, produced a steep drop-off, aligned E-W with the S wall of plaster pit 878. It did not, however, go as deep as the rest of the plaster pit before hitting a different soil to the W and to the E (part of 908), a context heavily packed with lime. Thanasi wonders whether the wall is in fact further west and cut by the rock circle to the W. Excavation is to proceed there once James takes points for drawing.
As with 878, no N wall is present, being apparently cut by either the construction of the robbing of wall 747. The context does seem to abut the Western portion of wall called 747. However, no wall for the pit as distinct from 747 is present. This supports the view that the plaster pit is prior to the construction of the wall. While the foundation of W Wall 747 is lower than the bottom of 908, by far, there is still more fill underneath, including the mass of lime. Plaster pit 878 is in fact lower at the bottom than the foundation.
Lastly, we should suspend judgment as to the extent of the cut until we excavate the other fill contexts below and the context to the W, E of the rock circle.
9 PM
For excavation below 908, see notes for 917.
Context Pottery:   Fineware. LR Form 31 rim. ; Coarseware. Palestinian amphora7 bodysherds. white painted; Coarseware. Niederbieber 771 bodysherd. ; Cooking ware. stewpot. 3 rims. Hesperia 99 n. 19; Fineware. Preroman23 bodysherds. ; Coarseware. LR amphora 22 rims. 1 handle. ; Coarseware. Gaza2 rims. 1 handle. ; Fineware. Early Roman14 bodysherds.
Pottery Summary:   38 frag(s) 0.31 kg. (0% saved) fineware.
    518 frag(s) 11.3 kg. (0% saved) coarseware.
    168 frag(s) 2.1 kg. (0% saved) cooking ware.
Context Artifacts:   glass, clear, yellow, plate or bowl, globular ring foot, 1; glass, clear, green, handle, 1, similar to Andonaras 2009 no. 408; Lamp type 27, handle 1; glass, clear, yellow, fff, d .05; iron, strip, 2; glass, clear, colorless, green goblet, stem and base as MF 73-105; glass, clear, colorless, bs 6; glass, clear, light blue, base 1 as MF 8287; bronze, strip, 2; glass, clear, green, bs 1
Period:   Late Byzantine (1059-1210 AD)
Chronology:   Late 11th C
Grid:   258.78-256.14E, 1007.39-1010.06N
XMin:   256.14
XMax:   258.78
YMin:   1007.39
YMax:   1010.06
Site:   Corinth
City:   Ancient Corinth
Country:   Greece
Masl:   85.94-86.52m.
References:   Report: Nezi Field 2012 by George, Charles; Valente, Rossana (2012-06-26 to 2012-06-27)