Discovering more everyday

After our nail layer we were not finding much besides mortar and a few screws until we found something sticking out of our west wall.  We can tell that it is a bone, but until we are finished with out unit we have to leave it be, although I’m not sure how we will decide who gets to pull it out.  There are signs of butchering done to the bone, and because of its size and the cow scapula that was found nearby in Unit D we believe it could also be cow.

Besides the bone we were not finding much else than nails and mortar, until I felt something that felt like scraping concrete while shovel skimming near the southeast corner.  After getting a better look with the use of a trowel, we knew that we were looking at a small foundation or wall of some kind that was running along our south wall, but it was much different in material and size than the other walls found in Units A and D.  It also seems to be slightly off from true cardinal directions much like how the other wall is, although it is deeper.  Until we get down deeper we will be unable to determine what it is exactly, and we are hoping the new Unit E (courtesy of CAP grad students and interns) could help us to figure out if the walls connect or what their relation were to each other.

Around the same depth as the wall we did notice a layer of gravel that was found mostly on the western side, which could have been used as a kind of filler or pathway around the time the wall or foundation was built.  When looking at the west wall near the northwest corner you can see the gravel line in the stratigraphy, it is very uneven so we are still not sure if it is natural or man-made.  If it is man-made then perhaps it will show up again in Unit E, which shares balk our unit.

Starting above the wall were 2 roots that were as thick as an arm coming out of the southwest corner running in different directions throughout our unit.  One came out of the west wall, dropped down to the depth with the wall, running alongside it into the east wall.  The other one also came out of the west wall near the same spot, but ran down and through the middle of our unit, spreading in multiple directions into the north and east walls.  Most of the roots were removed in pieces as we would get down deep enough to remove another piece.  The roots we cut turn an odd green color, we only have guesses as to what it is or if it’s related to the disease that caused the tree’s removal.  Under where a root was we also found a piece of brick near the center of our unit that leads us to believe that there is still more below for us to find.

Author: Cooper Duda