We spent the morning removing the remains of context 13 in the area of the workshop to fully expose contexts 17 and 18. The first one is a deposit of very fine gravels which function is still unknown while context 18 is an accumulation of ashes and very small pieces of charcoal. At the same time we removed context 14 in the adjacent room, a layer of compact clay with medium size gravels. It was orientated NW-SE and ran perpendicular to walls 15 and 16. It appeared clear that context 14 was laid over 12 at a certain moment when this room of the complex was partially collapsed but not entirely. We continued then to remove context 12 which happened to be full of fragments of pottery and a series of iron nails and a possible sickle was recovered. A preliminary analysis of the pottery assemblage seems to date the context at the end of the 2nd c. BCE. If confirmed this data is very interesting as it anticipates the abandonment of this part of the building of circa 30 years in contrast with what it was found and interpreted in the 1989-90s excavations.
Finally, the last part of the afternoon was spent to expand the excavation trench in the southern part, in order to better expose the metal workshop and trying to better identify correlated infrastructures within the room.
Interconnected Mobility of People and Economy along the River Ombrone 