The beginning of the week has finally arrived and everyone is so excited to dig through the rest of the collapse at Castellaraccio di Monteverdi! Approximately three weeks have passed since we all arrived at Monteverdi, and during that period, the whole team has made a lot of progress with Area 1000’s contexts. We are amazed by all of the artifacts that have been found, and more than eager to find more before it is finally time to leave.
Over the last week, we have been digging through Context 22 and 29 of Area 1000. Context 22 is the lower level of the collapse, so there is a lot of clumpy, dark brown dirt. Context 29, on the other hand, was very light, maybe due to the sunlight, and covered with a lot of roof tiles. The ground is still perfectly clear (minus the roof tiles), so everyone’s goal is to take out all of the tiles in order for a new context to be uncovered. We have all been so careful because the ground is so sensitive, so it was a relief that we were able to pickaxe again! Grant took one for the team and pickaxed for the majority of the day. In the process, he found a mandible of an identified animal along with a bronze object. In addition, Alessandro found many tiny pieces of glass located near Wall 17, which is the south end of Context 29. We were able to completely clear out the floor by the end of the day.
A lot of work has been done at the Palace of Castellaraccio, so it is exciting to know that there is more being done only a couple of feet away. After lunch, the forensic anthropologists helped out immensely and uncovered more of the house. The team has been working at the Palace for weeks, so it is great that the new additions could help us out so much! The day ended with a lot of sweeping in order for a clean picture to be taken and so that the whole team could have a fresh start the next morning. Overall, all of us hope to get to the level that the team from last year uncovered!
Interconnected Mobility of People and Economy along the River Ombrone 