Today, the small Castellaraccio team split in two. After a quick visit from Edoardo and Federico to fix our GPS points for the total station, Ryan started his own area, extending the excavation of Area 3000 to the east, to understand the stratigraphic connections on that side. Alessandro and Benedetta instead recorded the yellowish layer in the northern part of Area 2000 using the total station, and started to remove it with pickaxe and trowel. This exposed the remains of layer 37, representing the room’s last occupation phase. Interestingly, the north-western corner of the room revealed a potentially interesting layer. Last year, we noticed a concentration of charcoal in this area, which we preliminary interpreted as a burned beam. However, the extension of the excavation is revealing an extended area with reddish ground and stones, indicating the presence of fire, in association with more charcoal samples. This can imply the presence of a hearth or a kiln but only further work will eventually confirm this hypothesis.
Interconnected Mobility of People and Economy along the River Ombrone 