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The crew arrived quite early on Friday morning, early enough to see the moon set and the sun rise.  Indeed, the sun always shines on Podere Cannicci, and shine it did. Dr. Vanni joined the team over in the main site as they continued to articulate Context 60, which is composed of primarily large stones. In doing this, the team realized that the tile wall, running along the western edge of the site, continues outside of the trench.  After this, they began removing context 59, now behind the wall (Context 58) as Michael and Savannah found the continuation of the floor stones and began to articulate a context of larger stones within Room V. The crew ended the already quite productive day by removing the tarp left by previous excavations and by troweling the North East corner to perfection.

In Area 1000, Thuraya finished troweling Context 5 by removing the remaining tile.  Tina began to expose the rest of the wall, Context 4, before quickly realizing that the wall either does not continue or it is in ruins. They then swept with fury to prepare for the “Sunset Archaeology” event on Sunday, when the fruits of their labor and that of the rest of the team will be presented to the local community. This season has enlightened the team about archaeological methodology and practice and has allowed the team to literally hold the rich history of Paganico within their hands. They cannot wait to share what they have accomplished with the people who live there, with those who have greeted them with open arms and the occasional Aperol Spritz. Grazie a tutti!

Characterized by warmth from the previous night’s festivities and a cake-filled celebration of the birthday of our director, Professor Sebastiani, during lunch, this Thursday heralded new questions and broader horizons for the Podere Cannicci site. After a lapse in our ability to employ the Total Station earlier in the week, site director Dr. Vanni and trench supervisor Betsy finished taking the points of Context 56, and as the team continued to remove the charcoal and disintegrated-brick laden reddish clay, they discovered a new feature of stacked tile running along the Western edge of the trench. Tomorrow, the Cannicci crew will articulate and investigate this construction to discover its function and extent. Further, in the process of removing Context 56, students uncovered a bronze coin while Alyssa articulated wall 57, situated in the center of the trench. 

In Area 1000, Thuraya and Tina continued to remove the collapsed sherds of the dolia (Context 11) and to trowel the apsidal charcoal feature (context 8) which Thuraya, Dr. Vanni, and Professor Sebastiani had excavated on Wednesday. While doing this, they found a bronze nail, iron nails, and sherds of black gloss. They felt feelings of melancholy and satisfaction as they realized that their work in Area 1000 was quickly coming to an end. Tomorrow, they will continue to clean along with the rest of the team in preparation for Sunday’s “Sunset Archaeology” event.

Stationed cameras, eager eyes, and a once-in-a-lifetime act of recovery defined the day at Podere Cannicci. In Room I, in light of the photographs taken of Contexts 56 and 60 the previous afternoon, Context 56 was ready to be cleared, and the team undertook this task promptly, exposing a thick, yellow clay beneath, integrated with sandy patches and defined by a varying topography that was better followed with the help of director Dr. Vanni. This portion of the team likewise confirmed the existence of a new wall, Context 61, uncovering the continuation of its stones and discovering that it formed a small canal with its parallel feature, wall 58. On the other side of the original excavation area, where students continued to articulate the uncovered continuation of stones composing a raw floor, the plethora of loom-weights found by trench supervisor Michael were accompanied with a textile tool previously absent at Cannicci—a spindle discovered by Kevin. Room I, on the other hand, heralded a bronze coin brought to the light by Alyssa as the team continued to expose the new yellow-colored clay lying beneath Context 56. 

In Area 1000, the team composed of Dr. Vanni, Tina, and Thuraya began the process of dolia removal and received a visit from an archeo-botanist in preparation for analyzing the soil of the collapsed dolia for residue. In the afternoon, however, this dream team undertook the highly anticipated removal of the artifacts beneath the furniture remnants. With our videographer Emma at the ready to capture the moment and Tina furiously documenting the finds, Dr. Vanni and Thuraya meticulously removed objects from the soil, some of which had been visible to the team for almost two weeks, begging to be salvaged. Even director Professor Sebastiani came to share in the magic, as did our constant compatriot, Alberto Ghini, and his mother. As glistening vessels of black gloss, lead, plaster, and numerous bronze coins came under the gaze of the setting sun, with the team working past the end of the workday until the deed was done and the students from the main excavation area cheering them on, all realized the significance of those fleeting moments under the few shady trees in the valley.

Today at Podere Cannicci, the team continued to peel back a layer of stones and collapsed brick in Room 1, picking up where they left off on Monday. The somewhat complicated stratigraphy in this area made for delicate work as a layer comprised of orange streaks of disintegrated bricks and charcoal-laden red clay (Context 56) had to be distinguished from a partially contiguous, partially overlapping layer of stones and whole bricks (Context 59). In the process, bronze slag and plenty of pottery were found, Kevin found a bronze coin, and Michael found loom weights. The work of cleaning the now exposed walls continued along walls 57, 58 and a new unnumbered wall, making sure not to go too deep or remove the red soil of Context 56.

In the adjacent area, Tina and Thuraya continued to trowel away through Context 2 and its northern extension. The collapse surrounding a row of dolia, large earthenware vessels for storage and transportation, was then removed, beginning with dolia number 1. While clearing away the sherds of the dolium, a mistake was made in removing the dolium base itself. The bases are generally left in their original place as they can be expected to have remained immobile since antiquity. The sherds of the upper portion of the vessel, on the other hand, are easily displaced (in the event of a collapse, for example) and may be removed along with the rest of the context laying on top. Thus, the collapse of the dolia belongs to the context above (Context 11) as opposed to the context of the bases, each of which is given its own designation – so, for example, dolium 1 = Context 12.  This simple mistake was no great reason for concern as the base of the vessel could easily be restored to its position in situ. At any rate, the situation of the dolia in Area 1000 was a good learning opportunity. In the following days, soil samples from each dolia context will be sent to the archaeo–botanist for analysis. 

Revitalized from a weekend at the beach the crew was eager to get back to work in Podere Cannicci.  In the main site, Betsy, Alyssa and Kevin continued to trowel away in Room Iin order to expose the layer of disintegrated tile and brick, Context 56.  In the process, they began exposing another context of collapsed brick—a confuddling context which runs both alongside and above Context 56. This context they have dubbed Context 59, and with hard work and hope, they will persist. In Room V, Michael and Savannah continued to remove the context composed of pebbles (Context 55).  Monday was not going to be easy on the crew, however, forwhen they began taking points, the Total Station decided that it had had enough for one day, frustrating the team and the contexts alike.

In Area 1000, Thuraya and Tina continued to remove Context 2 from the north extension.  They exposed the foundation stone of the pillar in the North corner of the trench while listening to the calming voice of Ira Glass on This American Life, a staple in Area 1000.  On Tuesday,they will finish exposing the next context in the extension and hopefully will begin to remove the collapsed dolia in the main room of the trench.