Monday was another day where the mechanical excavator was in the south end of Area C. It was excavating an area which was far away from the previous baulk wall so the team was able to work in the areas which had been off limits on friday.
Delphine and I were guided through the task of filling out our first SU Sheets by Andrew the Area C Trench Assistant. We were given two walls (or rather wall foundations) of a room that needed documentation before removal. We cleaned the dirt around the walls (archaeologists are perpetually cleaning dirt) because when photos are taken of the walls the surface of them has to be clean of footprints and tools and the outlines need to be sharp, not dirt covered) Next we filled out the standardized Gabii Specific sheets and then had to describe and sketch the features as we saw fit. (I really enjoyed the sketching part, and Jamie said I was good at it too)
After sketching people on the topography team came down to take points of the walls with the totals station (Gabii is pretty high tech and they don't use paper records, the digitize everything which means no plum bob and line level!!) Then a girl (whose name I can't remember) came to take photos of the walls for making a 3-D photo model of the structures. There isn't always as much care taken in documentation of structures but these walls were large ashlar foundations and part of the main structure of Area C so it was necessary to make absolutely certain of their appearance and location before removing them for investigation of earlier phases of the structure.
After finishing the SU sheets we were put to work excavating the floor of what Jamie presumes to be the atrium of the house. The edges of the room are paved in coccio pesto flooring but most of the paving in the center of the room is missing. what caused the paving to be removed is what Jamie hopes to discover through digging. He told us that we may find roofing tiles from the collapse of the ceiling or perhaps an impluvium as is common to 2nd century BC houses and would give further evidence to the room's status as an atrium.
Part way through excavation (pick axeing, shovelling, sifting and wheelbarrowing) Delphine and I were given transparencies which were made with the points from the totals station. we had to "characterize" them. The transparencies were just the main outline of the walls (basically rectangles) so we had to make them look like the walls by drawing in the outlines of the individual blocks. Andrew told us that these will then be re-digitized and made into the map of Gabii so that when someone searched the database for that part of the structure the images we drew will be what they see (pretty cool!)
The transparencies were the final step of documentation so the rest of the day was spent in excavation of the floor with some other members of the Area C team. We found lots of pottery shards, pieces of bone and some charcoal. Also, a block which was part of a previous wall foundation, showing that there was a different floor plan to the building in an earlier phase.
After getting home from the dig I immediately made supper (even before showering) because I was so hungry. I didn't actually have any groceries so I ended up making pasta and veggies with a sauce made out of marscapone cheese garlic and black pepper.
Once I had eaten and showered I went out to actually get groceries. In this grocery trip I picked up bathroom cleaner and sponges and cleaned the bathroom when I got home - 5 girls covered in dirt every day makes for a nasty tiny bathroom. Now it smells lemony fresh (are you proud mom?)
solid evening.
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