| Collection: | Corinth | |
| Type: | Basket | |
| Name: | Nezi Field, context 1238 | |
| Area: | Nezi Field | |
| Title: | 2nd dump fill-- arbitrary continuation of 1234 | |
| Category: | Deposit | |
| Notebook: | 1107 | |
| Context: | 1238 | |
| Page: | 0 | |
| Date: | 2013/06/13 | |
| Lot: | Lot 2013-026 | |
| Stratum: | Soil: mixed, black, red. Among inclusions were pebbles, gravel (large and small), fragments of tile, pottery (fine and coarse), bone (large), shell, iron slag, large stones. Inclusions c.80% | |
| Description: | The soil color is light greyish mixed. The soil compaction is soft. The soil is poorly sorted. It is sandy silt. | |
| Notes: | Initially we made an arbitrary basket change as the previous deposit 1234, of which this is a continuation, was going down deep. The soil characteristics are identical, as are the inclusions which continue to be large and diverse (i.e., bone, shell, tile, large and small stones, etc.) While excavating deposit 1238 a cut was discerned on the northern edge of the scarp, which revealed that deposit 1234 and 1238 were actually the first and second deposits within a very large pit (1245) cut into a reddish sandy soil. This fill is distinguished from 1234 only arbitrarily. After the removal of the two collapsed wall/stone piles, we started a new context in order to investigate whether there might be any chronological differences in the upper and lower sections of the fill. On the NW corner, we immediately came down upon a red sandy deposit that has clearly been cut at the south. It has therefore become clear that what we are digging is one giant pit which was cut into this reddish sand. In the SW corner, we have found that the stone pile continues a little further down. The dimensions of the pile are 84 L x 78 W, but it continues south into our scarp. Our strategy from here on to the bottom of the bothros will be to change context numbers arbitrarily after every pass in order to determine whether the pit was in use for a long period of time or represents a single dump episode. If the former, it will be interesting to observe chronological changes by pottery type deposited from bottom to top. We changed baskets again although this deposit continues into (arbirtrarily created) context 1241. Update 18/6/13: After the full excavation of pit 1245, we determined that this pit was cut in the late 11th century, and continued to function until the first half of the 12th century when it was put out of use. Despite encountering Frankish fine ware pottery in the bottommost level of this pit (deposit 1244) and the topmost level of this pit (1234), we interpret these sherds as contaminants from beyond the southernmost boundary of pit 1245, accidentally breached by our workmen. Likely cutting pit 1245 was a later Frankish pit further to the south, running under our southernmost scarp. The Frankish sherds emerging in contexts associated with Pit 1245 are thus contaminants, coming from a breach of this later, Frankish context. We are choosing to date the contexts associated with pit 1245 (1234, 1238, 1241, 1244) on strategraphical grounds, and interpret pit 1245, and the deposits filling it, as episodes within the Late Byzantine Period for the following reasons: 1. What was initially taken to be pit 1211 contained deposits dating to the late 11th century CE (1214) and the 3/4 of the 12th c. CE (1200). There was no Frankish material whatsoever. As 1211 was later revealed to have been part of much larger pit 1245, with deposits excavated from the center of the pit (and thus avoiding the southern scarp entirely), these earlier deposits formed a sort of 'core sample' of the deposits filling the center of pit 1245. As there was no Frankish material in deposits 1200 and 1214, we believe that these deposits, further away from the southern scarp, provide a cleaner context from which to draw a sound chronology. As pottery from the uncontaminated deposits 1200 and 1214 thus carried no traces of Frankish material, they should date to the Late Byzantine period, as should pit 1245, into which they were deposited. 2. Cut 1229 and its fill (1228), cut deposit 1244 (the latest fill of pit 1245) and thus has to postdate it. Deposit 1228, which contained a large sample of pottery, produced not a single Frankish ceramic, and all dated to the 1/2 of the 12th c. CE. As this pit was far from the southern scarp, there was no chance of contamination. 3. Deposit 1224 was a fill probably intended to level the top of pits 1245 and 1229; it overlaid the top of both pits, and thus postdated them. No Frankish material emerged from deposit 1224 (which was dated by pottery to the Late Byzantine period), and therefore on the basis of stratigraphy, the deposits filling pits 1245 and 1229 should be no later than Late Byzantine. N.B.: our hypothesis can be tested by excavation of the reddish soil into which pit 1245 was cut. A substantial deposit is extant to the east of pit 1245, and a smaller deposit can also be found east of Wall 746, into which the NW part of pit 1245 was cut. This deposit should be contemporary with or earlier than the late 11th century CE, as it was cut by pit 1245 and filled with debris during the Late Byzantine period. If, however, excavation of this orange earth deposit reveals Frankish pottery, then pit 1245 and its associated deposits (1234, 1238, 1241, and 1244) must be Frankish, too. Further excavation under the southern scarp should also bring to light Frankish activity, namely the deposit(s) into which our pickmen scratched while excavating 1234 and 1244. | |
| Context Pottery: | Fineware. whiteware, lamp. 1 rim. (saved to lot) .; Coarseware. pitcher. (saved to lot) .; Cooking ware. collar rim stew pot (1000-1100), stewpot. 15 rims. (saved to lot) .; Cooking ware. (saved to lot) .; Cooking ware. sloping rim, stewpot. 3 rims. (saved to lot) .; Fineware. whiteware polychrome II, cup. 1 bodysherd. (saved to lot) .joining context 1234; Coarseware. small, pithos. 1 rim. (saved to lot) .; Coarseware. large, pithos. 1 rim. (saved to lot) .; Fineware. whiteware, pitcher. 1 rim. 2 bodysherds. (saved to lot) .; Cooking ware. triangular rim stew pot (1100-1270)3 rims. (saved to lot) .1 with exterior groove; Fineware. plain glazed, unslipped (800-1100), chafing dish. 1 rim. ; Coarseware. mid-Byzantine, amphora. 16 handles. (saved to lot) .; Coarseware. trefoil-mouth, pitcher. 1 bodysherd. (saved to lot) .; Coarseware. slip painted burnished, pitcher. 2 bodysherds. (saved to lot) .; Fineware. whiteware plain, cup. 5 bodysherds. (saved to lot) .; Cooking ware. (saved to lot) .; Fineware. whiteware plainglazed, plate. 1 bodysherd. (saved to lot) .imitation polychrome form; Coarseware. plain, pedestal plate. 5 rims. (saved to lot) .; Fineware. pre-Medieval5 bodysherds. (saved to lot) .; Fineware. whiteware polychrome I, cup. 2 bodysherds. (saved to lot) .; Fineware. whiteware polychrome I, plate. 1 bodysherd. (saved to lot) .; Cooking ware. whiteware, kettle. 1 rim. 4 bodysherds. (saved to lot) .; Fineware. whiteware polychrome II, plate. (saved to lot) .; Coarseware. basin. 3 rims. (saved to lot) .incised wavy line on rim; Fineware. plain glazed, unslipped (800-1100), pitcher?. 1 handle. (saved to lot) .; Fineware. whiteware slipped, plate. 2 rims. (saved to lot) .folded rim; Fineware. whiteware impressed, bowl. 2 bodysherds. (saved to lot) . | |
| Pottery Summary: | 39 frag(s) 0.49 kg. (100% saved) fineware. | |
| 637 frag(s) 16.1 kg. (100% saved) coarseware. | ||
| 271 frag(s) 4.63 kg. (100% saved) cooking ware. | ||
| Context Artifacts: | Bronze bit: 1 (saved to lot); Iron strip: 1 (saved to lot); Glass: 2 blue goblet stem, 1 blue base, 3 colorless rim (2 outward flaring, 1 outward thickened), 3 blue BS, (saved to lot); Circular slag amalgams (hearth blooms?): 10 (saved to lot); Iron nail: 3, rounded head and shaft; 4, squared shaft (saved to lot); Slag: 33 (saved to lot) | |
| Period: | Late Byzantine (1059-1210 AD) | |
| Chronology: | late 11th-1/2 12th century (contimated from Frankish pit) | |
| Grid: | 277.98-275.23E, 1006.25-1009.44N | |
| XMin: | 275.23 | |
| XMax: | 277.98 | |
| YMin: | 1006.25 | |
| YMax: | 1009.44 | |
| Site: | Corinth | |
| City: | Ancient Corinth | |
| Country: | Greece | |
| Masl: | 86.48-86.61m. |