At the end of the second week we have opened and are excavating two test trenches--the second one (Trench 4) in a small chamber roughly south of the main entrance corridor. As in Trench 3, the finds consist mainly of pottery (most of it tentatively dated to the EBA, although we are expecting a Neolithic layer underneath the EBA one), human and animal bones, and some obsidian. Unlike in Trench 3 no visible floor levels have been spotted; however, the excavation of Trench 4 is still practically at its beginning. During the previous week we have also conducted a topographical survey of the cave and the trenches opened so far, both from this and last year. By doing this we are now able to have precise contours of the cave and the position of our trenches within it and, consequently, of finds and features that have been or will be excavated.
Unexpectedly, we also had to deal with restricting of access to the cave to sightseers, which tend to visit the cave en masse during the local Ay. Triadha panegyri. Therefore, we have posted a proper sign warning the potential visitors of the danger of falling in in one of the open excavation trenches and we did our best to secure the entrance to the cave.
No comments:
Post a Comment