.bk A12
.fl N827jl.j
.fd journal entries
.ed N827
.ei jl

.ri jl
.rd N826

v 259
ds This is our daily view.  Yesterday, we began to excavate f441; today, we will continue to remove f441, as well as f442 in k30.

v 260
ds This view shows the sequence of rough layers discovered in the south-eastern corner of f444, where it was somewhat drier than in the rest of the locus.  The soil flaked off of the rough layer beneath it, and the pottery within these layers was lying flat (see v261).  These layers are causing us to reconsider our understanding of the f443/f444/f436/f437/f438 accumulation.  We did not expect such a clear layering because we did not observe it in the trench, even though it is now clear that we cut the layers with our trench (the layers go right up to the edge).  In all likelihood, the soil in the trench was simply too wet and gummy for us to detect them, a problem that we have had all season (we are too deep for the sun to get all of the way down into the circle, meaning that most of the circle never receives direct sunlight during the season).  The area documented in this photograph, conversely, was exposed for over a week before excavating, since it lay alongside the trench, rather than within. Therefore, it has much longer to dry out.  We have glimpsed similar layers across the circle in f443 and f444, but in no case are they particularly extensive or continuous.  Again, it is not clear if this is because of the wetness of the soil or because the layers themselve3s are simply scattered, rather than continuous.

v 261
ds This view shows the layers in f444 after the removal of one of the top layers.  In this picture, as in the excavation, these layers actually seem to resemble laminations rather than layers.  If so, they would be evidence of gb's seasonal interpretation of the sequence of layers in the api.  However, they would also be the dirtiest laminations which we have yet seen.

v 262
ds This view shows the developing smooth face f445 in k29.  At the time of this photograph, we did not understand what f445 was; now, based on our interpretation of f447, we believe f445 to have been the cut of a small pit associated with the ritual use of the api.  From this view, it is possible to see that there was absolutely no distinction between the presumed fill of the small pit and the surrounding soil, therefore it was impossible for us to excavate them separately.

f 444
nd It is clear that, in places, f444 had a series of rough, dirty laminations (see v260, v261).  These laminations were neither expected (since they were not glimpsed in the trench excavation) nor continuous (they were only seen in scattered places around the circle).  Given that our trench cut the laminations in the south-east, it seems likely that the laminations were in the area of f436, but that the soil was too wet and gummy for us to detect them.  In that case, that same argument may be applied across all of f444 and f443, although we can't be certain because, as mentioned previously, we only found them in a few scattered locations.

f 445
nd We did not separate the fill of this presumed small pit from f443 because we could not; there was absolutely no distinction between any pit fill and the surrounding accumulation into which the pit had been cut, other than f445 itself (see v262).

v 263
ds This view shows the top of f446, the white layer being revealed in k29 that is equal to the white layer f440 in k31.

v 264
ds This view is our daily.  Today, we will continue exploring and exposing f445 and f446 in k29, as well as expand our excavation into k30, in an effort to finish by the end of the season.

v 265
ds This view shows one of the scattered black seed patches in f444.  Since they were so small and so few, we decided not to make them separate features.  It also shows the tip of f447, which as this point still looks like a sloping layer (like f445), rather than a curved pit cut (which it turned out to be), hence our initial decision to include the pottery of its fill in with f444.  It wasn't until we found the opposite face of the pit that we realized what sort of structure it was.

f 447
nd This smooth, curving face, presumably a pit cut, originally appeared to be a sloping layer.  On account of this, we believed that the soil on above it was part of the f444 accumulation layered on top of it.  It wasn't until we discovered the opposite face that we realized that we were probably dealing with a pit cut.  The distinction between regular accumulation and pit fill was never visible in the soil, i.e. the two accumulations were indistinguishable (see v265, v266), hence our need to use f447 as a guide.

f 448
ds This soil was indistinguishable from the regular accumulation surrounding it (into which the pit a38 was presumably cut).  Our identification of it as pit fill was based on our identification if f447 as a pit cut, not on any quality of f448 itself.  Hence, our early confusion of f448 with the f444 accumulation around it.

.rd N827

v 266
ds This view is a continuation of v265.  It shows the black seeds along the edge of f444 fully uncovered, as well as the exposed edge of f447.

v 268
ds This is our daily view.  We will continue excavating f443 in between f445 and f446, and f448 within a38.  We will also dig f444 on either side of a38.

v 269
ds This view is a comparison of f423 and f450 on the west wall of the circle.  The rough, outward-sloping layers of f423 are clearly visible, the result of mud filling the fissure and layering against the accumulation within the circle.  In contrast is the smooth, striated face of f450, presumably the result of mud running down the stone wall in an airpocket within the fissure.

v 270
ds This view shows the complete extent of f445 in k29, down to the level to which we excavated this season.  Although f445 continued further down into the soil, it was our decision to photograph, measure and remove it, in order to achieve a level surface in the west half of the circle by the end of the season.  Any fill is still indistinguishable from the surrounding accumulation.

v 271
ds The view shows the small pit a38 after the fill f448 was removed.  Somewhat visible is the curvature of f447 which originally suggested to us that it might be a pit cut.  v271a looks at the surface of f423 behind a38, which is smooth and striated, like f450, rather than rough, as f423 has been.  v471b is a view of f450 above a38 for comparison.  The only explanation that seems to make sense for the face of f423 here is that an air pocket opened up in this part of the fissure, creating conditions in which the smooth face could form on top of the mud ledge layers.  Either that or, unlike anywhere else in the circle, the smooth face built up in layers here, joining the mud ledge.  This can also be compared with v272.

v 267
ds This view shows the small pit a38 as soon as we realized that it was a pit.  f447 shows a distinct curve, not the flat, sloping surface which we originally believed.  The material in this part of the pit is the strong red and white material from which the best of the laminations, f371/f405, were formed, in essentially this location in the north of the circle.  However, the material around that, also presumably within the pit, was brown material, the same as f444.

v 272
ds This view is part of a set with v271.  It shows the smooth mud surface on the stones at the end of the trench, above k33.  The vertical striations are visible in this photograph.  In contrast is the mud ledge f423 next to it.  Presumably, mud running over the stones within an air pocket or other open area in the fissure created this surface.

v 273
ds This is our daily photo.  It shows the ledge on the west side of f444 which was accidentally included in k29 when we redrew the circle after stopping in the trench.  This area was dug today as f444.  We also continued to remove f445 and f443 behind it and f444 in the west side of the trench.  Finally, we finished digging f444 in the east where it lay on top of f449, and removed the area of f444 north of that, up to the edge of a38.

v 274
ds Although slightly blurry, this photo still shows the additional face of f445 which was discovered as we dug through it.  This face actually bent in the opposite direction that we would expect, if f445 is really a pit cut.  It is also clear from this photo that our trench cut the face, presumably because the soil was too wet and gummy for us to detect the surface.