| Entry: | This week I spent removing the top two layers of topsoil from units 15349 and 15358; new units opened along the western edge of trench 5 on the west mound. The units contained a mixture of historical and prehistorical deposits, although the prehistoric ceramics vastly outnumbered the historical. The weather cooperated with us for the most part, as a nice breaze took the edge off what could have been overwhelming heat. This week was mostly spent acclimating to the site and to the weather--we have brought out two extra screens to help avoid sifting backlogs, and make sure that we have pleanty of water to combat dehydration. As we had to wait for the Turkish workers to finish removing the sandbags from the trench, we weren't able to to dig in the trench itself for most of the week. However, once we were able to spread out from the three initial units, the digging progressed much faster. We have been digging at a consistant speed and things are going quite well. The team is getting along very well and we are building a strong solidaritity, especially since we are entering fresh into a world of established cliques from the east mound and the specialists.
The experience of having the specialists on site has been extrordinary. Having seen how effective and productive it is to have everyone actuall onsite with us, I believe that all major excavations should strive to emulate the example (obviously, not all excavations can afford the great expense). For me, the ability to work with the ceramic specialist has been amazing. Having not ever seen a sherd from Catal before arriving, I was able to view the highlights of the various ceramic vessals and to receive a preliminary introduction into the language of Catal's pottery. I was surprised that there was no one available to identify the historical sherds, especially considering the volume of sherds that were coming out of the first few layers from the top and all the Byzantine graves that have been found on the tel. However, that is a minor complaint since the actual Byzantine settlement has not been located and the fact that all the Byzantine sherds are being kept so that future researchers can delve into the mysteries of the Byzantines at Catal. |
