Describe
Today I stayed down and washed pottery and worked on the dig database entering information about all our finds. Our excavation is yielding a lot more pieces of amphorae which can yield a lot more information as to trade patterns on our site. Arnie's group also managed to find an inscription on the stone floor that I cleaned on Thursday, which we think may have served more or less as a welcome mat. Having started database entry, I now have a much greater understanding of what is needed in the small finds and pottery cleaning process.
Interpret
Today I realized what the dig administrators are looking for in the small finds and pottery cleaning process. Before information can be entered into the database, each find has to be measured and described in terms of its color and its historical usage. The place from which it was found must be carefully cited or the find will be of no use. As a result, when cleaning pottery it is vitally important to make sure that all of the years of dirt accumulated on the sherds are removed in such a way that their true color is revealed the best way to do this is by cleaning the sides of the sherds, as dirt is not as calcified on the edges of sherds as it is on the faces of them. If sherds are not properly cleaned it is not only difficult to categorize them in terms of color but also in terms of accurate measurments. A thick layer of calcified dirt can make an object seem far larger than it is given the precise and small unit of measure we are using. Properly cleaning pottery also exposes markings and indentations and intricate edges that could give the archaeologist clues as to how the product was made.
Analyze
Taking a step back I realize there is still so much I have to learn about classifying finds. I now know that the tessrae of the Romans are much smaller than those of the Byzantines. Yet I still am not sure how to classify pottery on the basis of its edges. Many of the staff here are able to easily classify pottery by usage. From only the edge pieces of pottery, the staff here are able to tell whether it is cassarole pottery or not. In the future I would definitely be interested to learn more about how to classify a lot of these finds.
Today I stayed down and washed pottery and worked on the dig database entering information about all our finds. Our excavation is yielding a lot more pieces of amphorae which can yield a lot more information as to trade patterns on our site. Arnie's group also managed to find an inscription on the stone floor that I cleaned on Thursday, which we think may have served more or less as a welcome mat. Having started database entry, I now have a much greater understanding of what is needed in the small finds and pottery cleaning process.
Interpret
Today I realized what the dig administrators are looking for in the small finds and pottery cleaning process. Before information can be entered into the database, each find has to be measured and described in terms of its color and its historical usage. The place from which it was found must be carefully cited or the find will be of no use. As a result, when cleaning pottery it is vitally important to make sure that all of the years of dirt accumulated on the sherds are removed in such a way that their true color is revealed the best way to do this is by cleaning the sides of the sherds, as dirt is not as calcified on the edges of sherds as it is on the faces of them. If sherds are not properly cleaned it is not only difficult to categorize them in terms of color but also in terms of accurate measurments. A thick layer of calcified dirt can make an object seem far larger than it is given the precise and small unit of measure we are using. Properly cleaning pottery also exposes markings and indentations and intricate edges that could give the archaeologist clues as to how the product was made.
Analyze
Taking a step back I realize there is still so much I have to learn about classifying finds. I now know that the tessrae of the Romans are much smaller than those of the Byzantines. Yet I still am not sure how to classify pottery on the basis of its edges. Many of the staff here are able to easily classify pottery by usage. From only the edge pieces of pottery, the staff here are able to tell whether it is cassarole pottery or not. In the future I would definitely be interested to learn more about how to classify a lot of these finds.
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