And then at about 27cm we found the above object embedded in the East side of the pit. We carefully dug around it with our trowels and what appears to be a portion of a terracotta brick popped out. I used a dime for measurement in situ as my ruler does not photograph well. 
But I had the most fun finding the tiny object in the photo above (sorry about the bad picture). We found the small object while screening the last of the 22-30cm level. It is an appx 1cm and 1cm folded metal object. On one side a small cross has been stamped (or cut) out. It has a verdigris patina and small spots of gold. Perhaps a clasp for a book? We got so excited that while trying to photgraph it we dropped it and had to spend some time on hands and knees recovering it. Prof. Hartley happened to be at our site and dryly mentioned that it might be better to photograph it in the laboratory as opposed to the field.
Can't wait until next week when we can open up a 1 x 1!
I'm fascinated with that little metal clasp! It reminds me of something I can't quite put my finger on, back from Sunday School. My intuition is also a book binding. Perhaps a hymn book? The cross cutout is simply precious.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's reassuring to discover that we weren't the only group who got to *koff* "rediscover" excavated objects after they were "redistributed" as "surface artifacts". ;)
So now that we've gotten past all of these surface finds, I am excited to dig! After having been previously discouraged from being told of the likelihood, or lack thereof, that we were going to discover something, its like we hit the jackpot just on the surface. Digging with a shovel is cumbersome work for me, but I love sifting through and discovering things. I also enjoyed learning how to "oger," but mainly enjoyed it because it was fun to shout aloud, "I'm ogering!"
ReplyDelete~Xia