Field Reports from the end of the 2000 Field Season Trench PC 20 Justin Winkler, Field Supervisor Week 5 August , 2000: Jess Galloway, Krista Farber, Greg Warden, and Prajna Desai watch Justin Winkler excavate a chalice. The field season is now coming to a close and we must begin the final documentation and analysis of the trenches. The complexity of Trench PC 20 is astounding given the assortment of artifact assemblages and architectural foundations. It is now clear that much of the pottery in the early layers is comprised of bucchero wares; much of it very well-preserved. In fact, with intense focus and diligence we were able to extract a nearly complete stemmed plate associated with a concentrated deposit of numerous pottery fragments. The vessel itself is probably the only one of its kind at Poggio Colla thus far. The context of the overall pottery deposit is contained within the dark, ashy layer of stratum four directly abutting the lower portion of the south terrace wall. Excluding the stemmed vessel, the fragmentary nature of the remaining deposit seems to indicate a secondary context. That is, much of the pottery was modified and removed in antiquity. (See the series of photos below showing the excavation of the bucchero chalice). Partially excavated bucchero chalice in Trench PC 20. My assertions regarding the architectural history of the trench have altered throughout the course of excavation. I suspect that the presence of Greek Attic wares (possibly red-figure) and late Orientalizing decorated bucchero date the south terrace wall somewhere around the late 6th to early 5th century. The later terrace expansion northward is still plausible including the perpendicular buttress wall and then the other parallel western wall sometime later. Left: Trench PC 20 bucchero sherd with zoomorph. Right: Trench PC 20 polychrome vessel neck. The complexity and abundance of special finds are almost unprecedented in terms of both quantity and quality. The material record of Trench PC 20 is still in the process of interpretation and shall remain so until the season ends. Hopefully, we will be able to continue investigating this particular area of the site in order to further our understanding more completely. Left: fragment of an Attic Red Figure Krater from Trench PC 20. Right: fragment of an incised fenestrated foot from a bucchero vessel. Above and below: views of bucchero chalice partially exposed. Chalice fragments protected in sifted soil for the ride to conservation. For a photo of the chalice in the lab, see the Conservation Week 5 Report. South terrace wall in PC 20, several days after removal of the bucchero chalice. Left: Ruth Landy studies one of hundreds of bucchero sherds she has unearthed in PC 20. Right: Kara Spoonhour takes her turn at sifting for small finds from Trench PC 20. Catherine Norman in her locus of Trench PC 20, shown from above from the south on the right. Prajna Desai watches Justin Winkler remove the chalice from her locus in Trench PC 20.   Randi Graham (left) and Krista Farber (right) working in the south end of Trench PC 20. Week 6 August , 2000: Left: Justin Winkler with a large profile gauge used to record the shape of architectural moldings. Right: Justin with Munsell color chart, used to identify the color of stratigraphy and ceramic finds. Excavations at Poggio Colla have revealed much as we finish the remainder of our field season. There is much to look forward to in the coming year, but more importantly there is a great deal to reflect upon. Specifically, Trench PC 20 presents us with a valuable opportunity in that we have reasonably achieved a consistent, although somewhat adapted, interpretation of the site’s northern plan. Thus, enabling research to remain focused upon investigating and answering questions about a discrete site area. Hopefully, continuous expansion in the immediate vicinity of Trench PC 20 will allow us to refine and delimit the known cultural deposits, not to mention furthering our efforts in architectural reconstruction. April Kramer gives coordinates of finds to Justin Winkler and Ruth Landy for the Trench PC 20 field notebook. Final excavation seemingly exposed yet another material context likely to be earlier than all the rest. I suspect this deposit may represent a trash midden probably overlooked or not encountered in the past. The distinct appearance of numerous animal bones, many of which will require identification, within a very dark black, ashy layer of compact soil may indicate a separate occupational event. Also, its presence beneath the south terrace wall and just further north provide additional support for this argument. Justin Winkler excavating an animal bone and vessel base from the central locus of PC 20. I believe the terrace expansion northward is still valid and that the west perpendicular wall is probably contemporaneous due to the presence of re-utilized architectural blocks. Our likely podium block, now one of many, is carefully molded yet inverted and providing secondary structure to the north terrace wall. Sometime afterward in the sequence I speculate that an additional perpendicular buttress wall was constructed in order to support a potentially wavering north terrace. This might have been due to either erosional or natural phenomena, not to mention possible construction flaws. View of Trench PC 20 from the northeast corner. At any rate, the field school has been successful and the students have attained a level of understanding regarding the Etruscans, Italy, and most of all archaeology. Certainly, we anticipate future excavation and eventual publication of our ongoing research. The web-site is a critical part of this process that will continue to expand and grow as the project develops. South end of Trench PC 20 as seen from the west. Surveying points in a wall in Trench PC 20. Overview of Trench PC 20 at season's end. Final photo of Trench PC 20 from the south. Final photo of Trench PC 20 from the north.   View of the north end of Trench PC 20. View toward the northwest corner of Trench PC 21. Trench PC 20 Catalogued Finds from Previous Weeks Bucchero openwork handle. Bucchero chalice lip fragment.   Side and end view of an impasto rochetto. Incised bucchero fragment. Bucchero chalice.   Director's Diary Field Director's Diary Trench PF 5 Trench PC 18 Trench PC 19 Trench PC 20 Trench PC 21 Conservator's Reports Student Diaries Co-Directors: Gregory Warden gwarden@mail.smu.edu and Michael Thomas mlthomas@mail.utexas.edu Excavation house phone during the field season: (011-39) 055-844-9834