2001 TRENCH PF 6 Robert Belanger, Field Supervisor Reports from the end of the field season Robert "Base" Belanger. Week 5: Over the past four weeks work has progressed steadily through both plowzone and stratum 2 to bring the whole of Trench PF 6 down a level just above the hearth exposed last year in Trench PF 5. This past week excavation finally commenced in Trench PF 6 to follow the much anticipated hearth level throughout the whole Trench, an effort rewarded with a plethora of artifacts and architectural elements and also confirming many suspicions about the structure in this area of the Podere Funghi. First and foremost, in the center of the trench a large tile fall was discovered within an expansive section of burned and carbonized stratum 2A, the remnants of the collapsed roof of the structure. This tile fall begins approximately one meter into the trench and extends northwesterly for at least two meters, trapping numerous large fineware and coarseware vessels amid its blanket of broken flange and cover tile fragments. Above and below: tile fall in Trench PF 6 exposed in Week 5. The subsequent discovery of an additional wall running on a northeasterly bearing through the western two loci heightens this discovery even further--for it is in viewing the intersection of this wall with the east-west running wall in Trench PF 7 that it becomes clear that the new foundation wall is parallel to the other intersecting northeasterly running wall to the east, and as such forms the third side of the structure. Combining these two architectural finds, it becomes clear that the roof supported by at least the three visible foundation walls collapsed, and that all three trenches--Trenches PF 5, 6, & 7--are indeed excavating the same structure and are interminably linked by their intersecting and parallel foundation walls. The burned stratum 2A and its tile fall, however, are confined only between the two parallel northeasterly-running walls in Trench PF 6, and seem to point to the larger tile fall area as lying to the north and east following the natural slope of the hill. Even so, this would still leave in question the area to the west of the new northeasterly foundation wall, an area which had appeared earlier to be devoid of any significant material finds. But today's discovery of a kiln in the immediate northwest corner of the trench within this area, when coupled with the joint discovery of a kiln buried under the northeasterly-running wall splitting Trenches PF 5 & 7, certainly seems to indicate the structure's occupation for at least two building phases as a workshop area, and may be held accountable for the vast number of misfired vessels discovered in the midden excavated previously as Trenches PF 1 and 2. So overall, this week's discovery of this most recent wall foundation, kiln, and assorted misfired pottery certifies that all three adjoining trenches must be analyzed together as they are clearly excavating the same structure. The progress which has been made this week has made for an exciting week of excavation, and with the continued hard work of the crew which has made it possible--Christel Veen, Greg Stone, Mark Stankovic, and Mary Phelan--Trench PF 6 of the Podere Funghi should continue to have further interesting discoveries to report in the final weeks to come. Detail of PF 6 showing pot sherd in wall. Week 6: Robert Belanger excavating a wall in Trench PF 6. Note walkie talkie on belt... He awaits a call from Ponzi. Assistant Field Supervisor Jurriaan Venneman defining the wall in PF 6. The excitement generated by last week's architectural discoveries carried through well into this sixth week of excavation, and although the majority of work was centered on defining these new architectural features, there were several new and noteworthy artifact discoveries. The majority of these discoveries were made in the midst of the partially exposed tile fall, which is in fact quite expansive and as such has taken much of the excavation attention as its refinement is the major thrust of current explorations into the structure's construction. Above and below: PF 6 crew Greg Stone, Mark Stankovic, Christel Veen, and Mary Phelan work with Rob Belanger in the complex tile fall in Trench PF 6. The tile fall itself is comprised of two levels: an upper level mostly composed of tile fragments, decomposed ceramics, and other probable washout finds; and a lower level of large fractured flange and broken cover tiles just underneath the upper level. Both levels are contemporaneous stratigraphically with the Hellenistic construction phase of the east and west foundation walls, although the upper level had at one point so many fragmentary pieces that it made reading the layout of the lower layer almost impossible. Further definition of pan tiles and cover tiles in Trench PF 6. View across Trench PF 6 showing progress in the removal of tile and other finds. So in the interest of analysis and to preserve the few salvageable artifacts from the upper level, the decision was made to remove the upper layer entirely. Once documentation of this rubble layer was completed on Tuesday a long evening of artifact extraction began, with the end result yielding several full fineware vessel profiles, a heavy tri-beveled pithos rim, and numerous small sherds of almost completely vitrified fineware. These pieces had originally been left in-situ for documentation purposes, in order to record their spatial relationship to the wall foundations and lower main tile fall level, but upon their removal it became clear that the ceramic wares correspond almost exactly to the midden wares excavated in 1998 and 1999. Therefore, with several kilns visible in the vicinity of the structure and with associated pottery in both the current location and the midden, it may be concluded that the two areas are jointly associated in ceramic production. But despite this, the site still reflects a trade capacity as well, as a non-locally produced double-stemmed black glaze handle for a fineware kylix was excavated alongside a small piece of amorphous raised bronze found yesterday. Not surprisingly, outside of these finds the majority of artifacts have been tile fragments unearthed in the current effort to excavate out the upper level to reach the more solid, large tiled lower level. It is this level which should be capable of providing the best insight into direction of roof collapse and construction style of the particular structure located in this section of the Podere Funghi, slated to be completed in the days to come. Left:Christel Veen excavating the tile fall in PF 6. Right: Mary Phelan and Robert Belanger discuss how to proceed with the excavation of the tile fall. Mark Stankovic, Mary Phelan, and Christel Veen excavating in PF 6. Greg Stone cleaning scarp in Trench PF 6. View across PF 5 to the team working in Trench PF 6. View of Trench PF 6 with Jurriaan Venneman on the sifter pile. Right: "Base" working in Trench PF 6.   Week 7: The Entire FOD Team: Christel Veen, Rachel Julis, Keith Doherty, Laura Veresh, Mónica Jiménez, Robert Vander Poppen, Jurriaan Venneman, Robert Belanger, Mary Phelan, Mark Stankovic, Katy Blanchard, and Greg Stone at PF 5, 6, and 7. The discoveries made over the past seven weeks of excavation have answered many longstanding questions about the Etruscan occupation of the Podere Funghi as well as posed several new ones at the same time. The objective of this particular excavation trench was to explore the area directly north of the architectural discoveries made in Trench PF 5 last season, in the ultimate hopes of fully defining the dimensions, form, and function of the Etruscan structure situated on the northern crest of the Podere Funghi. Overview of Trench PF 6 from the east, with part of PF 5 at lower left and part of PF 7 at top left. Within the first three weeks it became clear that the structure did indeed have foundation walls further to the north, for not only did the eastern foundation wall running northward through Trench PF 5 continue along the same bearing into Trench PF 6, but another similarly constructed Hellenistic rubble packed wall foundation was discovered running parallel through the western two loci of Trench PF 6 as well. All that remains to complete at least one chamber of the structure is a fourth foundation wall parallel to the south foundation wall of Trench PF 5, a foundation wall which the resistivity survey undertaken in Week 4 points to as possibly being between 1.5 to 5 meters north of Trench PF 6. If this is so, then the dimensions of this chamber should be roughly 3 x 9 meters, with a hearth in the southern end and a kiln just to the west of the western foundation wall. The hearth area itself does not appear to have been covered by any type of roofing, but it is fairly obvious through the diagnostic pieces visible in the expansive tile fall in the center of Trench PF 6 that the area just north of the hearth had a terracotta roofing system of interlocking pan tiles over which cover tiles were placed. Additionally, the sporadic mud brick finds in this area on top of the tile fall seem to indicate that wall construction was comprised of wattle and daub, and that these walls buckled under the weight of the falling roof and collapsed inwards after the roof collapse. The majority of these sun-dried wall sections were most likely weathered by the elements, and after 2000 + years it is not surprising that so few mud-bricks have survived in good condition. The location of all these elements within a thickly pocketed carbon layer also points to the heavy decomposition of wooden construction elements after the structure's collapse, with the currently exposed layer most likely representing the remnants of wooden roof timbers. View from northwest of Trench PF 6, with kiln partially exposed in foreground, wall, and tile fall. So at present, most evidence seems to point to the structure's form as being a stone foundation base on top of which a wattle and daub wall was built to support a terracotta roof balanced on wooden roof timbers. Finally, like its dimensions and form, the function of the structure cannot be completely understood until excavation of all the surrounding grid squares has been completed. But in comparing the data from this season's excavation to that of prior seasons, it seems that the structure on the northern crest of the Podere Funghi certainly represents a location in which ceramic production played a dominant role for at least two building phases. This conclusion may be drawn from the two kiln sections visible in Trenches PF 5 and 6 alone, with one free of architecture and the other underneath one of the intersecting Hellenistic walls. The fact that one of these kilns has been built over while another is free of obstacles at the time of the structure's destruction points to the fact that at least two phases of building occurred. And when the various ceramic finds that were excavated from Trenches PF 5 and 6 are compared to those excavated from the midden Trenches PF 1 and 2, it is clear that numerous pieces from each match almost identically in fabric, shape, texture, color, and firing condition. The vast number of misfired pottery, especially bichrome wares, located within both the midden and the structure also point to a common thread of pottery production that can be traced back to the kilns, which in themselves indicate two occupation phases. Tile fall in Trench PF 6 as seen from the east, with kiln emerging from scarp in upper right. So in conclusion, the excavation of Trench PF 6 has provided much information as to the dimensions, form, and function of the Etruscan structure situated on the northern crest of the Podere Funghi, but many questions still remain. The orientation of the structure, possible chambers to the east and west, and the relationship of the trench to Trench PF 7's unique features all remain as avenues to explore in the seasons to come. And it truly has become increasingly clear that it will take several more excavation seasons to fully reveal the extent of the Podere Funghi's boundaries, but if these upcoming seasons are half as informative as this season has been, it should continue to be a prosperous and successful venture well into the near future. Robert Belanger with Katy Blanchard in the FOD for bi-pod photograhpy. Greg Stone and Mary Phelan help Robert Belanger take measurements to make final drawings of Trench PF 6.   Greg Stone and Robert Belanger making final drawings of PF 6. Using Jamison Miller's bi-pod to shoot "aerial" photography of PF 6 . Robert Belanger explains tile fall, kiln, and walls in PF 6 during trench tours.   Notable find from Trench PF 6: Black glaze vessel handle.   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