0138 – The last day of 2015 campaign

Recovering the top of the decorated schist stelae (the main part was recovered in August – see below). It has the hedge polished and it was deeply affected by the ploughing, as you can see by the mark.

Over this stelae hedge there was this tube of ceramic, of conic shape. An object usually associated to metallurgy.

And then we covered ditch 7 and ditch 10. Just like the chalcolithics, we opened them to rapidly fill them again.

0137 - The team

And here is the team that reached the bottom of ditch 7 and almost finished pit 50.

0136 – “Post scriptum”

We came back to Perdigões for a week to try to finish the section in ditch 7 and the excavation of pit 50.

And the section in ditch 7 finally reached the bottom: 2,9 / 3 m deep.

 

As to pit 50, things are more complicated.

 

The pit is getting larger and deeper than expected and its filling is becoming complex, with a small firing structure inside and accumulations of stones and depositions of faunal bones, namely a pig head and a large toothless mandible of a large mammal.  We will not finish it now, I belive.

 

 

 

0135- Day 32, the last one

Here the semi circular structure, with its central post, and the alignment with the other eastern post.

Here is the same area covered.

 

And here is the last two weeks team.

 

0104 – Day 31

Today we finished the definition of the stone structure in the enlarged area of sector Q. It looks like a sort of circular cairn with stones involved by a dark and very compact clay. Might be the sealing of something (a tomb maybe).

And here its spatial relation to the tholoi shape structure, with Monsaraz in the horizon, precisely at 90º.

But today we also collect part of a schist slab partially affected by the deep ploughing. The rest is still under the section of the excavation area.

And it is all decorated. Here are some areas. You can see what you want: triangles, reticulated areas, sun, and even some anthropomorphic shapes. To be studied by the specialists.  

 

0103 – Day 30

 

No, Adara is not sleeping at work. She is excavating a deep post hole. It is 67cm deep and has to wedges.

 

But the most interesting is that, although about 20 meters away from the circular structure, this post hole might be related to it. It is aligned with the central post of that structure in the alignment that splits the structure in the middle. As you can see, Sívia is in one of the extremities of the overture of the structure and Catarina is in the other. The alignment between posts is in the middle.

 

And because in Perdigões nothing is simple, ditch 13 is now showing a bifurcation.

0102 – Day 29

I am about to realize that we will not get to the bottom of ditch 7. After a deposition of faunal remains, stones and pottery, a layer with pottery fragments in connection. After that, more faunal remains. A never ending  story.

And here is the section in the new ditch 13: V shape.

 

0101 – Day 28

Beginning of the last week. The work is are now being manage according to the available time and number of elements in the team.

In the enlarged area of sector Q the first structure is defined. We do not know if it is a tholos or not and if the part behind the section profile will replicate the observed one. But if so, it could look something like this.

The red datched squere is the speculated replication

Next year we will know.

In the other area of sector Q the excavation of ditch 13 continues. I will be talking about that tomorrow, perhaps. Meanwhile, pit 70 is closer to its end. It is a chalcolithic one and today a half pot was recovered. Those who follow my work know how I value these half parts of objects.

Finally, in sector H ditch 11 filling is becoming complicated, but it is definitively Late Neolithic.

0100 - Day 27

Last resting day of this year campaign.
This morning was partially dedicated to remount a very strange pot from pit 65. It is an elongated shape, and it seems to be deformed. Possibly this is not an intended shape and the pot was deformed by pressure in the process of production, but if was intended, then is a very uncommon one. It has a large sequence of suspension holes near the rim.

 

Last night took place the fourth street talk. An overview on Portuguese enclosures.

 

099 – Day 27

Today was open day at Perdigões. The site and the ongoing excavations were explain to the public and a talk took place at Esporão auditorium.

(images taken from Era's FB site)

Meanwhile, ditch 7 is getting more complicated to excavate.

098 – Day 26

The excavation is not just made of this: digging.

 

Is also made of tasks like cleaning and reassemble materials and elaborating inventories at home. Everyday part of the team stays at home in the afternoon to perform these tasks.

097 – Day 25

Ditch 7 is getting deeper and deeper. Is now more than 2,5 meters.

 

It continues with depositions of animal bones, stones and pottery shards. Here are to extremities of paws of ovicaprids.

Meanwhile, the trench in ditch 10 is almost done. A row of stones and pottery shards in the middle of the bottom of the ditch was a last minute surprise.

And last night we had our third street talk. This time our Ukrainian colleagues presented us the ditched sites they are excavating at home.   

096 – Day 24a

 

It makes sense to share these recent news here. The project, Mobility and interaction in South Portugal Recent Prehistory: the role of aggregation centers, centred in Perdigões enclosures, was recommended for funding by the evaluation panel of Portuguese Science Foundation. A new impulse for Perdigões research.

095 – Day 24

Today we display areal images of sector Q

Here you can see the area of the circular structure, the concentration of pits and the new ditch.

 

Here is de same image annotated (the small red dots mark the limits of the eastern overture of the circular structure and the large red dot the central post hole.

The post hole was excavated in the sediments of the Neolithic pit 62. To preserve the original hole we did not excavate a quarter of that pit. We covered the hole with plastic a put a post inside and we are refilling the pit. That is the best way to preserve the original hole and simultaneously make it understandable to the visitors by watching a post where originally would have been one.