Cleaning up the mosaic floor


Posted by foramen on September 10, 2012, 11:07 am
in General ( Villa Romana)

The archaeological excavation continues, even though it has become more complicated than in previous seasons due to the harsh terrain. The dropout level, basically composed of residues from the late Empire building bricks, has been almost entirely removed. Under it, the anthropogenic evidence shows, almost certainly, how this sector of the villa had a heating system, in addition to the rooms mentioned before (where imprints of brick pilae were found, through them the hot air circulated). We have found the existence of a sector clogged with ashes and burnt adobes.



Moreover, we have also begun the cleanup of the mosaic floor located in the great room found in the previous season and not fully excavated. As is usual, to carry out cleaning we establish a reduced working area, leaving 10 cm (4 inches) of soil on the surface of the tiles. The soil is removed manually, with spatulas, and the crust of calcium carbonate with a scalpel. This operation is performed before the loss of moisture in the tesserae.






Translated by Lara M. Moreda
Edited by Andrew B. Greeves
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