Usini, necropoli di S'Elighe Entosu: relazione di scavo 2011

Following research undertaken between 2006 and 2009, in 2011 excavations reopened on the necropolis of S’Elighe Entosu.Within the new project, the main aim was to continue excavating tomb IV, in particular thedromosand chamber b. Work was hampered by the difficulty in excavating the layers in contact with the walls and floor of the tomb. In fact, the nature of the limestone rock had produced a radical alteration in the soil leading to its partial or total concretion.In the corridor several cobbled surfaces were identified, which seemed to date to the middle Bronze Age (preliminary dating prior to analyses). In some cases they covered a layer of uniform soil, containing small stones, which may be interpreted as a make up for the cobbled surface. The substantial concentrations of baked clay and charcoal present in the first stretch of thedromos, in the absence of hearths/combustion structures, may relate to fires lit for ritual purposes.In room b, the accumulation of pottery fragments close to the wall separating the chamber from thedromos, which probably collapsed during the middle Bronze Age, was planned at 1:1 due to the high concentration of materials, and then removed. Continuation of the excavation across the entire surface revealed the remains of a floor paved with large polygonal slabs, only well-preserved in patches. A structure built of smaller slabs, delimiting a rectangular area, emerged in the north-eastern corner. Traces of two other structures seemed to emerge, one close to the north-western wall and the other towards the south-western wall. The latter was built using slabs removed from the paving.In the remaining part of the room a series of beaten earth floors was exposed. Surface US 63 was of particular interest, lying within a limited and well-preserved surface allowing a first macroscopic analysis, prior to sampling for micro-morphological analysis. Its upper part comprised a layer of very fine calcareous paste finished with a very uniform floor surface; the underlying part contained small lumps of limestone forming the skeleton of the layer. The beaten surface overlay structure US 64 and close by the latter was cut by a small pit containing an accumulation of pottery.