The yard
What did the archaeologists find?
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1. There was a yard behind the guest house and market/temple. The archaeologists found a well and eight pits in the yard.
Why is a yard important?
Like the rubbish dump in the fort, waterlogged soil conditions in the yard allowed organic materials like wood and bone to be preserved.
The well and the pits had been filled in with rubbish when they were no longer needed. Parasite eggs and plant pollen were found in a sample of soil from one of the pits. This is evidence that a toilet had been emptied into the pit.
The well
After the archaeologists removed the fill from the well, they found pieces of wooden lining. This would have helped to stop the sides falling in.
The pits
Archaeologists found the remains of a ladder propped up against the side of one of the pits. Two other pits had a wooden lining like the well.
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What other objects were in the pits and the well?
The archaeologists found a large quantity of broken glass bottles and pottery. They also found bronze, lead and iron objects, coins, bone objects and a small oil lamp.
Timeline:
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