The archaeological finds are carefully washed and dried. Certain categories of finds, including leather and glass, are stored in wet conditions, because they tend to degrade rather quickly when exposed to oxygen. All shards are numbered per context layer, so that they can be reassembled and glued together afterwards. As a next step, the archaeologists examine the earthenware for technical and typological characteristics and draw conclusions regarding the formation and, more importantly, the dating of the fills. In a final stage, they draw and digitise all relevant finds.
