.bk A16 .fl L630TR.J .fd -M726-A.J***L630TR.J .fn Edited by cJC on R714/R716, sG on R716 .rd L609 -DY Today we finished removing the backfill in k1 and k5, and exposed the mud bricks/structure (a1) from last season. In k6 most of the backfill has been removed except for the western side and should be finished early tomorrow. We met with gB to discuss the strategy for excavating A16. -SG In k1 we plan to excavate the SW side of the square at the corner of the wall where f4 & f7 meet in order to find the base of the wall. In k5 and k6 we will excavate inside the structure diagonally (NS) until we reach the first floors; leaving half of it unexcavated. Once we have found the floor then we will excavate the inside of the structure. .rd L612 .ri sB -SG we plan to reach the wall and make a flat plan, then we will take a photo. There is a lot of sherds, lots of bones. Traces of burnt charcoal, some brickfall They are left for the photo-found near the jar a piece of tannur. At 15cm from the E wall we found many burnt grain. Collected-they are scattered all along the wall for 150cm. .rd L614 .ri lR a 1 C99 originally we thought that the three walls in a1 made up a one room structure possible a house but it appears that it is a burial based on the facts that Iko pointed out; the structure only has three courses of bricks and then stops but the pot and ^aa continues to go down. the walls are also not bonded which seems odd for a house; we are also encountering human bones which could have possibly washed down from a higher level. but given the other facts it seems most likely that this structure is a burial. one interesting thing however is the thickness of the walls which is strange for a tomb. on the wall running W-N it is possible that there is another burial that would explain its thickness; that it may not be a wall, but we have not excavated completely the area where the baulk is to the North, but it seems that there is bricky material all along that area and it seems to be a wall. In a1 we are coming down on several medium size stones and bones. we have several large pieces of mudbrick scattered in th area which we are leaving pedestalled to help understand the collapse. The two items inside a1 are large Khabur vessels. i2 is standing upright next to the wall running E-S; has three dark bands on the vessel. i4 is lying on its side and has 5 lines and is located in the NE corner. we removed i2 since the bottom was smashed inwards and was difficult to remove. inside the fill, f23, we found seeds, pottery, piece of a grinding stone and one tooth. we excavated a total of 15cm on the east side of the locus (in a1) and will leave the area since we are most likely either on the floor or close to it; we probably should have left the base of i2 in place, but was afraid that the bottom sherds would get lost since there were many small pieces; an indentation remains where the base was standing. we took a photo (v1, v1a) of the area showing both i1 and i2 in place and the relationship between the two bones (mandible and the columnar vertebrae) which are not next to each other and suggest that they do not belong to the same skeleton. view v1a shows f4 the wall where the bricks end; 4 courses of bricks are visible then stop, but i4 still continues past the bricks. .rd L626 .ri fAB a 3 B99 I would consider ceding this structure to A15, since this means that A15 will then be able to dig the room accumulation in its entirety, instead of leaving 60-70cm of accumulation for us to dig separately. This will not, or should not, affect later strata below, since the structure a3 seems to sit on an enormous pit which reaches to palace levels. .rd L628 .ri lR f 16 F02 co f0049 .rd L614 f 22 B11 inside a2, contained by walls, reddish layer mixed with gray ashy layer underneath flat sherds, located on the East side and curls up to abut the wall that is f8. .rd L615 f 27 A01 A13f0025 f 28 ;in k1 =A13f49 ;B11 this is a gray ^aa from a living floor. sherds are lying flat and is cut by f27; ^bf seen in North section. This feature is located on the NE side of the k, see sketch 5. .rd L618 f 37 A01 A13f0021 f 38 A01 A13f0044 f 39 A01 A13f0029 f 40 A01 A13f0045 f 41 A01 A13f0046 f 42 A01 A13f0048 f 43 A01 A13f0047 f 44 A01 A13f0050 .rd L628 f 49 D06 9134 top 9042 @bottom .rd L627 .ri sV f 55 ;D06 9340-9149(upper bound)/9262-9124(lower bound) @top; 9250-9045(upper bound)/9130-9042(lower bound) @bottom tc co f47 K05 reddish-gray f 58 D06 9180 @top D06 9000 @bottom K05 gray .rd L624 .ri fAB f 59 K04 possibly rectangular .rd L630 .ri tR f 75 B11 Consists of 4 courses of bricks that are visible at this point running N-S. The bricks are pinkish in color. After further excavation it appears that this feature may be a tannur installation. D99 North baulk of k8 .rd L623 .ri fAB i 14 C99 Found neck down in f3 not far above f51; we did not put it in f50 which is floor accumulation because of its emplacement. E01 80 degrees at base, neck down or East .rd L624 .ri eD i 15 C99 When we first described the jar we put it in f3, but digging it we realized that the jar's base belongs to f24. D01 k5 .rd L611 .ri lR k 3 C01 Was opened today & workmen began removing ^ts & trying to level off the square. excavation took place along the NE corner. .rd L625 C01 The workmen continued to go down in the brickfall and ashy pockets were also appearing but they still need to go down further(as seen in k2 section). k 5 C01 It appears that there is another floor under f51 approximately 10 to 12cm below. We also have two large stones associated with this floor; this is f63 and one stone that has been removed but a depression is still visible and you can see f51 sloping down. The workmen removed the remainder of the section on the North side of a1-f3 and found underneath bricky material. .rd L609 .ri fAB q 1 B11 These sherds came thru the plastic of the backfill and were collected by fab and MO. They seem to be several types of ceramic, not a complete vessel, but the design on a portion of the sherds is similar, so worth looking to see if a few sherds may go together. They were described by MKB as being Khabur in date. They were probably left in situ previously because f3 was not excavated and the typical design gives a secure dating for this feature. .rd L611 .ri lR q 4 A99 q4-b may contain human bones; unable to tell if a tooth is human or animal; it appears to be animal, but just to be certain it will be noted in the q log form. ;.bk A16 ;.fl L630TR.J ;.fd L821-A16.J***L630TR.J .rd L609 .ri fAB ;-DY Today is our first day of excavation, so we spent most of the day clearing away backfill and the berm. We temporarily strung squares k2 & 3, as as bWP will only be able to string our squares tomorrow am. .rd L610 -DY Work continues to focus on cleaning k1 and k6, cleaning section, and more than half of the workmen are still busy removing the berm. We hope it is finished tomorrow by breakfast. .ri lR -DY fAB, lR, cC, and sB at the site today-continued to remove backfill in K6, we met briefly with gB this morning to discuss the plan for today. We removed the grasses ontop of the unexcavated squares and along the baulks for safety reasons. The baulks of the excavated squares were also cleaned off with plans to draw sections. gB discussed the argument as to whether we should relate the two structures found in k5 and k6; since they are in line with each other yet have different wall thickness and different elevations. .rd L613 .ri sB ;-DY Today gB mad a digging lesson in k5 and k6 until 9am. After we dug in k5 to try to find the eventual floor where the jar(i2) should be sitting on, levelled the layer from yesterday, went down another 10cm. There is another whole Habur jar in the N corner; in the end of the morning many teeth coming out and finally a burial attached to the E wall. .rd L620 .ri fAB ;-DY Excavation is concentrated in 3 areas: k5, k8, and k2-4. In k5 we are following the floor, f51, to determine its relationship to a3 and to the East we are digging the baulk to find the corner of a3. In k8 we are continuing to articulate the brickfall. In k2 and k3 we are digging trenches along the North baulk of the squares to determine brickfall thickness. In k4 we seem to have found a wall, f52, but it is not linked to anything we have found yet, so we continue to look around it. .rd L621 .ri sB -DY Discussed with gB the strategy for k5. The plastered floor, f51, is not found everywhere, i.e. not found yet in the south part of the room, but may still be there. It was decided to remove most of the section, leaving a ledge of 40cm against the North wall that is f7. In the section as well as the floor there are still a lot of bricks from the ^bf which is a4. gB thinks that the floor, f51, in k5 is contemporary; or at least at the same level as f29 (floor) in k6. .rd L625 .ri lR -DY Today we continued excavating the brickfall found in k2 and k3. In k2 we cut a trench running North-South in the middle of the k to determine the depth of the brickfall. The trench was 35cm below the rest of the k on the East and West sides when ashy pockets started appearing. This could be the mixture of the end of the brickfall with an ashy accumulation or just ashy pockets in the brickfall and the brickfallcontinues down. We stopped at this level and excavated the remainder of the k. In the section in k1 the brickfall measures approximately 170cm in thickness and in k2 it is almost at the bottom of this approximation. The workmen noticed that the brickfall was changing into larger components in the Easatern side. It is possible that this could be the wall found in k6 that is f8. Travis and I took the elevation of the bricky mass and it is 7cm above m2556; which makes it a little higher than the wall(f8) but not much. This seems odd to me since it appears that we are higher in k2 than m2665; but that is what the elevation calculated; double checked. .rd L626 .ri fAB -DY Today we focused all of our efforts on removing 3 baulks: k1E, k2E, and k3E. First photos were taken, sections drawn, and only about 8am were we able to begin excavating. .ri lR -DY We are taking down the west baulk of k2 and k3; so k1, k2, k3, k4 will be one area with out baulks. We have removed the markers on the baulk. They are removing them(the baulks) in layers first the topsoil and after the brickfall. More men are working in k4 since it is higher. The east sections were all photographed this morning. .rd L703 .ri tR -DY This morning we reviewed with gB the strategy for A16. We are finished removing baulks and are now ready to start going down. .rd L609 .ri lR -MK BP completed elevations today for the 6 markers in A16. Once the computers are up we will start plotting the squares. .rd L626 -MK Removed the following vertical control points: m2533, m2501, m2549; ;they've gone to the big baulk in the sky or in laymen's terms they've been removed with supreme prejudice. .rd L612 -SG The next 2-3 days excavators will be very minimal since work needs to be done on the computers. gB is leading a training class with the new students & tomorrow we will collect all the relay points of structures(walls) so we can plot soon. Excavation will still continue in f3; and in k5 to remove the feature in the whole a1; and to reach the floor that the jar (i2) sits on. We will photograph the jar in situ. The workmen will be sent to other areas to remove backfill during these 2-3 days. We will resume digging on Sat(L616). .rd L703 .ri tR -SG We have opened a new locus in k7 and k8 labeled k105. Our reason for this is two-fold first, since we have removed the baulks it is difficult to differentiate between squares as far as q lots are concerened; second, we want to get a better idea of what is going on in k3 and k4. In k4 we have an accumulation which is f81 that gB suggested may have been cut due to erosion after a period of abondonment before the brickfall. Our strategy is to go down in k105 and cut a section so we will be able to better understand the deposition. We have tenatively named k3 and k4 as k106, but we will consult with gB or fAB before making it final. .rd L610 .ri fAB a 1 B11 This feature consists of 3 walls, the wall running W-S having been lost perhaps to erosion. One question that comes to the fore is the link between a1 and a2; are they part of the same structure? It seems not; while the alignment is similar, the section does not show wall f5 from k5, so we think that it is not linked with f10 in k6. The elevations of the two differ beginning approximately 50-90cm, and were walls f5 and f10 to belong to the same structure, it is a bit odd that one room lies to the south of the wall and one to the north. .rd L626 a 4 A99 This aggregate was made to unify the various brickfall features in A16. These could not be merely subsumed under a single feature because stratigraphic continuity across the baulks has not been reached. I realize the need for this however it seems not to perfectly fit the theoretical definition of an aggregate. In my mind an aggregate is a label which describes a complex of features and items which are functionally linked. The brickfall described by a4 is linked, but the link is more of a stratigraphic understanding than a functional complex. a 5 I99 Is this later or earlier than a4? This should be clear after determining if there is a wall in baulk k3E. .rd L702 .ri tR a 6 C02 We intend to approach the box structure from the West and from the South to try and understand better its construction and also to see more clearly its relationship to f77 which is an ash layer that can be seen in the N section of k6 and has also been reached in k2. We are still uncertain of the box structures function. fAB at first thought it was a grave; after some excavation I thought it may be a cistern of some sort connected to the drainage system in k4. At this point it is still unclear. C99 This morning while cleaning fAB discovered a layer of plaster covering which would seem to indicate that it was a freestanding structure and would argue against it being a cistern or a drainage system. It may be that we are looking at 3 phases of construction: phase I being a wall with plaster covering and possibly a bench, phase II a wall that has collapsed or been disturbed by the construction of phase III which would be a cistern or burial; or it is all one construction and makes no sense as of now. If we do indeed have 3 phases of construction we would divide the phases into seperate aggregates. Either way only further excavation will answer our questions. .rd L611 .ri lR .rd L616 .ri tR f 26 C99 in k5 f26 is a possible burial. We removed 3 possibly human verterbre which were lying next to f24 which is an ^ab containing brick collapse. After removing took a relay and entered it in the relay log. next we removed a piece of a mandible in the NE corner near i4 which is a khabur vessel partly exposed. After removing took a relay and entered it into the relay log. .rd L628 .ri lR .rd L626 .ri fAB f 51 C02 Today we finished digging the accumulation above floor f51; concluding for now our work within and below a3. The next step in k5 will be the removal of the brickfall a4 in this locus .rd L627 .ri sV f 55 B11 Thick layer of melted bricks below the top soil of k3. The layer profoundly changes its consistency showing a more dense prescence of brick fragments, downwards the brickfall layer f47. In the upper part of the layer it is more compact and appears like cement while the lower one is softer and granular, accordingly the color changes from a light gray to a gray mixed with reddish of the lower softer part. The layer occupies the whole of k3. Sloping slightly downwards and to the south(see section). .rd L624 .ri fAB f 59 B11 This installation is a hole in the floor which is f51. The floor surface slopes down into the hole, indicating that the hole does not cut the floor but was contemporary to its construction. .rd L625 .ri tR f 60 C99 Yesterday when we first recognized f60 it appeared to be a pit cut into the brickfall which was f54. It seemed to also cut f52 which is a wall. Today after further excavation it appears that f54 has ended and that we have reached a mud brick platform or pavement on the North side of f52. The so-called pit was filled at the top with small chunks of mud brick probably from the ^bf of f54; about 5 to 10cm down we began to find larger more complete bricks. Also, there appeared to be a cut through f52 going south; a cut or channel parallel with f52 on the North side; and a channel cut perpendicular to f52 following the corner going North. These cuts or channels are under the brick platform or pavement and seem top be overlayed by two courses of bricks. The pit and system of channels may be a drainage system of some sort. This is supported by the fact that in f60 we saw a brick which appeared to have broken away from one of the platform bricks. The pit which is f60 may have been the result of ^bf which is f54 that caused the drainage "node" to collapse from its weight. This is supported by the similar type and size of brick chunks found in the top 5 to 10cm of f60. We will continue to investigate further looking for the edge of the platform and also defining the edges of the drainage channel on the South side of f52. .rd L626 .ri sV f 69 C99 Today we have made clearer the situation in correspondance of the hole appearing on the souther face of f52. What we can see is possible the upper part of a niche which is called f69. The top of this feature is 1m below the top of the wall. The width of the wall which is f52 is 77cm. The West corner of the niche is 140cm to the western end of the wall. Until now the hole probably is the continuation of the drainage channel, beginning in the Norther face of the wall appears only in the West corner of the niche. The fill of the niche looks grey and is mixed with fragments of bricks. .rd L702 .ri tR f 80 B11 Seems to be a small partitioning or retaining wall of some sort constructed of packed mud/clay; it runs N-S and seems to abutt f52. f 81 B11 This is the accumulation directly over a living surface that seems to be that of an outdoor living surface as opposed to being inside a room or house. The accumulation is brown in color and is soft with a silty/loamy texture. It also contains inclusions of red clay chunks and charcoal. .rd L611 .ri lR k 1 C01 In order to find the foundation of a1 in k1 we decided to remove 15cm from the area north of the corner of a1 until the step. We called this feature f12 but did not finish excavating it today. Tomorrow we will remove the bricky mass on the SW corner to reach the wall and check to see if we encounter any defired bricks protruding out of the wall. We did find two stones in close proximity to the corner but appear not to be related to the mudbrick wall. k 2 C01 Continued removing ^ts on the NE side & area is still not leveled. A small pit was identified on the NE corner on the North baulk & was assigned f13- it later became apparent that it was an animal hole; a small amount of pottery was collected. ;k 5 ;C01 Continued excavating f3- a nice mudbrick was found in the center area of a1 with a long finger mark along the face of the brick, The ceramic vessel is still in the ground & was suggested by SB that we still have another 15-20cm to reach the base of the vessel which would also give us the floor that the vessel sits on. .rd L702 .ri tR q 146.2 C06 Originally there were two q lots with this designation. Now 146.1 is a possible stamp seal and 146.2 is a strainer. ;.bk A16 ;.fl L630TR.J ;.fd N217LR.J***L630TR.J .rd L609 -DY Today is our first day of excavation, so we spent most of the day clearing away backfill and the berm. We temporarily strung squares k2 and k3, as bWP will only be able to string our squares tomorrow in the early morning. .rd L610 .ri lR -DY fAB, lR, cC, and sb at the site today and continued to remove backfill in k6. We met briefly with gB this morning to discuss the strategy for today. We removed the grasses on top of the unexcavated squares and along the baulks for safety reasons. The baulks of the excavated squares were also cleaned off with plans to draw the sections. gB discussed the argument as to whether we should relate the two structures found in k5 and k6; since they are in line with each other yet have different wall thickness and different elevations. -DY We began excavating f3 in k5 on the eastern side of a1. This feature contains ashy material mixed with pieces of reddish clay. The sherds encountered were in an oblique position, which suggests that it is an accumulation. Approximately 8-10cm was excavated. We opened up k2 today-the workmen have leveled off the NE section since the Tell has a slope in order to eventually make the whole k one level. We did not collect the pottery from the first 10-15cm since it would most likely be washed out of context. .rd L611 -DY Today we opened up k3 and the workmen are leveling the square. In k5 cC and abk continued excavating the NE section of a1, f3 going 35cm down at the NE corner and are continuing at another 10cm down since they have not reached a floor or any change in soil type it is still f3 and the same q lot for pottery. .rd L612 -DY Today we continued to remove the topsoil from k2 and found brickfall underneath which we labeled as f15. One big pick run was done; then we stopped for the day in that locus. In k7, bricks were noticed on the surface and a cleaning was done which exposed three walls and a circular jar located in a doorway, niche, or pit. We are not sure of the wall's (f18) width since we are unable to find the edge in the north; the brickfall makes it difficult to see this. On the southern face of the wall (f18) it is very smooth and appears plastered. A basalt grinding stone was also found next to the wall and is still in place. .ri sB -DY Today we started to level the surface that was left quite irregular yesterday. cC was moved to k7 with lR, I am working with another aRK. The Khabur jar i2 is still in place and is very large. The upper part is already at the lab being restored. .rd L613 -DY Today gB had an excavation lesson in k5 and k6 until 9am. We excavated in k5 to try to find the floor where the jar (i2) should be sitting on, leveled the layer from yesterday, and went down another 10cm. There is another whole Khabur jar in the North corner i4, which we noticed today. We also found some human teeth and bone this morning, and appear that a1 is a burial. .rd L617 .ri fAB -DY After three days of backfill removal we are finally returning to the upper squares of A16. Today we are digging only in k3 and k4; removing topsoil to arrive at the brickfall, which is the last sign of occupation in the lower portion of A16. .rd L620 -DY Excavations today are concentrated in the following areas: k5, k8, k2, k3, and k4. In k5 we are following the floor f51, to determine its relationship to a3 and to the East we are digging the baulk to find the corner of a3. In k8 we are continuing to articulate the brickfall. In k2 and k3 we are digging trenches along the North baulk of the squares to determine brickfall thickness. In k4 we seem to have found a wall, f52, but it is not linked to anything we have found yet, so we continue to work around it. -DY we talked with gB about elevations in the AA area: A16 k5 is approximately 8680, A13 stone-paved surface is approximately 8500 and AK floor is approximately 8250. This means that we have 180cm of soil between k5 and the stone pavement. .rd L702 .ri tR -DY We continue to excavate baulks k6 N and E, k7 N and E, and k3 E. gB stopped by to check on our progress and give us some suggestions as to how we should proceed in our excavation of the box structure which is aggregate a6, subsuming f72, f73, f74, and f75. Afterwards we began to expose what appears to be a small retaining wall of sorts, which we called f80 in k4. .rd L609 .ri fAB a 1 C01 We recovered several sherds that came through the plastic of the backfill and were collected by fab and Mohammed Ommo. They seem to be several types of ceramic, not a complete vessel, but the design on a portion of the sherds is similar, so worth looking to see if a few sherds may go together. They were described by mkb as being Khabur in date. They were probably left in place previously because f3 was not excavated and the typical design gives a secure dating for this feature. These sherds have been collected as q1 .rd L610 .ri lR C01 We began excavating f3 in k5 on the eastern side of a1. This feature contains ashy material mixed with pieces of reddish clay. The sherds encountered were in an oblique position, which suggests that it is an accumulation. Approximately 8-10cm was excavated. .rd L612 .ri sB C01 Today we plan to reach the wall and create a nice flat leveled surface then photograph the area. The material in this structure contains lots of sherds, bones, charcoal, and fragments of bricks, which we have left for the photo. 15cm from the East wall we found some burnt grain/seeds all along the wall for 1.5m; these were collected as samples. .rd L614 .ri lR C01 In a1 we are coming down on several medium size stones and bones. We have several large pieces of mud brick scattered in the area, which we are leaving pedestalled to help, understand the collapse of this structure. The two items inside a1 are large Khabur vessels; i2 is standing upright next to the wall running E-S and has three dark decoration bands on the vessel. i4 is lying on its side and has 5 decoration lines and is located in the NE corner. We removed i2 since the bottom was smashed inwards and were afraid that the sherds might be lost if left in place. Inside the fill, f23, we found seeds, pottery, a grinding stone fragment, and one tooth. We excavated a total of 15cm on the East side of the locus (in a1) and will leave the area since we are most likely either on the floor or close to it. We probably should have left the base of i2 in place but was afraid that the bottom sherds would get lost since there were many small pieces; an indentation remains where the base was standing. .rd L610 .ri fAB C03 One question that comes to the fore is the link between a1 and a2; are they part of the same structure? It seems not; while the alignment is similar, the section does not show the wall from k5, so we think that it is not linked with the wall in k6. The elevations of the two differ beginning approximately 50-90cm, and were walls these two walls from a1 and a2 to belong to the same structure, it is a bit odd that one room lies to the South of the wall and one to the North. .rd L614 .ri lR C03 Originally we thought that the three walls in a1 made up a one room structure related to a living area such as a house, but it appears that it might be a burial based on the following facts: 1)The structure only has three courses of bricks but the jar i2 and the accumulation inside the structure continues to go down 2)The walls are not bonded which seems odd for a house 3)Several human bones were recovered which could have possibly washed down from a higher level or do in fact belong to a burial. Given these facts it seems most likely that this structure is a burial that has been eroded away. One interesting thing to argue against a1 being a tomb is the thickness of the walls, which are considerably thick for a burial. On the wall running W-N it is possible that there is another burial that would explain its thickness but we need to remove the eroded bricks on the surface to see. O23 We took a photo, v1 and v1a of the area showing both i1 and i4 in place and the relationship between the two bones (mandible and the vertebra column), which are not next to each other and suggest that they do not belong to the same skeleton. View v1a shows f4 the wall where the bricks end; 4 courses of bricks are visible then stop, but i4 still continues past the bricks. .rd L626 .ri fAB a 2 C99 I explored today the area above and between a1 and a2. It is odd that the alignment is so similar, but it is clear from what I saw that they are two distinct structures, even in two distinct strata. a 3 C01 We have concluded for now our work within and below a3 .rd L625 .ri lR a 4 C01 we created trenches in k2, k3, and k4 to determine the depth of the brickfall a4 since it currently covers the entire area. In k2 we have found ashy pockets mixed with the brickfall and could be the end of the brickfall. In the other loci the brickfall continues on. In k1 north section the brickfall measures 170cm in thickness making it a tedious job removing this huge thick brickfall cap in the entire A16 area. The workmen have noticed that the brickfall is changing in size, before they were uncovering small crumbly fragments of bricks but now are coming down on larger components particularly in the east side of k2. .rd L626 .ri fAB C99 Today we removed the baulks between k1 and k2; k2 and k3; k3 and k4. This removes three sections and gives us a view to the N-S slope of a4, but should provide a very clear photo from the South. By removing these three baulks we will have an open area of excavation that is 19m x 4m. I have left 15cm of each baulk so that the section and loci k1, k2, k3, and k4 continue as we go down in the future. a 5 B11 A series of channels which seem to build a drain complex that is under and to the North of the wall f52. .rd L625 .ri lR C01 A possible drain has been identified running alongside the wall f52 on the North side. We defined the bricks, which are a pinkish color and found on the south side a little niche where there are no bricks. We are presuming that this niche is an outlet area for the drain to pass through the wall. On the other side we also defined the bricks but they end about one meter from the East baulk. It is possible that the bricks collapsed and caused a jumble on the North side. .rd L626 C01 We have labeled the niche found in wall f52 as f69, and currently are associating it with a drainage system a5. .rd L702 .ri tR a 6 C01 gB stopped by to check on our progress and give us some suggestions as to how we should proceed in our excavation of the box structure which is aggregate a6, subsuming f72, f73, f74, and f75. a 8 C01 We began to expose what appears to be a small retaining wall of sorts, which we called f80 in k4. .rd L609 .ri fAB f 3 B11 Fill inside structure a1 left by A13 in MZ12 season. This fill is enclosed within walls f4, f5, f6, and f7. Contains q1, sherds that seem to be from a Khabur vessel. .rd L610 .ri lR C01 We began excavating f3 in k5 on the eastern side of a1. This feature contains ashy material mixed with pieces of reddish clay. The sherds encountered were in an oblique position, which suggests that it is an accumulation. Approximately 8-10cm was excavated. .rd L611 C01 Continued excavating f3 and a complete mud brick was found in the center of a1 containing a long finger indentation along the face of the brick. The ceramic vessel i2 is still in the ground and was suggested by sB that we still have another 15-20cm to reach the base of the vessel. C01 In k5 two workmen (cC and aBK) continued excavating the Northeast section of a1 excavating 35cm of f3 at the NE corner and are continuing at another 10cm down. They have not reached the presumed floor of this structure or any indication of soil change. .rd L612 C01 We are temporarily limiting excavations in A16 since we are behind in data entry and plots. However, excavation will still continue in f3; and in k5 to remove this feature and reach the floor that the jar (i2) sits on. We will photograph the jar in place. .rd L627 .ri sV ;F02 co f0055 .rd L625 .ri lR f 8 C03 we have come down on some larger brick fragments in the brickfall in k2 and are wondering whether this could be possibly the same wall as f8. We took elevations of the bricky mass and it is a little higher than the wall, but not by much. We are unsure of this situation. .rd L611 f 12 B11 Medium brown soil with large chunks of bricks and clay with some ash and medium stones. Feature is located North of a1 in k1 in the western corner. C01 In order to find the foundation of a1 in k1 we decided to remove 15cm from the area North of the corner of a1 until the step. We called this f12 but did not finish excavating it today. Tomorrow we will remove the bricky mass on the SW corner to reach the wall and check to see if we encounter any fired bricks protruding out of the wall. We did find two stones in close proximity to the corner but appears not to be related to the mud brick wall. f 13 C01 while removing the topsoil a small pit was identified on the Northeast corner close to the North baulk and was assigned f13. It later became apparent that this was an animal hole and not a pit; a small amount of pottery was collected. .rd L612 f 18 C01 While observing k7, several lines were visible on the Tell's surface. We gently scraped the eroded soil away with a trowel, which exposed that these lines were three mud-brick walls forming a structure, which we have labeled as a3. Currently we are not certain of the width of f18 since we cannot find the edge to the North because of all the brickfall in the area. We do know that the southern face of this wall is very smooth and appears plastered. f 21 B11 Is a brickfall, which contains large chunks of crumbly brick and some fragments of basalt. This feature has not been excavated and is at the current exposed level of the Tell, only a scraping was done with a trowel. The area contains a steep slope running N-S with the brickfall at the highest point and sloping to expose the wall f18; with a jar situated in a niche or doorway. We have not assigned a feature number to the jar since it lies partly in A15 area and likely will be given to them for excavation. .rd L614 f 23 C01 We removed the Khabur jar today i2 and excavated the fill inside the vessel, which we labeled f23. Inside this fill, we found seeds, pottery, a grinding stone fragment, and one tooth. .rd L616 .ri tR f 26 C99 This is a possible burial. We removed 3 vertebras, which were lying next to f24 ^ab containing brick collapse. After removing the bones we took a relay, next we removed a piece of a mandible in the NE corner near i4 and also relayed this bone. We are not certain whether the bones collected are human and will treat it as one until the physical anthropologist arrives later this season. .rd L615 .ri lR f 27 B11 in k1 this is the brickfall seen in the North, East, and West sections. It slopes down under a band of natural accumulation. This feature has already been given a feature number from last season, A13f25 and contains large pieces of bricks that are well defined, mixed with small to medium cobbles, the texture is granular with some ashy material. It is currently in the West side of the locus, see sketch 5. .rd L614 C01 tR and cC scraped the North section to find the cut between f27 and f28 and shaved off the small section in the middle of the locus to see this line better. q25 is a mixture of the two features since the baulk was shaved and was unable to keep the pottery separated; this is noted in the q log. f 28 C01 tR and cC scraped the North section to find the cut between f27 and f28 and shaved off the small section in the middle of the locus to see this line better. q25 is a mixture of the two features since the baulk was shaved and was unable to keep the pottery separated; this is noted in the q log. .rd L628 f 49 B11 Accumulation below the brickfall a4. Contains charcoal, chunks of red clay, small stones, pottery and bone inclusions. Accumulation is soft in texture; with ashy inclusions and contains large brick components that are larger and more complete than in the brickfall. This feature slopes down and is best seen in the north and east sections. .rd L620 .ri fAB f 51 C01 In k5 we are following the floor f51, to determine its relationship to a3 and to the East we are digging the baulk to find the corner of a3. .rd L621 .ri sB C01 The plastered floor, f51, is not found everywhere, i.e. not found yet in the south part of the room, but may still be there. It was decided to remove most of the section, leaving a ledge of 40cm against the North wall that is f7. In the section as well as the floor there are still a lot of bricks from the brickfall which is a4. gB thinks that the floor, f51, in k5 is contemporary; or at least at the same level as f29 (floor) in k6. .rd L625 .ri lR C01 It appears that there is another floor under f51 approximately 10 to 12cm below. .rd L620 .ri fAB f 52 C01 In k4 we seem to have found a wall f52, but it is not linked to anything we have found yet, so we continue to work around it. .rd L625 .ri lR C01 While looking at this wall we have defined the bricks on the north surface and noticed that there are not bricks in the middle, creating a niche. We have identified a possible drain that runs along the north side of the wall and presume that the niche is an outlet for the water to run through the wall. .ri tR f 54 C01 today after further excavation it appears that f54 has ended and that we have reached a mud brick platform or pavement on the North side of f52. .rd L627 .ri sV f 55 ;B11 A thick layer of melted bricks below the topsoil of k3. The layer profoundly changes its consistency showing a more dense presence of brick fragments, downwards the brickfall layer f47. In the upper part of the layer it is more compact and appears like cement while the lower one is softer and granular, accordingly the color changes from a light gray to a gray mixed with reddish of the lower softer part. The layer occupies the whole of k3. Sloping slightly downwards and to the south (see section). elevation: (upper boundary)/9262-9124(lower boundary); @bottom 9250-9045(upper boundary)/9130-9042(lower boundary) ;D06 9340-9149 @top ;F02 co f0003 f 58 B11 This feature is located to the South of wall f52 and makes up the entire Southern portion of k4. The soil is mixed with a reddish bricky material that lies to the west of f52, and below the more compacted accumulation of f53 then slopes down and south. It shows traces of charcoal and small pebbles. In the southern part next to the South baulk clay laminations lie on top of the accumulation. .rd L624 .ri fAB f 59 M99 We don't think this feature is either a post hole (it is too large) or a base for a pot(it is not rounded enough). .rd L625 .ri lR f 63 C01 It appears that there is another floor under f51 approximately 10 to 12cm below. We also have two large stones associated with this floor; this is f63 and one stone that has been removed but a depression is still visible and you can see f51 sloping down. .rd L626 .ri sV f 69 C01 Today we spent a great deal of time trying to understand this feature which is a niche located in f52 wall. The top of this feature is 1m below the top of the wall. The width of the wall that is f52 is 77cm. The West corner of the niche is 140cm to the western end of the wall. Until now the hole probably is the continuation of the drainage channel a5, beginning in the Northern face of the wall appears only in the West corner of the niche. The fill of the niche looks gray and is mixed with fragments of bricks. .rd L628 .ri lR f 71 B11 brickfall, larger brick material, more compact, pinkish-gray and crumbly red brick chunks. .rd L702 .ri tR f 77 C01 We intend to approach the box structure from the West and the South to try and understand construction and to see more clearly its relationship to f77 which is an ash layer that can be seen in the N section of k6 and has also been reached in k2. f 80 C01 We began to expose what appears to be a small retaining wall of sorts, which we called f80 in k4. .rd L703 f 81 C01 In k4 we have an accumulation, which is f81 that gb suggested may have been cut due to erosion after a period of abandonment before the brickfall. .rd L611 .ri lR i 2 C01 The ceramic vessel is still in the ground and we are excavating the area around it trying to find the floor in which the vessel sits on. The conservator sb suggested that we still have another 15 to 20cm until we reach the base of the vessel. .rd L612 C01 Even though we have temporarily limited excavations in A16 to catch up with data entry, we will still excavated f3 to find the base of i2. .ri sB C01 The Khabur jar is still in place and is very large. The upper part is already at the lab being restored. .rd L614 .ri lR C01 i2 is standing upright next to the wall running E-S and has three dark decoration bands on the vessel. We removed i2 since the bottom was smashed inwards and were afraid that the sherds might be lost if left in place. Inside the fill f23, we found seeds, pottery, a grinding stone fragment, and one tooth. We probably should have left the base of i2 in place since we have not yet found the floor, but was afraid that the bottom sherds would get lost since there were many small pieces; an indentation remains where the base was standing. We took a photo, v2 and v2a of the area showing both i1 and i2 in place and the relationship between the two bones (mandible and the vertebra column), which are not next to each other and suggest that they do not belong to the same skeleton. i 4 C01 i4 is lying on its side and has 5 lines and is located in the NE corner. We took a photo, v6 and v6a of the area showing both i1 and i4 in place and the relationship between the two bones (mandible and the vertebra column), which are not next to each other and suggest that they do not belong to the same skeleton. View v6a shows f4 the wall where the bricks end; 4 courses of bricks are visible then stop, but i4 still continues past the bricks. .rd L609 .ri fAB k 1 C01 We recovered some Khabur ceramic sherds that came out of the plastic covering separating backfill from previously excavated A13. These sherds are in q1 .ri lR C01 we finished removing the backfill and exposed the mud brick structure a1 .rd L610 .ri fAB C01 Work continues to focus on cleaning k1 and k6, cleaning section, and more than 1/2 the workmen are still busy removing the berm. We hope it is finished tomorrow by breakfast. .rd L614 .ri lR C01 tR and cC scraped the North section to find the cut between f27 and f28 and shaved off the small section in the middle of the locus to see this line better. q25 is a mixture of the two features since the baulk was shaved and was unable to keep the pottery separated; this is noted in the q log. .rd L609 C02 We plan to excavate the southwest side of the locus at the corner of the wall where f4 and f7 intersect. We will try to uncover the base of the wall. .ri fAB k 2 C01 Today is the first day of excavation and we temporarily strung this square. The surveyor will be available tomorrow morning. .rd L610 .ri lR C01 We opened up k2 today. The workmen have leveled off the NE section since the Tell has a slope in order to eventually make the whole locus one level. We did not collect the pottery from the first 10-15cm (topsoil) since it would most likely be out of context. .rd L611 ;C01 Continued removing the topsoil in the NE side and the area is still not leveled. A small pit was identified on the NE corner on the North baulk and was assigned f13, it later became apparent that it was an animal hole; a small amount of pottery was collected. .rd L612 C01 Today we continued to remove the topsoil and found brickfall f15 underneath. One big pick run was done; then we stopped for the day in this locus. .rd L625 C01 In k2 we cut a trench running North-South in the middle of the locus to determine the depth of the brickfall. The trench was 35cm below the rest of the locus on the East and West sides when ashy pockets started appearing. This could be the end of the brickfall with an ashy accumulation or just ashy pockets in the ^bf and the ^bf continues down. We stopped at this level and excavated the remainder of the locus. We did make the trench a separate locus k102 .rd L626 C01 we are removing the west baulk .rd L609 .ri fAB k 3 C01 Today is the first day of excavation and we temporarily strung this square. The surveyor will be available tomorrow morning. .rd L611 .ri lR ;C01 Was opened today and workmen began removing the topsoil and trying to level off the square. Excavation took place along the NE corner. .rd L625 ;C01 The workmen continued to go down in the brickfall a4 and ashy pockets are also appearing (similar to the ashy pockets found in k2) but they still need to go down further(as seen in k2 section). .rd L626 C01 we are removing the west baulk .rd L703 .ri tR C01 We have tentatively named k3 and k4 as k106, but we will consult with gB or fAB before making it final. .rd L612 .ri lR k 4 C01 k4 was opened today with the first 20cm excavated as topsoil. .rd L625 C01 A possible drain has been identified running alongside the wall f52 on the North side. We defined the bricks, which are a pinkish color and found on the south side a little niche where there are no bricks. We are presuming that this niche is an outlet area for the drain to pass through the wall. On the other side we also defined the bricks but they end about one meter from the East baulk. It is possible that the bricks collapsed and caused a jumble on the North side. .rd L626 C01 We have shifted more workmen to excavate in this area since it is the highest in elevation .rd L702 .ri tR C01 We began to expose what appears to be a small retaining wall of sorts, which we called f80 in k4. .rd L703 C01 In k4 we have an accumulation, which is f81 that gb suggested may have been cut due to erosion after a period of abandonment before the brickfall. Our strategy is to go down in k105 and cut a section so we will be able to better understand the deposition. We have tentatively named k3 and k4 as k106, but we will consult with gb or fab before making it final. .rd L611 .ri lR k 5 C01 Continued excavating f3 and a complete mud brick was found in the center of a1 with a long linear depression along the face of the brick. The ceramic vessel i2 is still in the ground and is presumed that we still have another 15-20cm left to excavate until we reach the base of the vessel. At this level we are hoping to also find the floor of this structure, since i2 ceramic jar must sit on the floor. .rd L620 .ri fAB C01 In k5 we are following the floor f51, to determine its relationship to a3 and to the East we are digging the baulk to find the corner of a3. .rd L625 .ri lR ;C01 It appears that there is another floor under f51 approximately 10 to 12cm below. We also have two large stones associated with this floor; this is f63 and one stone that has been removed but a depression is still visible and you can see f51 sloping down. The workmen removed the remainder of the section on the North side of a1 f3 and found bricky material underneath. .rd L626 .ri fAB C01 The next step in k5 will be the removal of the brickfall a4 in this locus. .rd L609 .ri lR C02 we plan to excavate inside a1 diagonally until we reach the first floors; leaving half unexcavated. Once we have found the floor then we will excavate the remaining soil. k 6 C01 most of the backfill has been removed except for the western side, which should be removed by early tomorrow. .rd L610 .ri fAB C01 Work continues to focus on cleaning k1 and k6, cleaning section, and more than 1/2 the workmen are still busy removing the berm. We hope it is finished tomorrow by breakfast. .ri lR C01 Continued to remove the backfill. .rd L614 C01 tR and cC scraped to see if any more bricks were visible; none were found and came upon several layers of accumulation f22, from above a living surface. The layers are reddish on the top with an ashy gray underneath, tR tried to follow this accumulation but it was difficult due to its thickness in certain areas, the ^aa curls up along the wall which is f8. .rd L611 k 7 C01 Was also opened today; removal of topsoil, no pottery was collected. .rd L612 C01 In k7 bricks were noticed on the surface and a cleaning was done which exposed three walls and a circular jar located in either a doorway, niche, or pit. We are not sure of the wall's (f18) width since we are unable to find the edge in the north; brickfall f21 makes it difficult to see this and on the southern face of wall f18, it is very smooth and appears plastered. A basalt grinding stone was also found next to the wall and is still in place. .rd L703 .ri tR C01 We have opened a new locus in k7 and k8 labeled k105. .rd L620 .ri fAB k 8 C01 In k8 we are continuing to articulate the brickfall. .rd L703 .ri tR C01 We have opened a new locus in k7 and k8 labeled k105. k 105 C01 We have opened a new locus in k7 and k8 labeled k105. Our reason for this is two-fold first, since we have removed the baulks it is difficult to differentiate between squares as far as q lots are concerned; second, we want to get a better idea of what is going on in k3 and k4. In k4 we have an accumulation, which is f81 that gB suggested may have been cut due to erosion after a period of abandonment before the brickfall. Our strategy is to go down in k105 and cut a section so we will be able to better understand the deposition. We have tentatively named k3 and k4 as k106, but we will consult with gB or fAB before making it final. k 106 C01 In k4 we have an accumulation, which is f81 that gB suggested may have been cut due to erosion after a period of abandonment before the brickfall. Our strategy is to go down in k105 and cut a section so we will be able to better understand the deposition. We have tentatively named k3 and k4 as k106, but we will consult with gB or fAB before making it final.