.bk J05 .fl S814jW.j .fd Daily journal for S814 and feature descriptions .fn f141 to f147 .ei jW .ed S814 .rd S814 .ri jW -wk Twenty assigned workmen reported. Re-distributed pickmen and removal personnel to focus on fine work and to complete the major remaining locus excavations. Hussein will work alone in k22, Kamiran will work alone in k33, Masaud and Majid will work in k32, and Ali and Amer will work in k13. -sy Markers m4674, m4716, and m4828 loosened and removed. -sf lH is still in Damascus arranging her course of study for next year. sNP worked in the house after breakfast preparing plots. k 14 dy We prepared and photographed, v80, a long view looking east and west across 4 loci (k14, k24, k34, k44) that documented the relationship between the portion of the temple mound which includes the staircase, f21, and various stone installations in k14 and k24; the mini-plaza to the west in k34; and the stonework in k44 which forms the western boundary of the mini-plaza. dL analyzed the open spaces between the various stoneworks in k14 and k24 to see if they had been paved. k 32 dy We resumed excavation of natural accumulation, f136, with large picks. Except for a few isolated small stones, there was nothing of interest, which so far matches our hypothesis, that this locus overlays the western extension of escarpment, f74 - first discovered in k22 to the east - and that nothing else was ever built thereafter in that location. k 22 dy We traced the excarpment from the northwest corner of the locus where it was first discovered, south along the outer face of wall, f41, to which it belongs. The soil above the escarpment was defined as mixed since it was deposited by a combination of backdirt from locus k100 and aeolian soil deposited since the revetment wall system was first excavated several seasons ago. As a result the pottery will tell us little about when the excarpment was built and used. k 14 dy We began to remove the safety baulk on the south side of the locus. We used features previously identified from excavation in the main part of the locus. One floor surface and what were probably crude walls associated with it were identifed near the end of the day. Features have not been assigned. The locus is filled with isolated limestone blocks and organized rows of stones which we have not been able to link with others nearby. k 33 dy We finished excavating laminar floor accumulation, f135. It could be seen in section and differed in both color (brown versus gray) and texture (hard versus very hard) from the floor accumulation, f137, below it which in turn covers the almost stone-like escarpment, f74. Consulted with rE, supervisor of unit J1 (which has several similar escarpment surfaces with hard accumulations above) to properly instruct pickman. f 135 ar In a meeting with the unit staff and fAB, gB contrasted the depositional process between laminations (which were found above this feature) and a laminar floor (which describes this surface. Laminations are deposited when water flow is blocked and debris remains after evaporation. The resulting surface is not regularly used. On the other hand, a laminar outdoor floor is formed when dust and other debris settles on it and is compressed layer by layer as people walk on it. ds This feature differed markedly from those above and below. The laminations above it, f128, were relatively soft, greyish brown in color, and contained a mixture of silt, sand and pebbles. f128 could be removed with light strokes of the large pick. The floor accumulation below, f137, was very hard, had no sand or pebbles, and was very gray. When picked with a small pick it came of in rectangular chunks. It had surface sherds. This accumulation, f135, was noticeably brown. Although laminar, the individual layers were very thin and contained only silt. f 141 ds A very soft mixed accumulation which covers escarpment, f74, in the southeast corner of k22. It consists of spilled backdirt from the excavation of k100 above, aeolian soil deposited over several seasons of earlier excavations in J1 and some ancient laminations. There was scant evidence in the west baulk of k22 of an accumulation similar to f137 covering the sharply sloping escarpment in this locus. f 142 ds A projection of several dressed stones in the middle of k14 which jut out to the south from the line of E-W stones, f14 and f108, which frame staircase, f21, to the north. At present, we do not know their function. f 143 ds A hard, plastered floor surface bounded on the north by an E-W stone installation, f144, and on the northeast by northwest to southeast stone installation. It is in the southern quarter of k13. f 144 ds A line of four watermelon-sized limestone boulders running northwest to southeast, which form the northeastern border to a plastered floor surface, f143, in the southern quarter of k13. f 148 ds A line of stones running east to west which forms a threshold to floor surface, f143, in the southern quarter of k13. f 145 ds Two large limestone boulders in the middle of k13, which are aligned north to south, and which appear to form a stairway which ascends to threshold, f148, forming an entrance to floor, f143, to the south. The stones appear to be re-used in place, but were likely originally moved from another installation either by man or natural forces. f 146 ds A lens of stones and sherds which rests on floor surface, f143 in the southeastern quadrant of k13. f 147 ds A very large limestone boulder in the southeastern corner of k13. -sg On S816 we will continue to excavate the accumulations in k32 with two large picks. In k33, we will contine to excavate, with a small pick, floor accumulation, f137, which covers escarpment, f74. In k22, we will excavate, with a small pick, the five accumulations (f86, f87, f88, f89, and f90) seen in section to the east of revetment wall, f3. In k13 and k14, we will clean, photograph, and measure several features not yet documented.