.bk A6
.fl H616dns.j
.fd diary entry for H612 through H626
.fn original file name H616DNSD.--A, changed manually by lC on ZH301
.ed H616
.ei dns
.rd H612
.ri dns

--i Excavations in area A6 will take place in two squares, k22 and k30. In k22, excavations ended last year in the accumulation above the floor, and the expectation is that we will find a number of sealings near the floor surface, to mirror the finds in room B1. Excavation in k30 should help to articulate the extent of building AK to the E. The orientation for the new squares is now parallel with the walls of AK rather than continuing with the AS orientation (the step trench), which was slightly oblique to the walls of AK.

-dy Backfill removal began today, and should be finished by the time RK arrives, as it is fairly shallow. BWP will place new control points in k22, probably on the walls.

.rd H615

-sf A6 team meeting. We went over the basics of filling in log info as well as writing out tags for the q lots and items. RK defined the basic terminology as it is used at Tell Mozan--feature, locus, q-item vs item, as well as went over info about when triagulations and elevations are taken.

.rd H616

-dy Excavation began today in the sod layer of k30 (f301), as well as in k22, f215. 

f 215
c# 10YR4/4
co dark yellowish brown
ds there are charcoal flecks, and white flecks--gypsum?--very few finds of pottery or bone, a few mid-sized stones, 5-6 cm across. 

f 301
ds some large stones found, RK thinks the stones could indicate a burial.

.rd H617

-sg white tags to be used for pottery in k22, for easy identification by MKB for analysis this year.

-dy Bricks found in k30, f302, now f303--walls? burial? In SE corner of k30, we may have the corner of a building. Could it be part of a building found in A8 last year? During removal of f305, a number of large stones found. f215, N cut--like the S strip, is fairly sterile, dark brown soil, few finds of pottery or bone.

.rd H618

-dy More stones coming up in W half of k30--courtyard? Also a large pot next to stones, the pot is either buried, or could relate to a lower surface. A number of sherds as well in this aggregate, now a16.  

f 303
ds mudbrick wall, f304 associated with f303

.rd H619

f 311
ds a platform or bench? 
tc ab f306

.rd H621

-dy In k30, took an overhead and section photo of stone wall, f306. Searching for f313, which is the second surface area. GB's comments--no convincing surface, not compacted just N of a16. A surface probably reached south of a16, is compacted with a loose dark brown fill below. We may have gone through the surface N of a16. In k22 f220, ab is still quite sterile. From k30, remove a16 except for the pot and a17. Pot from a16 is i204. 

a 16 
nr half a stone mortar found upside down in a16, in 2 pieces q744.1 and q744.2

q 744.1
cp joins q744.2

q 744.2
cp joins q744.1

i 204
tc re f313 

.ed H623
.rd H621

f 306
ds N end 75 cm wide, W face up to mud brick wall 240 cm, height approx 40 cm, width across middle 72 cm, S end--a large stone protrudes from the E baulk. Stones not laid flat, sherds found under parts of feature, in the middle.

q 741.1
ds stone artifact found within wall f306, mortar? door socket?

f 316
ds accumulation below f306. Fairly sterile soil, not many finds, dark brown soil. A patch of hardened soil, reddish in color, found just N of limit of f306, no ash associated with it.

i 204
ht 27
w1 30
ds missing the rim around the entire pot

f 220
ds dark reddish soil, possibly a tannur in E half of center cut of f220. A circular line visible on top of f220 which follows the outline we already have of f356.

f 356
ds some ash visible around the edges, lot of charcoal bits around outside walls. Dimension of outside walls, 82 cm across E-W, 92 cm across N-S. Interior diameter, 69 cm N-S and E-W. Thickness of walls ranges from 8-13 cm.

.rd H622

-dy Final removal of f316. Mud brick bench abutting f303 to N and f306 to W is now f319. Section on E baulk, N half, being straightened/cleaned. Surface, f309 leveled to look at f313 and the section as well as at ashy deposit along E baulk, which is about 80 cm from N baulk--ash pit?--f320. Removal of f321 and stone NE of it to clear area. During removal of accumulation, f315, a pit found with many sherds and bones in SW area, extending S from a16. Pit is f322, fill in pit is f323. Surrounding accumulation removed so we could define limits of pit. Assigned a new feature number to accumulation below f315 because we have gone down at least 30 cm, new number is f324.

f 319
ar Mud bricks seem to extend below 2nd surface, f313. Check for mud bricks below S end of stone wall, f306. f319 abuts f306 as well as extends lower than f306. Stone bench, f313, is a little lower than, and abuts f319. How far do stones of f313 extend to the S and E?

f 320
ds Extends from E baulk about 80 cm from N baulk. Is close to the level of f313

f 315
ds S half is a loose brown accumulation, N half is harder.
ar N half, rK suggests it fits pattern of abandonment accumulation, hard clay patches mixed with looser patches.

f 321
ds A single mud brick, in line with f303 and f319, close to S baulk. Dimensions of brick are 36x36 cm. SW corner is 14 cm from S baulk. A stone lying parallel with brick 10 cm to the NE, stone is about 27 cm long, 18 cm wide--in line with f303 along its length.

f 322
ds A pit with many sherds and bones. GB and RK suggest it could be a burial. Nature of fill suggests instead a refuse pit. Earlier loose brown ac that RK noticed was probably result of this pit. Pit is oval in shape, with length oriented N-S. Fairly shallow, about 10-12 cm deep.
ar May be associated with f313, but it was not articulated well enough for us to be sure if it covered f322 or not. 

f 319
ds bricks of bench abutting f303 seem to extends a few courses below the top that we've documented. Before removal of mud brick wall, f303, and bench, we will have to see how far down the bricks extend.
f 324
ar may be the same as f315
ds some dark gray ashy material along E baulk. Not many sherds in this accum.

q 753
ds several double ledged rims

q 741.1
ht 11
w1 13
w2 12
wm stone
c# 10YR7/3
co very pale brown
ds stone with depression on top, base not flat. Would have to have been sunk to be used. Center of depression is 3cm

q 744.1
ht 8.5
w1 6.5
w2 9.4
df mortar
ds stone with depression, flat base, joins with q744.2. Depression is 5.5 cm.
co black

q 744.2
ht 8.5
w1 8.9
w2 13.5
df mortar
ds stone with depression, flat base, joins with q744.1, depression is 5.5 cm
co black

q 749.1
ht 5.3
w1 9.5
w2 2
df p
co yellowish brown
ds rim sherd of a large pot, slightly out-turned, with grooves

q 749.2
ht 3
w1 5
w2 0.8
df p
ds rim sherd, slight endentation along top of rim, straight sided, burned exterior, dark gray clay, dark reddish brown exterior.

q 749.3
ht 1.8
w1 2.3
w2 0.6
df p
ds incised doby sherd, 5 incisions, light yellowish clay
co yellowish

i 205
ds circular stone with a hole in the middle, thickness of circle ranges from 4 to 6 cm, diameter of circle in middle, 3.5, diameter of stone, 13.5. Some type of black volcanic stone.
ht 4
w1 13.5
co black

.rd H623

-dy Finishing cut of f324 around f303, 306, 319. Want to see how far down mud brick extends. Below f314, and below accumulation under f303, we have continuation of pot smash, which is f312. The sherds are on a surface which is quite uneven, there is about a 10 cm difference in elevation.

f 312
ar earlier than f314

f 314
ds 80x50 cm
ar associated with f319 and f313, and lower than f303 and f306.

f 303
ds Four courses of brick. SW end, have 1 layer of brick remaining, f314 is below last layer of brick
ar associated with f306 and f310

f 324
ds A fairly sterile accumulaton layer, not many sherds or bones, although dirt is quite hard. Top of f324 is a hard gray accum, followed by reddish brown accum, which is also hard. There is a thin white line just above the gray--indicating a surface?

f 320
ds ash pit which extends into E baulk. Elevation is 8846 -124.

f 309
ds 2 courses of brick

f 306
ds under large cap stone of f306 on the S end, a number of smaller ones, which support the large cap stone. The smaller stones extend a further 30cm below the bottom of the cap stone. One of the supporting stones was worked, it was flat sided. The cap stone is 50 cm high, 90 cm long and 70 cm wide at its widest point.

-dy Because a substantial amount of the cap stone of f306 protruded from the E baulk, we had to remove it. We cut into the E baulk about 50 cm, width of cut is 130cm (N-S), the top of the stone was about 70 cm below the top of the sod layer. After removing the stone, we noticed more stones extending into the E baulk. The stone wall seems to continue into the E baulk, in line with the mud brick wall, f303. 

q 756.1
df ashs
ds from f320, for floatation sampling

q 851.1
ht 2
lg 6.1
w1 4.2
ds a rectangular lump of clay with protrusion on one end, pinkish brown clay, suggestion of firing on parts, both sides are fairly flat, possibly a tablet blank.
co pinkish brown
df ca

.rd H624

-dy leveling of f326 and f328. Accum seems to be quite similar in both areas, mainly a grayish brown soil with patches of pinkish soil.

f 326
ds area of light gray accumulation, close to E baulk. Two stones found, probably a continuation of f314 to SE, and a little below other stones.

q 764.1
nr recovered from top step of k30. Probably from removal of large stone on H623 and cutting in E baulk.

f 329
ds Elevation for top of f329 is 8878 -162, going down about 15 cm. Top of two door sockets found at bottom of cut. They are coated on top surface with a white material. A single mud brick found at same level as sockets.

f 330
nr mid-way through, came across surface from which accum above peeled off with ease. Attempted to trace surface with small pick. For a small area, less than 1/4 square meter, we traced a surface which did not continue. About 10cm below f330, top of two door sockets found, q item 763.1 and 763.2. Possibly a lense of ash. A couple of painted sherds and a claw found, also an incised rim sherd.

-dy About 35 cm down from the top of the small trench (f330), accum changed in character, a looser dirt, which comes away in large chunks, mainly in the middle area of the trench.

q 764.1
ht 2.2
lg 7.4
w1 3.3
co light greenish tan clay
df wh
wm cl
ds half of a clay wheel, chaff tempered clay

i 206
ht 5.5
lg 9.9
w1 9.2
co greenish
df la
wm li
ds smooth stone which is a solid greenish color throughout, function unknown

q 767.1
ht 4.6
lg 7.7
w1 5.7
co gray
df la
wm li
ds smoothed stone, worn on one end, broken at the other, possible pestle

i 207
ds discarded

q 867.1
ds discarded

.rd H625

f 331
ds ashy surface does not extend very far, only an area of a couple of feet square. A number of sherds laying horizontally. Soil is a pinkish brown color.  

.ri rK
f 332
ds light brown accumulation, not very fine, has large number of stones, hard and loose in places with fair number of sherds and bones. By far it was quite closely packed and hard to dig.

.ri dns
q 764.1
P2 zs10.7

.rd H626

f 333
ds SE cut. Possible tannur in cut. Leveling down 5 cm to check for tannur evidence. Coming up with a loose, fine, dark brown accumulation. Hard bricky mass which is pretty shapeless. Also finding oven waste nearby, and some ash.  Some charcoal bits. Cannot find an outline if it is a tannur. Bones found laying flat.

q 778
ds from straightening of E baulk, mainly accumulation from f330

k 22
ds Two floors found below f358, lower one was dug through in a small area in the center of the W end of locus. Top floor is f365, lower floor is f364. Part of f365, 366, and 367 collected as part of f358 for an area of about 1.5 meters in the center of the W end of locus.

f 358
ds more ash turning up around the tannur

f 366
ds white substance, reed matting? Seems to be an ashy layer above the matting/white material