.bk A6
.fl H616rk.j
.fd excavation diary
.fn original file name H616RK.--A, changed manually by lC on ZH301
.ei rK
.ed H616

.rd H615
.ri rK
-sf A6 excavation this season will be assisted by Diep Shoemaker (dns) and Benjamin Studevent-Hickman (bsh).

.rd H616

-sg We have two major goal to focus on for the season MZ10. (1) The excavation the low-floor deposits in sector D. This was begun during MZ9. At the end of that season, the floor was left cut at two levels.  Accumulation f215 existed along the N and S borders of the room and it was removed in a rectangular strip EW along the middle exposing a lower layer, f220. We shall begin by removing the rest of f215 and then excavting f220, as part of the effort to recover the floor deposits. (2) The NE corner of the sector has an unexcavated area, less than 4m x 4m. Our second goal this season is to excavate this at least to the level of the walls of the building AK. This unexcavated locus should preserve the kind of stratigraphy we encountered in k217 during MZ7 and also preserve the secondary wall (f44) that was found built over the wall f78 of the AK building. Systematic removal of these deposits down to the levels of the AK building walls should answer several questions such as: (i) Do walls f78 and f210 meet? and how? (ii) Is there a doorway to the E through f210 in this area? We would also be able to review the stratigraphy of the second millennium deposits in this area.

v 101
ds Shows k30 before the beginning of excavations. This is a wide shot that shows the relation of the locus to locus k22 and area A8.

-pr k30 was cleared of surface deposits and excavation begun with the removal of the sod layer (ca. 5cm from the surface). In k22, excavation began with the removal of accumulation f215 on the S. 3 workmen using the handpick were assigned to the latter and 2 men digging with the large pick were carrying out the former. As regards the field notebook, the following numbers begin our entries for the current season: k30, v100, f301, q700, r600, and i180.

f 215
ds pinkish deposit intermingled with gray, containing inclusions of sherds, bones, small stones, small amounts of carbon and kiln waste.

f 312
ds This is an abandonment accumulation underneath the sod layer with sherd and stone (large and small) inclusions. It is generally loose with hard packed dirt in places and what appear to be bricks.

f 301
nr the sod layer was about 5 cm thick throughout the locus.

k 30
ds this locus is made up of the unexcavated area in the NE corner of sector D. The S and W limits of the locus correspond to the N and E sides of the cuts made for excavating areas A8 and A6k217, respectively (see v101). The N and E limits of the locus were laid out by the surveyor, parallel to the orientation of the AK building. The E limit was set to extend ~1m. E of the E face of the wall f210. This would ensure that we would be able to see the full breadth of f210 where it extends into the present locus and also to verify the existence of any doorway. Along the N, the NE corner of the previously excavated limit of A6 was chosen as the W limit of k30.

q 700.1
df pin?
ds small cylindrical object with circular grooves. Appears to be bronze.
lg 2.2
w1 .6

-dy Excavation on the first day, H616, concluded with almost all of the S strip of f215 having been removed, and the locus k30 having been cut down almost 40 cm below the surface at the E end and leveled for about 1/3 of its EW dimension. Some arrangement of large (>20cm wide) stones was encountered here, and this is being observed. There is also clearly an arrangement of bricks at the SE corner and this also is being traced. The large stones mentioned had a whitewash like coating. The bricky material is gray.  f215 yielded a piece of fired pottery, resembling a spout, that had been impressed with the figure of a god prior to firing.

.rd H617

-sg We continue excavation in both loci in A6 with the intention of completing the removal of f215 in k22 today, and going further down and leveling the surface in k30. Excavation in k30 will also trace whether the bricks found are part of any structure and whether the stones seen are also arranged (perhaps over a pit). Since the two loci are quite separate because of the difference in elevation, dns and bsh will give more attention to one or the other area.

-pr We have decided to tag the pottery lots from the low floor levels (f215 and earlier deposits) with a white ribbon instead of the pink generally used for this purpose, to facilitate their identification and processing in the house during this season itself.