A12a32

File: /MZ/A/A12/D/I//MZ/A/A12/D/A/0032.HTM
Processed on 7-14-2022
The home for this page is A12

Labeling/Designation
category !! !! unknown [Input File: !!]
definition (typological label) 2000-6-26 jl unknown [Input File: k627jl.j]

Description/Count
description (summary) 2000-6-26 jl a22 apsidal structure and a31 entryway taken as a whole [Input File: k627jl.j]
2000-6-26 jl This aggregate is a combination of a22 and a31, so that we can refer to the apsidal structure as a whole, including its entryway, by one title, embracing k23, k24, k25, k26, and k27 (old k21 and k22). [Input File: k627jl.j]
best view 2001-2-26 jl V13d1051 [Input File: M815jl.j]
2001-2-26 jl V13d1054 [Input File: M815jl.j]

Recovery/Assignment
daily notes 2000-7-27 jl In the N wall, there appears to be a stepping down of stones between the wall of a32 and the stone and brick apron f354. This is because we are interpreting the stone apron and the stone circle f353 as an earlier structure, underneath a32. Also, in terms of the overall layout of a32, the walls of the apsidal structure curve in slightly towards the circle before following its curve back out, similar to a keyhole. [Input File: K727jl.j]

Spatial Aggregation
features within aggregate 2000-6-26 jl k21,k22 / a22,a31 [Input File: k627jl.j]

Deposition
evidence 2001-8-13 jl The clarification of the stone ledge, f375, shows that it is a continous part of the north wall of a32. It is also the upper half of f352. A fairly clear seam of mud-mortar separates the stones of the square, a36, from the stones of the circle, a33. The first floor in a37, f348, is much higher than the floor in a33 (which we have not yet reached). f353, the remains of the previous circular stone wall underneath the sherd packing, f349, seems to be in a fairly continous alignment with the stone ledge f375. a33 is becoming very deep, over a meter lower than the floor in a36. [Input File: L813jl.j]
assumption 2001-8-13 jl Finally, the underground structure's architecture is beginning to make sense. It appears that f375 and f352 are the remains of the original western wall of a33, which was once the original extent of the underground building, i.e. it was a stone-lined circular shaft into the earth. At some point, this wall either fell or was knocked down, and a36 was added on in the western half as an entrance area to the building. Another possibility, of course, is that there was an earlier western antechamber, but that it was smaller than a36, and that they were forced to enlarge the hole in the western wall when they built a36. [Input File: L813jl.j]

Time Sequencing
phase (to which element belongs) 2000-6-28 okk mkb mentioned that the pottery that was washed from the excavation of f307 and f308 appeared to be very early, Early Simple Ware. That would place this accumulation in Phase 1, Sr 18, the pre-palace phase. This is very interesting because it indicates that the apsidal structure a22 might not have been in use in the palace period because the accumulation pre-dates the AK occupation. It should be noted that this is a preliminary consideration because the pottery sample wasn't large enough to be conclusive, nor was the processing finished. We spoke about this with gb, and he suggested that the structure might not have been visible during the AK occupation. This morning jl, lr, ed and I spoke about all of these possibilities, and lr thought that it was unlikely that this structure wasn't visible because structure W was so close to the surface, and the brick fall and gully wash dip into the apsidal structure. See drawing A12w__. [Input File: k701okk.j]

Descriptive

Function
generic fnc. (1st degree of specificity) 2001-8-13 jl Our current understanding of the evidence suggests that a32 was an ancient well of some sort. [Input File: L813jl.j]
notes on function 2001-8-13 jl This building continues to surprise us. The clarification of f375 shows that a33 was probably the original extent of the building, and has brought us back to our original idea about the structure's function: a well. Urkesh was clearly a large city even in the middle of the Early Bronze Age, and such a city would have needed a lot of water, which either a large well or many small wells could provide. But if it was a well, why let it fill in? Perhaps the well went dry at a certain point, or perhaps the city was sacked and the well despoiled by invaders. That might explain the thick ash layer f307, which we currently believe immediately postdated the loss of the roof of a32. However, there is no evidence except possibly f307 for such a situation; further, the apparent progression of the pottery within the circle suggests that the accumulation within it occurred over an extended period of time. Further, why have one central well, rather than many smaller ones? gb has pointed out that one large well would probably deplete the water table in its area much more quickly than many smaller wells spread around. Of course, perhaps this is just what happened. Its later use is also unclear; the contents of the fill within the building, especially the circle, resemble the contents of a dump or a pit, but the fill itself seems to clean and orderly to have belonged to a garbage pit. gb has again jokingly raised the idea that it might have been some sort of cage for wild animals, such as a lion, but this idea also has its problems. One, the bone specialists ruled out the possibility of a lion having gnawed on the bones within the circle. Two, the mud ledge f326 seems to be precious little protection against the claws of a lion or other wild beast. Even though this theory is mostly tongue-in-cheek, it illustrates an important point: at some point, presuming that the structure started as a well, it changed its function at the same time that it began to fill in with accumulation. [Input File: L813jl.j]

Analogical Record
view/drawing of aggregate
v118
2000-7-17 / jl / [Input File:K717jl.j]
v118a
2000-7-17 / jl / [Input File:K717jl.j]
v118b
2000-7-17 / jl / [Input File:K717jl.j]
v118c
2000-7-17 / jl / [Input File:K717jl.j]

v161
2001-7-21 / jl / [Input File:L827jl.j]

v163
2001-7-30 / jl / [Input File:L827jl.j]

v163a
2001-7-30 / jl / [Input File:L827jl.j]

v164i
2001-7-31 / jl / [Input File:L827jl.j]

v164j
2001-7-31 / jl / [Input File:L827jl.j]
v165
2001-8-27 / jl / [Input File:L827jl.j]

v163f
2001-7-30 / jl / [Input File:L827jl.j]

v163g
2001-7-30 / jl / [Input File:L827jl.j]

v164
2001-7-31 / jl / [Input File:L827jl.j]

v164a
2001-7-31 / jl / [Input File:L827jl.j]

v163e
2001-7-30 / jl / [Input File:L827jl.j]

v164b
2001-7-31 / jl / [Input File:L827jl.j]

v164e
2001-7-31 / jl / [Input File:L827jl.j]
v166a
2001-8-27 / jl / [Input File:L827jl.j]
v165a
2001-8-27 / jl / [Input File:L827jl.j]
v166
2001-8-27 / jl / [Input File:L827jl.j]
w26
2001-9-01 / jmf / [Input File:M718jl.j]
w38
Lxxx / lr / [Input File:M719jl.j]
w37
Lxxx / lr / [Input File:M719jl.j]
v179
2002-9-04 / jl / [Input File:M904jl.j]
v179a
2002-9-04 / jl / [Input File:M904jl.j]
v180
2002-9-04 / jl / [Input File:M904jl.j]
v180b
2002-9-04 / jl / [Input File:M904jl.j]
v183
2002-9-05 / jl / [Input File:M906ms.j]
v181
2002-9-04 / jl / [Input File:M904jl.j]
v182
2002-9-05 / jl / [Input File:M906ms.j]
v184
2002-9-05 / jl / [Input File:M906ms.j]
v185
2002-9-05 / jl / [Input File:M906ms.j]
v185a
2002-9-05 / jl / [Input File:M906ms.j]
v186
2002-9-07 / jl / [Input File:M911jl.j]
v186a
2002-9-07 / jl / [Input File:M911jl.j]
v192
2002-9-09 / jl / [Input File:M911jl.j]
v188a
2002-9-07 / ms / [Input File:M911jl.j]
v188b
2002-9-07 / ms / [Input File:M911jl.j]
v188c
2002-9-07 / ms / [Input File:M911jl.j]
v186b
2002-9-07 / jl / [Input File:M911jl.j]
v187
2002-9-07 / ms / [Input File:M911jl.j]
v187a
2002-9-07 / ms / [Input File:M911jl.j]
v188
2002-9-07 / ms / [Input File:M911jl.j]
v188d
2002-9-07 / ms / [Input File:M911jl.j]
v189
2002-9-07 / ms / [Input File:M911jl.j]
v190
2002-9-07 / jl / [Input File:M911jl.j]
v193
2002-9-09 / jl / [Input File:M911jl.j]
v194
2002-9-09 / jl / [Input File:M911jl.j]
v205
2002-9-11 / jl / [Input File:M922ms.j]
2002-9-11 / ms / [Input File:M914jl.j]
v205b
2002-9-11 / jl / [Input File:M922ms.j]
2002-9-11 / ms / [Input File:M914jl.j]
v205d
2002-9-11 / jl / [Input File:M922ms.j]
2002-9-11 / ms / [Input File:M914jl.j]
v208
2002-9-13 / jl / [Input File:M914jl.j]
2002-9-13 / jl / [Input File:M922ms.j]
v208a
2002-9-13 / jl / [Input File:M914jl.j]
2002-9-13 / jl / [Input File:M922ms.j]
v208b
2002-9-13 / jl / [Input File:M914jl.j]
2002-9-13 / jl / [Input File:M922ms.j]
v209
2002-9-13 / jl / [Input File:M914jl.j]
2002-9-13 / jl / [Input File:M922ms.j]
v204
2002-9-11 / ms / [Input File:M914jl.j]
v206
2002-9-11 / jl / [Input File:M922ms.j]
2002-9-11 / ms / [Input File:M914jl.j]
v210a
2002-9-13 / jl / [Input File:M914jl.j]
v195
2002-9-10 / jl / [Input File:M914ms.j]
v197a
2002-9-10 / jl / [Input File:M914ms.j]
v198
2002-9-10 / jl / [Input File:M914ms.j]
v198a
2002-9-10 / jl / [Input File:M914ms.j]
v199
jl / jl / [Input File:M914ms.j]
v196
2002-9-10 / jl / [Input File:M914ms.j]
v196a
2002-9-10 / jl / [Input File:M914ms.j]
v197
2002-9-10 / jl / [Input File:M914ms.j]
v200
jl / jl / [Input File:M914ms.j]
v201
2002-9-11 / ms / [Input File:M914ms.j]
v202
2002-9-11 / ms / [Input File:M914ms.j]
v203
2002-9-11 / ms / [Input File:M914ms.j]
v204a
2002-9-11 / ms / [Input File:M914ms.j]
v212
2002-9-15 / dc / [Input File:M915jl.j]
v212a
2002-9-15 / dc / [Input File:M915jl.j]
v207b
2002-9-13 / ms / [Input File:M922ms.j]
v209a
2002-9-13 / jl / [Input File:M922ms.j]
v224
2002-9-22 / ms / [Input File:M923ms.j]
v224a
2002-9-22 / ms / [Input File:M923ms.j]
v224b
2002-9-22 / ms / [Input File:M923ms.j]
v224c
2002-9-22 / ms / [Input File:M923ms.j]
v224d
2002-9-22 / ms / [Input File:M923ms.j]
v224e
2002-9-22 / ms / [Input File:M923ms.j]
v224f
2002-9-22 / ms / [Input File:M923ms.j]

v225a
2002-9-22 / ms / [Input File:M923ms.j]

v286
2003-8-29 / jl / [Input File:N920jl.j]

v286a
2003-8-29 / jl / [Input File:N920jl.j]

v286b
2003-8-29 / jl / [Input File:N920jl.j]

v287
2003-9-10 / jl / [Input File:N920jl.j]

v288
2003-9-10 / jl / [Input File:N920jl.j]

v289
2003-9-10 / jl / [Input File:N920jl.j]
2004-6-02 / jl / [Input File:O602jl.j]

v290
2003-9-10 / jl / [Input File:N920jl.j]

v291
2003-9-10 / jl / [Input File:N920jl.j]

v292
2003-9-10 / jl / [Input File:N920jl.j]
2004-6-02 / jl / [Input File:O602jl.j]

v282
2004-6-02 / jl / [Input File:O602jl.j]