.bk A15
.fl N815jw2.j
.fd daily journal for N814
.ri jw
.rd N814
.ed N815
.ei jw

-dy work continued in all active loci as before.  We accelerated the pace in k15 by assigning a pickman trainee.  In k14, we contined to excavate carefully because the accumulation f486 has a good chance of being that atop a Phase 2 floor.  We finished removing the E baulk of k12 and the workmen returned to excavating A17k2 adjacent to the north.  We put our two best pickmen on the project in k2 to remove the plaster surface from fallen wall f489.

-wk all assigned and detailed workmen reported. Hamza was excused for one hour before breakfast.

-sg as we enter the final scheduled week of excavation, we must resolve the phasing in k14 and k15 so that we can clear the destruction debris to the west in k3, k4, k93 and k94 which was uncovered in MZ14 but not fully excavated.  It is the overall goal this season is to expose the Phase 2 architecture in this part of the unit.

i 273
df bo
nr another piece of this large, shallow bowl was found in a pit which was dug into f491 and f509 from above.  Therefore it is likely that the bowl should be associated with the pit fill f514 rather than the originally assigned accumulation f491, which it cut.

k 12
dy Saud and Muhammad finished removing the east baulk.  We anticipate no further excavations in k12 this season.  An unusual lens of hard-packed granular material A17f21 was found in both the northern quarter of the baulk and in the NW quadrant of A17k2.  As part of it is in the east baulk of k11 and in the north baulk of A17k2, its nature will be clarified upon their removal next week.

k 14
dy Muhammad Kher continued to excavate accumulation f486.  The pace was quite slow and there were relatively few artifacts recovered.  There are large objects still imbedded in the accumulation and the red plaster face on wall f   is still clearly visible.

sg on N816 we will have at least one additional pickman detailed to us from A10 and we will put him here to accelerate the pace of excavation.  To reach the floor surface covered by f486 is one of the primary goals of this excavation season.

k 15
dy we assigned Aldare, a detailed pick trainee, to work with Ramadan to accelerate the pace of excavation of accumulation f509.  An unusually large quern i275, laying on its side, was partially exposed.  It is roughly 60cm square and at least 30 cm deep.  Mizar excavated the fill of a pit f514 which had been cut into the NW corner of f491 and f509.

sg we will continue to excavate carefully with big picks so that we can define the extent of the collection of large jars which begins along the east edge of k5 and extends into k15.

k 2
dy Stef and Yestafad continued to remove accumlation around the fallen wall f489. The first 10cm of the sequence of elements 489.21 through 489.29 was removed, revealing the plaster surface just below.  After consulting with the conservationist, sb, we decided to excavate all the accumulation f? to the east between f489 and the wall f492/f494 to that elevation.  What we then saw was a more or less uniform surface of plaster covering the entire area we had just excavated.

sg on N816 we will remove all the plaster by segments, as previously planned.

f 483
df w
ds wall running E-W in k13.  Its top shows red bricks separated by relatively thick mortar.  Its vertical faces are coated with a thin layer of red plaster.  At this time it appears that it may be bonded to a N-S companion (not yet designated as a separate feature)at its western end.  On the east end, it does not appear to be bonded to a cross-wall.  Originally this feature was thought to have been accumulation until the brickwork appeared after several days of drying when exposed to the air.

f 516
df a
ds reddish accumulation between the fallen wall f489 and the stone and brick N-S wall f492/f494.  It may have been a part of f489 that had been subjected to more water damage and whose bricks had lost their individual definition.  This notion was strengthened by the fact that the white plaster face of f489 seems to have extended from the brickwork of f489 still visible to the east to the wall stones f494.

f 514
df fi
ds ashy fill of a pit cut into f491 and f509 from above. Excavated separately.

f 515
df cut
ds cut for pit with fill f514