.bk A16 .fl MX12FAB.J .fd -MX12-A.J***MX12FAB.J .fn Edited by cJC on R716 .rd M926 .ri fAB a 16 ;G09 f206, f209 ;a 20 ;G09 f251 a 21 C99 it was thought that the bricks f297 would cover the body (i156) but instead the bricks were to the S. Possibly the bricks were the S wall and the N wall was lost (although we looked carefully in the area) or never built. ;G09 f320 ;G09 i122, i139, i146, i147, i158, i159, i160, i156 a 23 I99 Shows clearly that the end of phase 3 is marked by a change in use or perception of the stone pavement in that a small grill is allowed on such a costly architectural element. M01 Probably a cooking installation which sat on the stone pavement directly. Damaged by a pit cut, it was probably rectangular and about 15cm high. It had a fire or coals laying in it and skewers with food sticking vertically in the holes. There was no ash around, but the material is similar to a tannur. It is not a tannur in the sense of a cylinder for breadmaking, rather it is like a grill but with the skewers vertical. .rd MX01 a 25 C01 We had left this pit as one of the last things to clean out, and did not realize that it still contained a burial. Diadin cleaned the bones for photo while the rest of the unit was cleaned for final photos. C99 Probably not dug as a burial shaft, due to the fact that it is round (tomb shafts in the area are either small and somewhat oval or rectangular) and the body had little or nothing in the way of offerings. Body was also not in the center of the tomb, but rather laid along the northern edge. Covered with ash, also an indication that it was not intended as a tomb. LR noticed that the bones seemed secondarily fired, possibly in the pit. O99 Drawing was done from photo .rd M926 a 26 B11 holes in a12 ;G09 f337, f336, f335 N99 We asked bA and sB to come and look at the dark stain on the inside of both holes in case it would be caused by the presence of metal; they thought it unlikely that the stain was caused by metal, but could be a product of a resin or glue-like substance. a 27 B10 ^a I99 ph4 a 28 B10 ^pt B11 f273, f298, f299, f295 are all small pits in the south of A16 that contained nothing except one that contained a small child burial (f?) excavated in the very end of MZ14. f250, f216 were round pits that could have been dug as storage or as wells: both cut stone pavement a12; both were filled with ash and seemed to be used as trash pits. f276 (a19) and f209 (a16) were rectangular pits that contained tombs: f209 cut stone pavement a12. f217 (a15) is a jar burial that was found in the N portion of A16 and did not cut ^pv a12. f183 is the large pit (a13 / a17) that we assume is a mix of smaller pits that collapsed into a hollow. f305 (a18) and f304 were child burials that did not have an identifiable pit associated with them due to the material above. A15 had a pit that would be part of a13 and also removed the stones, it is to the S and a bit E of k108. A10 had a tomb similar to f276 and f209 to the W of k205 just on top of the W boundary wall of the courtyard. ;G09 f273, f298, f299, f295, f250, f216, f276, f209, f217, f183, f305, f304 I99 it is assumed that these pits are all from phase 4 or phase 5. Perhaps all are phase 4 except a13/a17. Phase 3 is present in only a very thin layer and in installation a23. f 183 B11 in a17 f 250 B10 ^pt f 306 A01 f0321 f 321 A01 f0306 f 323 B11 thin accumulation directly above stones a12 and below red a27 I99 very end of ph3 f 330 sm Last cleaning of the bottom of the E section of k108, remnants of the phase 4 pit f189. f 331 I99 Mixed feature with elements of ph4 in it f 332 B11 possible part of drainage system(?) a24. f 337 C99 Diadin had the good idea of blowing out the dust in the holes using a bicycle air pump. f 338 B11 Possibly the fill of the drainage system(?) a24. Fact that it contains pebbles does not seem to suggest a closed drainage system though. I99 presumeably ph2 not pre-palace material due to depth of packing in other areas, see also f339. f 339 B11 This may be part of the substructure of a24 the possible drainage system. It is not part of the pit f216, but is material that is earlier than a12. I99 It does not seem to be part of a pre-palace phase (ph1) due to the very deep packing (approx 4m) in the pit of A12 that cuts the S wall of the courtyard, so it may be part of the construction phase of the palace. f 344 B11 This red material is what is found when digging wells in the area. It can be found a few meters below the surface and does not contain any cultural material at all. .bk A16 .fl MX12FAB.J .fd MX12FAB.J***MX12FAB.J .rd M926 .ri fAB a 27 ;G09 f313, f318, f324, f322, f190, f260, f314 .bk A16 .fl MX12FAB.J .fd N304LR2.J***MX12FAB.J .rd M926 .ri fAB a 23 K11 damaged by a pit. SB and BA attempted to remove it whole by first consolidating the surface, covering it in tinfoil, then cloth strips soaked in plaster in order to create a hard shell with which to remove it: unfortunately it was so thin and so close to the stones that is broke into several pieces when removed, but was then put back together. .rd MX01 a 24 B11 f194 is visible due to the cut f189 in k108 and is the area with the most bricks exposed. f327 is in pit f216, which has the bricks only in section. In section one sees that the bricks are not present in the whole area, but are missing in the N portion of the pit section. f326 is seen in the pit f250 section, since this pit also cut a24. In the South the bricks are visible in two levels, separated by some packing material. The lower level slopes abruptly, and this slope does not seem to be due to subsidence following the ^pt cut. .rd M926 M01 (first part) There are two possibilities that explain the presence of the baked bricks below the stone pavement a24: a drainage system or an earlier pavement. The drainage system possibility envisions the baked bricks as the 'roof' of a water-collecting basin, which would hold the water from the toilets and drains of the palace. This possibility explains the drain that drains into (or drains into something under the courtyard) the courtyard through the doorway to the south (the only doorway we have to date that leads into the courtyard). It also explains the fact that the bricks slope in ^pt f250 (f326): these bricks could be the cover of an overflow drain, which exits along the portion of the courtyard wall that is exposed to the outside (S wall, SW corner of courtyard). This is an odd architectural quirk: courtyards are normally surrounded by walls with rooms behind them, but in this case we have a piece of a courtyard wall, which has the outside of the palace behind it, and therefore no roof. The explanation of a run-off drain gives a possible reason for this phenomenon, and explains also the dip in the stones from the center of the courtyard towards this outer wall. The last fact that the drainage system theory explains is the uneven surface of the ^pv in f194 and the fact that it is not present in all spots under the stone ^pv (f194 and f327) and when not present it abuts packing. In f326 there is also packing present above the baked bricks and below the stones, not an ^a. M01 (second part) The arguments against the drainage system are that we have not found greenish material in the bottom of the pits that cut the bricks (typical of sewage use; however, we have not found the bottom of the fill below the bricks so it may still be below); also, how would a drainage system support the weight of such a massive structure (the stone pavement)? The fill below the bricks is not the silty fill one would expect in a closed drainage system, but rather is chunky and has some stones. How can we resolve, next season, the question of the function of this brick structure? First, continue digging below the pits into the construction stratum of the palace to see if there is evidence of sewer material. Second, dig along the W wall where there are no stones. Third, look on the outside of the wall that in the SW to see if there is evidence of a drain outlet (there does not seem to be, but it could just be a hole that is clogged, or it could be below the floor we have now). Finally, dig the rest of the courtyard to see if there are more drains that empty below the courtyard and pits that cut the stone pavement. These notes reflect a growing understanding of the situation as discussed over these last weeks by aFB gB and lR. a 26 B11 two holes aligned EW cut into a hole of pavement a12. These two holes do not seem to be part of a door socket since the inside is not worn smooth by the turning of a post, but is lightly ridged by the tool that cut the holes. Holes come to a point at base. Probably not part of a roofing structure since we assume that the wall to the N would be at some distance, too far for a sheltering roof; this will be seen in later seasons when we excavate to the N. M01 possibly holes for a standard; holes are roughly in the middle of what we project to be the middle of the courtyard. a 27 B11 red material with some brickbats and scattered pieces of broken wall that do not seem to rest on anything. a 28 B11 This is not an aggregate in the normal sense, but is used to link all the phase 4 pits found or dug in MZ15 that are above the stone pavement a12 in k110 and k108.