| Generic function (1st degree of specificity) |
2002-09-26 |
fAB |
(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. [Input: MX12FAB.j] |
| 2002-09-26 |
fAB |
(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. [Input: MX12FAB.j] |