Emplacement for unit A16
Ordered aggregations

Giorgio Buccellati – June 2010

Walls
Brick roofs
Complex installations
- Tannurs
- Graves
- Rooms

Walls

A large number of walls have been found in A16, because many structures were uncovered, mainly dating to Khabur period. All the walls are mud brick with few exceptions made of pisè. The two pisè walls f80 and f93 delineate an open living area, are about one meter high and they also include some mud bricks, specially at the top.

The mud brick walls are usually two mud bricks wide (f4, f5, f7) or one brick and an half (f10, f52, f168). In few cases they are larger (f142) about three mud brick wide, even if this wall is very badly built with a core constituted of loam and mud brick fragments. It is probably a later supporting wall or perhaps a bench. All these walls seem do not have foundation and this likely due to the fact that these structure are mainly tombs and not houses. Wall f4 has a stone foundation, while f114 seems to have another (two courses) wall for foundation. Few walls (f72, f73, f96) are vaulted with mud bricks projecting toward inside of structure and they are likely tomb. Other walls are plastered (f132, f168).

Brick roofs

Brick coverings in A16 are attested in just two graves and only partially. In other cases we suppose there was brick roof, but just collapsed fragments were found. The best preserved example belongs to structure a6, and it is constituted of normal sized mud bricks leaning above other projecting mud bricks. The central row was collapsed inside the chamber. The other example is a10 where a row of half mud brick was found next to the entrance wall. Likely they were part of the roofing, but no other elements showing it were found.

Another uncertain and possible example of roof (a24) was found below the stone courtyard of the Palace. It is made of baked bricks (30x30 cms) and it is interpreted (since it is in line with a drain found nearby) as ‘roof’ of a water-collecting basin. Unfortunately it was not excavated and the elements we have are not enough to give a safe interpretation. No signs of water deposits were found. The other possibility is a pavement.

Complex installations

Several complex installations were found in A16. They are constituted mainly of built up graves, rooms and tannurs.

Tannurs

Five tannurs were found in A16, but none of them in a very good condition. Two tannurs are linked to the outdoor living area a8. f89 can be defined heart since it is not a tannur in the proper sense. It is constructed of two or three bricks with a groove in the center, on top of a mud brick pillar, and right next to a shallow wall. The other tannur f102 is built in a corner of the same room, that show its outdoor function linked probably to an house (a10?). Other two tannurs (a14 and f180) are poorly preserved and associated with ash accumulations. a14 is quite big with a diameter of about 90 cms and it is sitting in a white plaster floor. The last tannur (a23) was found in the courtyard, on top of stone pavement a12. This installation too is not a tannur in the proper sense, but it resembles a sort of grill, because it has many small holes, where the skewers with food were probably stuck vertically.

Graves

One grave was identified, other three are uncertain. a9 was probably a vaulted graves, and it is assumed on the base of the collapse typology. Three walls (f107, f108, f109) were identified and a fourth (f169) seems forming a doorway corridor. a6 is formed by four walls and it is sitting on top of a possible platform or retaining wall. The east side shows a vaulting, and its dimensions are not too large. The excavation stopped so no body was found inside. Some walls are plastered and it is likely a burial, more than a water cistern (as suggested at the beginning) because seems to be a free standing structure. a1 is a larger structure, the western portion was eroded away. Some human bones were found inside, scattered. A floor was found with two whole vessel, but the walls seem resting on a accumulation so we don’t know if they are related to the floor. Two supporting walls or benches were built in a second moment and this should point to the interpretation of the structure as house. a10 is a room found just next to A16 North section. It seems to have a vaulted roof, but just a small portion was excavated. No body was found so far. In front of the southern wall (f52) with small doorway (f70) there is the outdoor living area (a8) with tannurs, so it is probably a house, but only further excavation could clarify it.

Rooms

Two rooms were safely identified, another one is interpreted as a house (a3) with a niche in the wall with a vessel and other elements, but was excavated by A15 unit. The two rooms (a11 and a2) belong to an earlier stratum than the other graves. a2 is a rectangular room with a hard grey floor (f29) and three mud brick walls (f8, f9 and f10). The fourth wall, the western one is missing and it does not seem because of the erosion, probably the doorway was there, but it is not preserved. Room a11 is linked to a2 and its shape and dimension is unclear. It has a kind of closet with three stones (f138) and a stone basin or grinding stone (f137).

Unit Book A16

The Courtyard of the Tupkish Palace (Version 1a)

A16 Synthetic View / Stratigraphy

Emplacement for unit A16Ordered aggregations