A20 Topics
Summary for season 21 (2008)
The home for this page is A20
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Relationship to nearby junits
Reuse of space
Burials
Earliest levels
Relationship to nearby units
This season we added significantly to our understanding of the Mittani occupation at Mozan helping to unify stratigraphically areas A19, A18, and A17. The link between the J area or temple terrace was not reached this season so we can't positively correlate the structures to the accumulations in area J. Both areas found thick Mittani deposits suggesting the area was actively used during the 200 years of occupation, functions shifting over time as earlier structures possibly linked to a mortuary complex were reused as an outdoor production area.
The proximity of the temple should be considered with gB suggesting the earlier structures in A20 were directly linked in function to the temple as perhaps production areas or to service the temple.
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Reuse of space
Five occupation levels were identified, with the first being the construction and use of the structure a5 followed by the construction of a1, a4, a6, and ^w1, ^w2 followed by a reuse of these structures. At a later date, the area shifted from indoor structures to an outdoor production space visible by the presence of deep ash layers, a drainage channel, possible kiln, rough pebble and sherd pavements, and two tannur ovens next to brick platforms. The structures dating from the first occupation phase are at different elevations that if contemporary suggest the structures were terraced. Incorporating area A18, a similar structure was found with a long thick wall but vaulted inside with similar type of stone pavement seen in A20. Evidence for the deep reuse of space is also visible in A18 with four tannurs found in the west and the reuse of the structure by blocking doorways and raising the floor.
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Burials
In A18, inside the structures two neonates were found, one inside a ceramic jar leaning next to a wall on the floor and another inside the structure lying in accumulation over the floor. In A20, a human tooth was found inside a1 and in A19, fragments of a human skull were found in a5. These cases add to the idea that these rooms were used as tombs that were later cleared out during the deep reuse leaving behind these small remnants of human remains. Of course this still is speculation as rodents could have also brought in some of these skeletal fragments.
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Earliest levels
Currently the earliest Mittani levels of A19 and A20 combined includes possibly 9 rooms, all interconnected with each other as rooms abut each other forming thicker walls. The largest room is a5 (and the deepest in elevation) with a stone courtyard f108 and a corridor a4 and a6. The structures show a rough alignment with each other however some walls are more angled such as the walls f111, f107, f109, and f133.
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