.bk J01 .fl P810cvp.j .fd daily journal P810 ;.fn edited Q410 by mS, included P811CVP.j,P813CVP.j,P814CVP.j,P815CVP.j,P816CVP.J .ed P809 .ei cvp .rd P810 .ri cvp -dy This morning we began to use the "elevatore" to take out the residual earth from the bottom of the squares. It causes a bit of a fuss with the workmen at times. Things settled again, the lifting of the earth seems to work quite well. In k13 we arrived at the end of the first step and in k32 we reach the level of the upper stones of the Terrace Wall. -sg There is a slight change in strategy regarding the setting of the stepped sections. Instead of each unit begin the first step at 2 m from its own surface level, we decide to locate the first step at a given elevation, so all three units will have the steps at the same level. Fortunately for J1, we decided to begin the first step at 9000 m, that is the level we have reached in k13 for our first step, as it is 2 m from our surface. Anyway the elevations would remain with a difference of 2 m, so the steps would be at 9200, 9000, 8800 and 8600, then the 1 m step to reach the desired 8500. k 32 dy We finished digging the artificial steps left on the W side. Then finally we reached the first lines of the Terrace Wall. Now we can answer the question about the direction of the wall: there is no sharp change of direction, nor angle. The wall just goes straight, just curving slightly (see J01sk24). At this level the earth "outside" of the wall is still the same as our feature f38, but the earth "inside" the wall, over the stones, is quite brown, more compact and reddish, that is why we stopped digging there, cleaned and gave a new feature number for this earth and the wall. In the MZ16 season the excavators documented the features left in the German Trench, our k101, giving the wall feature number f72 and the brown earth in over the stones and in the inner part of the wall, f75. In k9-10 f75 is called f68. As the features in our trench follows in this case without rupture the ones in k101 and k9-10, we use the old labels. We continue to dig the earth outside the wall. f 72 ds Continuation of the Terrace Wall already discovered in MZ16 in squares k101, 9, 10 f 68 ds Brown, compact earth, in the inner side of the Terrace Wall f72. f68 =l f75 k 106 dy We go on digging down. Earth quite hard but in flakes, layers. A broken part of a cylinder seal found. It is of geometric Djemdet Nasr style. We stoped digging here during some time just while the N baulk of k13 is removed. In order to avoid the contamination of the surface of k106, we covered it with plastic. The team is put to work in k24. k 13 dy At first hour in the morning we have still some 30 cm to dig from the first step, but we found the end of the first step at the end of the morning. We cleaned and photographed that state (J01v70). Just in that elevation, 2 m from the surface, there are some small and middle sized stones. Even if they seem to be floating and don't seem to have any regular pattern, we consider them as components of that feature and gave them component numbers. The two big ones would be c1 (W) and c2 (E), and two groups of two small stones, c3 and c4 (see sketch J01sk25). On the stone we are going to write Unit, feature number and component number, and keep them on separate area. k 24 dy We just evened out the surface at the end of the day. .rd P811 .ri cVP -sg When we begin to dig the f38 feature touching the outer part of the wall in k32 we rapidly reached the level left in the old k101 square. At that moment a dilemma was created, because the space that we are going now to dig here is a kind of triangular trapezoid that in fact pertains to 3 different squares of the grid: there is a part in k32, another part in k22 and another part in k101. That is the reason why we are creating another locus, the new k107, with the only purpose to dig in a more sensitive and easy way that trapezoidal triangle, that still has some 2 meters of potency to work. See J1sk25. k 13 dy We took another photo, with a different angle than the one taken yesterday (J1v70a) before beginning to dig. Then we proceeded to label the two stones already floating, and to move them to the "official" pile of stones. Then the team begins removing part of the N baulk. We stopped to excavate the baulk more or less at the end of the previously drawn section. We have to wait until k106 is excavated at least another 150 cm to get another section to draw. Meanwhile, as the space inside k13 to dig now would be the second step, and therefore too little for the team to work there, we moved the team to k24. k 32 dy We took a photo of this square with all the upper view of the wall f72 in view (J1v71 and J1v72). We also drew the lower part of the section of the E baulk and then removed it. In that way all the excavated surface of k32 is now showing the upper part of the wall. At the end of the day we cleaned to take a photo the next day. Now the space to dig in that square has been reduced considerably, having only the triangle of earth that goes than in the outer face of the wall, that continues to be the same f38. For reasons explained in the notes on labeling, this space is from now on to be called k107. Just for aesthetic reasons we removed the remnants of the k22 N baulks, that was just a scarce 10 cm triangle protruding from the western section. -sg A note on the nature of the possible buttress: One of the goals of our J1 excavation is trying to understand the nature of the stones located in an irregular pattern in a section of the wall. We have to decide if they come from the destruction of part of the wall or they were laid there on purpose to build a kind of buttress. In favor of the first answer, also the most probable, is the fact that imbibed between that irregularly laid stones we have found a piece of basalt grinding stone, and, according to fAB, in all the Terrace Wall excavated till now, basalt stones had not been used at all in the building process. k 24 dy We continue to dig the first step, beginning at some 65 cms from the surface. k 107 dy Today we begin to designate that way the trapezoid area left in the outer face of the wall, with the same feature number than before, f38, that was before a space pertaining to three locus, k22, 23, 101. .rd P813 .ri cvp -dy First thing in the morning we took photos of k32 without the E baulk and then proceeded to dig in the new k107. We are also digging today in k106 and k24, leaving k13 alone for a few days days, until we could reach the level of the first step in the other loci. k 32 dy We took two photos of k32 with all the upper part of the Terrace Wall now exposed (J01v73 and J01v73a). After that the team worked in the area left in the outer side of the wall, since yesterday called k107. k 107 dy We found the end of f38. The earth changed and was brown and softer. f 156 ds Brown and soft earth, under f38, abuts on Terrace Wall f72. f 38 tc co 156 k 106 dy We continued the excavation of the column without changing the feature, since it is the same grayish sandy earth. The only novelty is that we are reaching the level of the rest of the surface in k23 (dug in MZ16), so from tomorrow we will need to use a string to define the column area, that will be exactly the same as it has been up to now, with the trapezoid shape. k 24 dy Digging the first step. We remove the N security baulk. Doing that we have found the line of the pise-like floor present in the section of MZ16 loci k10. We didn't recognize it in the rest of the locus because it stops precisely in the artificial baulk we are removing. That means that we have it only in the small space dug in the N, the space that would have been the N baulk. Like it happened in k10, as it is shown in the section of MZ16 (W16d9601 J1w0023), the pise-like floor ends abruptly with a slight upward curve, but the accumulation below (f15) just melts with the rest of the earth (f19), without a clear ending border. .rd P814 .ri cvp -dy Today we took a photo of the new feature in k32 and of the Terrace Wall as we have now all its extension in our unit (J01v74, J01v76). Then we dug in k106, k32 and k24. Some hours in the morning were dedicated to the weekly meeting with gB. Beginning in the area of the Temple, we revised the stratigraphy and different phases, then visiting the 3 units to check the stratigraphic situation in each one. -wk Today we have a new workman, so we have now 16 plus Ferhan. We put the new one in the team of the column. Also, due to the complaints of Ahmed, the pick-man there, alleging that the soil was very hard and difficult to pick, I designate Saud to pick also there. k 107 dy Still digging the same feature, f156, brown and soft. The sudden appearance of ashy layers made us consider the possibility of changing the feature, but, as we discovered after a more careful small-pick dig, we are still in the same feature, brown and soft. The ash was just some fine lenses, clearly visible in the S section. What was really another feature was a reddish brown bricky earth, more compact, found abutting the wall more or less at the same level of the ashy lenses. We are following its shape, not touching it until we finish f156, which is covering it and all around it. k 23 dy The excavation of the column has already reached the level left in MZ16. We separated the Column space (k106) with a string. k 106 dy Still digging the same feature, made of a lot of small layers. Depending on the layer there would be more or less pottery and pebbles, and the hardness and the color vary slightly, but it remains the same. We now know the probable end of the layer as we have reached the bottom of it in k32. .rd P815 .ri cvp -dy First thing in the morning we photographed the section of the E baulk of k23, and then proceeded to draw the second part of the section. After the section was finished the team currently working in k24 began to dig that baulk. During gB and jO visit we discuss the state and fate of the floating stones touching the Wall near k32, that, due to its dangerous situation and peril to fall, we would like to remove. We also discussed the strategy to follow during the next days in the rest of our unit. k 23 dy Second part of E section photographed (J01v77) and drawn. E baulk begins to be removed. We left temporarily the excavation of k106 (the column), to concentrate in the rest of the square, as are now in the same elevation, basically due to strategic reasons (access to the "elevatore" to remove the dirt). We use also the same number for that big multilayered feature, f151. k 106 dy We stop the digging of the column for the moment. We will continue it after the excavation of the rest of k23. k 107 dy We are carefully digging here feature f156, the brown soft layer, with ashy patches. It is found covering the red bricky one (f158) that is abutting the wall, and that seems to be somehow slopping down south. That same feature is found in the area of the old k9 when we removed the floating stones and the dirt under them. Tomorrow, after clearing completely the soft brown we will photograph and relay f158. Both soils are quite moist, just drying when the sun touch them. Apart from the color and hardness, another way to differentiate them is that f156 has small black dots (ash), while f158 have small white dots (calcium). jO said that f158 is not man-made, is just a natural accumulation that, for being near the wall, protected from the weather and catch between the rest of the earth and the stones, gets more compacted. k 9 dy Different views of the floating stones that we were going to remove for safety reasons: J01v78, J01v78a, J01v78b, J01v78c, J01v78d, J01v78e, J01v78f, J01v78g. There were 2 big stones in the upper part and another below. We give a feature number to each one (see J01 sketch 26): f159, f160 and f161. k 24 dy We excavate a small part of the new feature f157, but when the section of the k23 E baulk was finished the team was put there to excavate it. They have been at it all day. .rd P816 .ri cvp -dy We made photo of the piece of the Terrace Wall where the floating stones were removed (J01v79 and J01v79a). k 24 dy They finished digging the baulk. Then we put the team to dig the remnants of the E baulk of k22, in order to give a better access for the dirt to the Elevator. In k24 they are still at 175 cm from the surface. k 23 dy We are still digging the same feature as yesterday. k 107 dy We are yet excavating the soft brown earth, f156, in a space very small, surrounded by the f158 reddish accumulation. In this kind of hole we have found some animal bones, a big sized animal, possibly a cow, but just the mandible and part of a leg. We make photo (J01v80), relay it, and remove it.