.bk J01
.fl Q926ms.j
.fd journal
;.fn included Q927ms.j,Q929ms1.j,Q929ms.j,Q930ms.j,Qx02ms.j(U812lC).
.ed Q92
.ei mS

.rd Q926
.ri mS

-dy continued the small operation focusing in k117.

-wa the workmen will work from 5am to 11am with only one 15 minute break for those who are not fasting during Ramadan. Several also left to help Muhammed Omo move shafats in other areas.

k 117
dy we continued removing f231 to expose the full extent of f232 the pebble surface, or as much as possible in our excavation area. It seems to peter out towards the south although there are still patches of stones and sherds. It may continue westward into the unexcavated area of k115. We will take pictures in the morning to get a good picture of this surface and its connection with the wall and the glacis, f196.

.rd Q927
.ri mS

-dy continued slow today on the site. We took pictures early but gB also wanted to take pictures of f232 in the sun which did not fully cover the floor until 11am which was time to end the work. Instead we had the workmen begin work on the third staircase going down from the second step. Starts at 8800 and goes down three meters and will end at the presumed plaza level.

f 232
nr this feature contains large quantities of sherds, bones and stones. We will remove this carefully insuring that we recover as many bones as possible for hPU to study next season. hPU gave a presentation on being extremely careful when excavating so we recover the smallest bones which, although small, are extremely important in telling us what fauna are utilized in the area. This would be extremely useful since we believe f232 is either a late Khabur or early Mitanni surface in front of the wall.

k 117
dy we took photos of f232 today and cleaned well. We will excavate tomorrow. This feature contains large quantities of sherds, bones and stones. We will remove this carefully insuring that we recover as many bones as possible for hPU to study next season. hPU gave a presentation on being extremely careful when excavating so we recover the smallest bones which, although small, are extremely important in telling us what fauna are utilized in the area. This would be extremely useful since we believe f232 is either a late Khabur or early Mitanni surface in front of the wall.

.rd Q929
.ri mS

f 196
ds in MZ18 this was described as the glacis at the base of the wall. We had also cut into this and collected pottery lots which mKB says are purely chalcolithic. In MZ19 we have decided to call this the escarpment to differentiate it from the glacis at the top of the wall found in J3. One of the goals of this season is to excavate to the south and follow this escarpment down to the plaza level.
I10 We are assigning this to h1-JPA, sr70 although the material may go back to the 4th millenium and the assignment may change. We have a very limited excavation area at this time with this material. The escarpment presumably was built the same time as the wall f72 which we are also assigning to this period.

.rd Q929
.ri mS

-dy spent a lot of time working on the pebble floor, f232 setting it up to excavate precisely. Also finished working with the staircase for the time being.

-wa the shafat does not work any longer because the accumulations we are digging are dense and damp and tend to clog the shafat. We will get a couple more workmen to help remove the dirt.

-sf mL returned to work today.

k 117
dy declared new feature, f237 to keep control over recording the accumulation. This feature is the same as f235 above it which is hard, compact and moist soil with few sherds and bones and almost no other inclusions. We uncovered stones almost immediately at the northernmost section where we are digging. They are only partially uncovered and we will have to wait until we remove the floor and excavate to this level to see exactly what these stones may be. Directly in front of the stones to the south the accumulation seems to contain a few more inclusions such as carbon and calciferous material. We also uncovered f238 which is another stone and sherd surface although it is not as dense as f232. The stones, or pebbles, are also larger. This floor or surface is at 8655 which is about the same elevation as the animal skull in k118, i42. We documented well the pc f232 and removed the painted sherds one by one and created q items and took photos, views 202 to 208.

f 238
ds stone and sherd surface although it is not as dense as f232. The stones, or pebbles, are also larger. This floor or surface is at 8655 which is about the same elevation as the animal skull in k118, i42.

f 237
tc co f238
ds the accumulation in this features is very, very dense and somewhat moist with very few inclusions aside from sherds and bones. The sherds are of poor quality but we do have one or two diagnostic sherds which indicate we are still in Mitanni.

k 118
dy we removed the large animal skull, i42, and ceased excavation. We will wait until we have reached the plaza in k117 to the north and then will finish.

v 200
ds this is a series of several photos taken by gB and fAB using overhead techniques and dividing up the surface, f232 into sections. This is to closely document this pebble surface because it is so important for the stratigraphy in front of the wall. This is the first clear Khabur material we have in this area, and the first functionally specific area. These photos will also be used as templates and as a guide to excavation.

v 202
ds this photo is of a Khabur sherd, q894.1 embedded in the pebble and sherd floor, f232. this pebble surface is very important because it is so important for the stratigraphy in front of the wall. This is the first clear Khabur material we have in this area, and the first functionally specific area we have uncovered.

v 203
ds this photo is of a Khabur sherd, q895.1 embedded in the pebble and sherd floor, f232. this pebble surface is very important because it is so important for the stratigraphy in front of the wall. This is the first clear Khabur material we have in this area, and the first functionally specific area we have uncovered.

v 204
ds this photo is of a Khabur sherd, q897.1 embedded in the pebble and sherd floor, f232. this pebble surface is very important because it is so important for the stratigraphy in front of the wall. This is the first clear Khabur material we have in this area, and the first functionally specific area we have uncovered.

v 205
ds this photo is of a Khabur sherd, q898.1 embedded in the pebble and sherd floor, f232. this pebble surface is very important because it is so important for the stratigraphy in front of the wall. This is the first clear Khabur material we have in this area, and the first functionally specific area we have uncovered.

v 206
ds this photo is of a Khabur sherd, q899.1 embedded in the pebble and sherd floor, f232. this pebble surface is very important because it is so important for the stratigraphy in front of the wall. This is the first clear Khabur material we have in this area, and the first functionally specific area we have uncovered.

v 207
ds this photo is of a Khabur sherd, q899.2 embedded in the pebble and sherd floor, f232. this pebble surface is very important because it is so important for the stratigraphy in front of the wall. This is the first clear Khabur material we have in this area, and the first functionally specific area we have uncovered.

v 208
ds this photo is of a Khabur sherd, q895.2 embedded in the pebble and sherd floor, f232. this pebble surface is very important because it is so important for the stratigraphy in front of the wall. This is the first clear Khabur material we have in this area, and the first functionally specific area we have uncovered.

.rd Q930
.ri mS

-dy most of the day was focused in a small area of k117 because we have uncovered more surfaces.

-lb the 900 series of q-lots has been used for sherds coming from the shafat with no real stratigraphic data. Since we reached 899 in q-lots, we will skip the 900 series even though we are no longer using this sequence for pottery and will move to q1000.

k 117
dy began removing the accumulation under f232 which we assumed was f235 as in the southern portion of this locus, but it appears to be different altogether. We immediately uncovered f239 which is an accumulation of what gB thinks are mudflows. There are large laminations and sherds standing on their sides. In section this can be seen over the ashy layer f195 of MZ18 which is the accumulation covering f196 the escarpment. There is a definite cut to this accumulation to the south and it appears, also in section that the accumulation f240 abuts and overlays this. Currently is seems that f240, which is much darker than f239 in color may be the same as f238, the sherd layer. f240 is an accumulation which is packed with sherds and stones. This may also be a surface as f232, but it is a different matrix, much darker and more compact. f240 seems to slope to the south following the slope of the escarpment.

f 240
tc ab f239

f 232
tc co f238

f 239
ds an accumulation of what gB thinks are mudflows. There are large laminations and sherds standing on their sides. In section this can be seen over the ashy layer f195 of MZ18 which is the accumulation covering f196 the escarpment. There is a definite cut to this accumulation to the south and it appears, also in section that the accumulation f240 abuts and overlays this. It may have a slope to the south away from the wall and following the escarpment.

f 240
ds an accumulation which is packed with sherds and stones. This may also be a surface such as f232, but it is a different matrix, much darker and more compact. f240 seems to slope to the south following the slope of the escarpment and may be the same feature as f238 which we will determine after more excavation. f240 abuts and overlays minimally f239, the mudflows directly to the north and overlaying the escarpment.

f 238
ds may actually be the same feature as f240 but we excavated it sooner. It is at a slightly lower elevation but this is probably because these accumulations or surfaces are following the slope of the escarpment. We will follow f238 to see if it is the same as f240.

f 232
ds in a meeting with mKB, the initial pottery analysis is most likely Khabur although there may be a Mitanni sherd. This is very possible and gB says it makes sense because we do not have any time elapse or abandonment between Khabur and Mitanni and there may be mixing of pottery.

f 235
ds in a meeting with mKB, the initial pottery analysis is a mix of Khabur and possible Mitanni. This feature is seemingly below the Mitanni pebble pavement of f232 but the sediment is sloping at this point. f232 is not as strong to the south and f235 is primarily underneath f232 in the southern portion of k117.

v 201
ds a view of i42 the skull of a large animal, possbile equine or bovine. This was uncovered as we excavated a trench for staircase to the plaza level. This sits in f236 and is adjacent to q892.1, the mandible of another large animal. No other bones are apparent. 

v 209
ds this view shows the pebble surface f238 which is the second in a series of pebble surfaces we have had to the south of the wall, f72 and over the escarpment, f196. This one is not as compact or as dense as f232 which was above it, but seperated by some fairly clean accumulation, f235 and f237.

v 209a
ds this view shows the pebble surface f238 which is the second in a series of pebble surfaces we have had to the south of the wall, f72 and over the escarpment, f196. This one is not as compact or as dense as f232 which was above it, but seperated by some fairly clean accumulation, f235 and f237.

v 210
ds shows the very marked contrast between f239 to the north and f240 to the south and including the stones, i43, i44, i45, i46. There is also a view of the section to the north of f239 which shows the escarpment f196 and f239 in section. f239 is a mudflow, very clean, atop the escarpment. f240 is an accumulation which is full of sherds and seems to be later than f239 because there is some overlay on top where they meet. 

v 210a
ds this is a tighter shot showing the very marked contrast between f239 to the north and f240 to the south and including the stones, i43, i44, i45, i46. There is also a view of the section to the north of f239 which shows the escarpment f196 and f239 in section. f239 is a mudflow, very clean, atop the escarpment. f240 is an accumulation which is full of sherds and seems to be later than f239 because there is some overlay on top where they meet.

v 210b
ds this overhead shot shows a wider picture of f239, f240 and also including f238 the sherd surface to the south.

v 210c
ds this view is close up of the corner showing well the section of last season, MZ18 and the layers over the top of the escarpment, f196. The ashy layer is f195 of MZ18 and f241 in MZ19.

.rd Qx02
.ri mS

-dy continued working in k117 which is the only excavation area we have. Discussion in the field with gB, mKB, mS and J1 staff. This is an important transition area because we have the muflow, f239 and the accumulation f240 beginning to follow the slope of the escarpment after so much strictly horizontal accumulation. We now have the Khabur which is the accumulation on the escarpment. The Khabur material seems to be contained at this point which is why we have Mitanni above. The stones, i43, i44, i45 and i46 may be memory stones of the escarpment. 

k 117 
dy continued excavating f240 and and f239. We began again removing f238 towards the south. This feature is sloping down and we did find it continuing with the slope. It is still less dense than f240 which abuts f239. The current assumption is that this accumulation will continue to the plaza and we will excavate it. gB suggested removing part of f239 to see whether the pebble continued underneath, but they are totally separate. In the north section the ash, f241 is under f239. We removed i43, a large stone. It may have been better to leave it in place for the time being, but we have good photos. We now have the Khabur which is the accumulation on the escarpment. The Khabur material seems to be contained at this point which is why we have Mitanni above. The stones, i43, i44, i45 and i46 may be memory stones of the escarpment.

f 240
ds continues down several cm, and remains densely packed with pebbles, sherds and bones. This does slope down and gradually merge with f239 which is less densely packed.

f 239
ds continues to slope down the escarpment and remains less dense than f240.

v 201a
ds closeup of animal skull, i42.

v 201b
ds animal skull and mandible at the foot of the stairs being cut to go down to the plaza.

v 211
ds view of mudflow, f239 which is a clean fill. This accumulation is under a Khabur floor and begins the slope down the escarpment. Two sherds are apparent and both are vertical indicating that this is indeed a natural accumulation.

v 211a
ds closeup of western vertical sherd in the mudflow, f239 which is a clean fill. This accumulation is under a Khabur floor and begins the slope down the escarpment. Two sherds are apparent and both are vertical indicating that this is indeed a natural accumulation.

v 211b
ds closeup of eastern vertical sherd in the mudflow, f239 which is a clean fill. This accumulation is under a Khabur floor and begins the slope down the escarpment. Two sherds are apparent and both are vertical indicating that this is indeed a natural accumulation.

v 212
ds this view shows the pebble surface of f240 as it abuts the mudflow f239. The two features are very distinctive and there is a marked contrast where the pebble surface abuts the mudflow. The pebble surface rests on the mudflow.

v 212a
ds long shot of pebble surface and mudflow in front of the wall, f72. The distinction between the two is very marked. f239 is in the foreground and slopes down. f240 may eventually merge with f238 but the inclusions are denser towards the north, at the top of the slope.

v 213
ds south baulk of k117 showing well the horizontal layers which were the typical sedimentation layers until we reach the level just above the escarpment when the accumulations begin to slope.

v 214
ds view of eastern baulk of k24, k117 and k118 showing also the horizontal deposition that was typical of this area until we reach the level just above the escarpment when everything begins to slope.

v 215
ds southern view from just behing f239 the mudflow showing well the mud, the pebble surface if f240, the stones which seem to form a boundary and possible memory stones for the escarpment. f238 is the sloping pebble surface. The southern baulk shows well the horizontal accumulations which have been typical of J1 up until the point where we reach the level of the escarpment when the accumulations slope sharply to the south. The horizontal nature of the sediment is also seen well in the eastern wall.