.bk J01 .fl R731lC.j .fd daily journal ;.fn included R802lc2.j,R805lc.j,R808lc.j,R813lc.j (U812lC). .ei lC .ed R731 .ri lC .rd R728 -dy today is the first day of excavation. We started to remove the backfill put at the end of MZ19 in k103 and k117. The removing of the backfill took a lot of time because of his big dimensions, also owed to the abundant winter rainfalls. We can't work very fast because of some problems to the chafat herself and for the lack of power. We removed the most of the backfill in k103 and k117 and we postponed to the next day the general cleaning of the loci. dM took some photos before and during the removing of the backfill. k 103 dy today we remove the backfill put at the end of MZ19 in this k to protect the escarpment f196, the base of the wall f72 and the south and east section of the locus that are very important. k 117 dy today we remove the backfill put at the end of MZ19 to protect f238, f239, f240 and the stones i43, i44, i45, i46, that we weren't able to dig last year. .ri lC .rd R730 -dy Today we finished to clean k103 and k117, then dM took some photos of the k117 cleaned and ready for start to dig. after a meeting between mS, lC, we decide to dig f238 in k117, starting from the south section towards the stones and f240. we removed about 5-10 cm of f238 in the southern half of the k. f238 was full of sherds and stones of medium and little size, and bones less in number.in MZ19 we took out from this feature only the sherds on the surface. in some points f238 is still present and we are going to remove in the next days. in other points we uncovered two new features f243 and f244. f243 seems to be a natural accumulation sloping down, recognised in the southern half of k117. f244 is yellow/reddish, sloping down, recognised only in the eastern part of k117. it could be the same of f239 but we can be clearer only after more excavation. today we took also new relays of the stones i43, i44, i45, i46 because last year relays didn't work. at the end of the morning dM took photos of the new situation. .ri lC .rd R801 -dy Today we finished straightening the east section in k117 and k118. We also cut about 5cm from the west section because it was very badly damaged over the winter by rain. In order to have a better understanding of the stratigraphy in k103 we also cleaned and straightened the west, south and east baulks. This is a very important area and we don't understand the stratigraphy completely yet. After a quick meeting between fAB, lC and sG we decided to clean all of the J1 area, in particular the MZ20 excavation area, in preparation for tomorrow's kite photos. At the end of the morning fAB and pC came to J01, and with lC we discussed the stratigraphy of the escarpment f186 and its relation to the features above. .ri cJC .rd R801 -sg In the evening gB, fAB, lC and mS (with Martin Sheen) discussed the strategy for this year's excavation. In order to better understand f239, the yellow layer, and its relationship with the feature below, f195, and the escarpment (f196) we decided to shift the main focus of the excavation from k117 to k10. This will allow us to follow the ashy layer (f195) and see its relationship to both the escarpment and f189. .ri lC .rd R801 k 117 dy Today we finished straightening the west and east section to have a clear reading of the stratigraphy. We also cleaned the entire locus in preparation for kite photos tomorrow k 103 dy Today we straightened the east, west and south sections to get a better understanding of the relationships between f186, f261 and f239. .ri lC .rd R802 -dy Before beginning work we removed the shaffat and finished cleaning the west sections of k103 and k117 where the shaffat had been. dM came and took the photos of the area. bWP came and placed new markers so we could remove the stones (f245, f246, f247). After the new markers were added we relayed the stones and removed them. We began excavating in k10 when gB, fAB, and Martin Sheen came and gB and fAB gave him a brief introduction to the excavation. At breakfast mS left for the season. After breakfast we started to remove f189. Brief meeting with fAB regarding the strategy. While relaying f248 gB, fAB, Martin Sheen, rE and the television cameras arrived. While filming for tv, part of f232 was removed. k 117 dy We cleaned the west section where the shaffat had been. We began to remove f232 so that we can better understand its relationship to the new feature (f248). k 10 dy We laid out a part of the locus where we plan to excavate this season. We relayed stones f245, f246, f247 and removed them. We removed 5cm of the superficial surface before beginning excavation of f189 because it had been exposed since MZ18. Excavation of f189 was begun but we stopped because we found some brickfall in the north section and a sharply delineated cut to the south of the area. A new feature was assigned to the material abutting the cut to the south. .ri cJC .rd R802 -pr Today a tv crew visited J1 after breakfast with gB, fAB and rE to observe excavations and tape part of Martin Sheen's visit. -vs In the morning gB, fAB and Martin Sheen visited J1 and fAB gave a brief introduction to the excavations in the area. Martin Sheen tried his hand at excavating for a few minutes. Before lunch, gB, fAB, rE and Martin Sheen returned with a television crew to tape the excavations. .ri lC .rd R803 -dy Today we didn't dig because we worked in the house in entering data to update the UGR. .rd R808 .ri lC -sg This morning the J01 team, led by lC, had a meeting with gB to discuss the strategy for the rest of season. We have decided to excavate the areas from the higher elevation that were left last year in the west part of k117, specifically f232 and its underlying layers (f235, f237). Because this year, while excavating we have uncovered a clear line between f189 and f248, we have decided to excavate approaching this line to better understand it. We want to clarify if the line between f189 and f248 is an artificial cut, and if f189 is a later version of the escarpment or another kind of accumulation. f 189 ar After removing the stones (f245, f246, f247) a clear line was revealed between f189 and f248. I think that f189 is the same as f239 and that the two numbers were assigned because the two areas were dug in two different years. .rd R813 .ri lC f 245 A12 v234 f 246 A12 v234 f 247 A12 v234 f 248 A12 v235 f 250 A12 v240 v 230 ds This view shows the k117 after the removal of f238, however, parts of f238 still remained in place. It also shows the two new features found under f238, features f244 and f243. .ri cJC v 233 ds West section of k103. We decided to photograph this section to show the complex relationship between the layers f195, f196, and f189. v 234 ds This view shows the stones f245, f246, f247 before their removal. It also shows the area of k10 that was strung to be excavated in MZ20. v 235 ds k10 and k117 showing the clear cut between f189 and f248. f248 is a clearly bounded accumulation between f232 and f189. v 236 ds This view was taken during the removal of f248 to clarify its relationship with f189 and f232. It shows that f232 is found underneath f248. v 237 ds This view was taken after the removal of f248 to show clearly that f232 is found underneath it, abutting the cut in f189. v 238 ds View showing the western part of k117 after the removal of the floor f232. f235 is clearly visible. v 239 ds This view shows the animal skull, i48, in situ in f235. v 240 ds This view documents the new feature, f250, as it was first uncovered. It is still in place and will have to be excavated next year. v 241 ds East section of k103 and k117 at the end of the season. This section was also drawn by cJC and sG. Section string elevation is 8739.