J1 installations

Typology of the built environment in unit J1

Installation

September 2009 - Lorenzo Crescioli

Synopsis

^esc1	ED III escarpment built at the base of the revetment wall (^wall1) to link the difference in elevation between the base of the wall and the lower level of the Plaza. It protected the base of revetment wall too.	v389
^esc2	Later ED III escarpment built on top of the previous one, mainly to protect the base of the revetment wall from water erosion	v394
^curt1	First Mittani "curtain wall" built as a boundary dividing the people from the base of the revetment wall and the sacred space of the terrace when the plaza started to be filled up	v243
^curt2	Second Mittani "curtain wall" built as a boundary dividing the people from the base of the revetment wall and the sacred space of the terrace when the plaza started to be filled up	v108
^curt3	Possible third Mittani "curtain wall" built as a boundary dividing the people from the base of the revetment wall and the sacred space of the terrace when the plaza started to be filled up	v363
^pav1	Mittani pebble and sherd pavement forming the surface of the plaza used for a certain period, before the numerous later natural accumulations.	v243
^pav2	EDIII beautiful pebble and sherd pavement abutting the surface of ^esc2 and lying above Ninevite 5 levels, used as surface for the Plaza. It was used until Mitanni period.	v260
^pav3	Ninevite 5 pavement floor, probably originally abutting ^str1.	v331
f266	Hearth lined with sherds	v276

Discussion

Different kinds of installation have been recovered in J1. They can be divided in escarpments, curtain walls and pavements.

Escarpments

     The two escarpments are clearly part of a larger and very complex construction, the monumental temple terrace.
     (a)The original function of the ED III escarpment (^esc1) was to link the base of the ED III revetment wall (^wall1) with the lower level of the Plaza. This was probably due also to aesthetic reasons and to the big difficulties to build a wall more than 5 meters high, lasting for a long span of time.
     (b)The second escarpment (^esc2) is very different from the previous one, in fact is larger, much more irregular and it has also a different function. The main purpose of ^esc2 was to protect the base of the ED III revetment wall from the strong erosion that, at least in J1 damaged deeply the ^esc1 (in fact to the west in J5 the situation looks different). Moreover ^esc2, not being a primary part of the structure of the terrace, but a sort of later rearrangement, is built of simply dumping bricky material.

Curtain walls

The curtain walls are shallow screen walls forming a sort of boundary, more interior-spiritual than real. These low walls could also have a practical function, namely to protect the base of the walls from water flowing.
They in fact are really shallow (^curt2), built of a course of stone or at the most of two courses. ^curt1 is constituted of few scattered stones, forming a really wake boundary. Their purpose was to divide the people walking in the plaza, from the space of the terrace and the base of the wall, when the plaza started to be filled up in Mittani period and the escarpment was in great part covered. The ^curt3 is constituted of many big stones sitting at the base of the revetment wall (^wall1). This installation seems more a bench than a curtain wall and, could this show some kind of change in perception? Before a boundary and then a sitting place at the base of the wall, perhaps as the apron? In fact we have to say that ^curt3 is a particular case and also its date is not completely clear. The stones belonging to ^curt3 are sitting right on top of the material of the ^esc2 and so it could date to ED III.

Pavements

In J1 some pavements have been uncovered. ^pav1 and ^pav2 are similar, even if ^pav2 is much better built. ^pav2 was built during EDIII and was used until Early Mittani time, while ^pav1 date to Early Mittani, and both are constituted of a big amount of sherds and pebbles. On top of these pavements were recovered many bones showing an intensive use of these open areas. The pavements are very different from the other natural surfaces of sherds and materials found in J1 and interpreted as natural accumulations. ^pav1 and ^pav2 are clearly organized and intentionally set out. ^pav2 is also very extended in surface from east to west, and seems forming a sort of shallow hollow to the south of ^wall3, with a slope coming from west and another from east, following the higher levels underneath. ^pav3 is dating to Ninevite 5 period and it is constituted of very small components (pebbles and sherds). It is very similar to Ninevite 5 pavements found to the east in J2.

Hearth

Only one hearth was found in J1. No tannurs, no pits and not other installations (not linked to the terrace complex) were found in J1 showing the sacral meaning of the Plaza retained until the abandonment of the city. Only this hearth (f266) made of pit lined with sherds was found, linked to the Mittani pebble pavement.