Phase 7j^J2B within Unit J2

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Stratigraphy

Phase 7j^J2B is divided into several strata and encompasses a series of events in the Middle Mittani period. Overall the phase can be described as a breakdown of the traditional use of the area as an access way to the temple terrace. The area is severely damaged by erosion, filled with brickfall and despite attempts to reuse the area, the brickfall is eventually allowed to overtake the whole area.

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Erosion

The first event of Phase 7j is the erosion. There is a substantial erosion cut (^ersn2) that comes from the west, across J2, sloping down towards the east. This erosion removed several layers of the Phase 3s and later, presumably erasing any evidence of Phase 4, Phase 5, and Phase 6 that might have been present in J2. The erosion is presumed to be in the Middle Mittani because the Middle-Mittani brickfall is immediately on top of the erosion cut, with no time for build-up of any other phase.

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Brickfall

After the erosion the area was immediately covered by brickfall (s160-J2B) coming from the southwest. The brickfall was composed of red and gray bricks and is more than a meter deep in some places, suggesting the large scale of the brickfall. In the early phase of the brickfall (s159-J2B) attempts were made to use the area, including the construction of 2 small curtain walls (^ctwl2,^ctwl3) that were rapidly covered and their associated use areas and pits (^use1). The use, however, could not be sustained and in s158-J2B the area was totally covered by brickfall.

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Typology

Since Phase 7j primarily includes brickfall layers, the ceramics are often mixed. Mittani types, including painted sherds, are common but some Khabur and EDIII sherds were also noted in some q-lots.

The brickfall is considered ‘dirty’ in that it includes numerous small finds rather than just brick material. The small finds include lithics (both chipped stone and groundstone), shells, and clay artifacts including animal figurines. More than a third of the objects (36%) recovered in J2 come from this phase.