.bk J03
.fl Q302jW1.j
.fd Feature descriptions for J03 features (f31-f60)
.fn Edited by jW on Q302, Q414, and Q415
.ei jw
.ed Q302
.rd P810
.ri rE

f 31
ds Natural accumulation in k12, under accumulation f2.

f 32
ds Bakhia in the vicinity of f11 wall stones along the west baulk of k101.  It was discovered in the process of exploring for the location of the south face of f11.

.rd P813
.rd jW

f 33
ds Laminations with small pockets of ash and inclusions of bricky and plaster chunks in k12.  Ashy material was 10YR4/2, dark grayish brown, plaster chunks were 7.5YR7/6, reddish yellow.  Lamination color was 10YR5/6, yellowish brown.  Bricky chunks were 7.5YR6/6, reddish yellow.  Although inclusions were scattered throughout, they were more concentrated in the NE corner, nearest to the BA temple.  Discussions with faB indicated that the temple had been destroyed at one point in time, which may account for the presence of the inclusions.

f 34
ds Broad area of hard-packed fill, below accumulation f33, throughout locus k12.  This signaled an abrupt change from the previous accumulation, which was relatively soft, brown soil with pockets of laminations, bricky material and ash.  Originally we thought f34 consisted of laminations formed when soil washed down from the temple mound and was contained by the massive wall, f11, just to the south and the top of which we are just beginning to uncover.  As seen in section in the north and west baulks after excavation, it appears more likely that this feature was the top layer of packed fill that was part of the original construction of the temple mound.  (Fill, f34, was originally covered by a layer of bakhia, f83, which, except for a small segment seen in the west baulk, has subsequently been eroded away)  This identification as packed fill better accounts for the the abrupt change in density.

.rd P814

f 35
ds Large "T" shaped limestone block in the middle of the west baulk line of k12.  It is unclear whether this is a floating stone or part of a late addition to the f10, f11 monumental wall complex.

f 36
ds Large floating limestone block in the middle of the south baulk line of k12 along the northern edge of monumental wall f11.

.rd P815

f 37
ds Natural accumulation between accumulations f2 and f31, first seen in the north section of k112 after excavation.  It was excavated as f37 when that baulk was excavated as part of k102.

f 38
ds Packed fill throughout k12, north of monumental wall, f11.  This feature was originally classified as an accumulation as we excavated the top part of the typological column, k102. When we encountered the third millennium terrace, f50, just underneath, we realized that the accumulation, f38, may be able to yield definite information as to when it went out of use, whether or not, significant human activity occurred on it.  The nature of this feature was only fully understood after we carefully examined the west baulk of k12 at the close of excavations.  Although we once saw feature f38 as a living accumulation atop a thick layer of bakhia, f50, we now see that it is a thick layer of compacted fill.  Furthermore, it is overlain by a higher layer of compacted fill, f34, which itself was covered by the remains of a higher layer of bakiah, f83.  There are at least three colors associated with f38, which indicates that it was a compacted mass of material from several sources.  Further examination of f38 as seen in the west baulk indicates that there is another distinct layer of compacted material, f90, underneath f38 and atop the bakhia, f50.  The most logical explanation is that the mound was partially constructed and capped by f50, then completed later by adding more fill (f90, f38, f34) and capping it with another layer of bakhia, f83, which is poorly preserved.

f 39
ds A conglomeration of soil and small and large limestone blocks just to the south of monumental wall, f11, in the middle of k101.  Although believed to possibly have been the top of a buttress for the wall, further excavation revealed that f39 and f40 did not touch the wall and must have tumbled down the mound and came to rest after abandonment.

f 40
ds A very large semi-rectangular block of limestone just south of the south face of monumental wall f11 in the middle of k101.  The stone was laying almost vertically, but tilted slightly to the east and resting against a conglomeration of stones and dirt, f39.  Although believed to possibly have been the top of a buttress for the wall, further excavation revealed that f39 and f40 did not touch the wall and must have tumbled down the mound and came to rest after abandonment.  After f40 was removed, we also noticed a "dent" in the accumulation, f43, upon which it sat, suggesting that the stone came to rest with some force during a time when f43 was very wet.

.rd P816

f 41
ds Large floating limestone block along the east edge of the typological column, k102.  The south part of the stone had been exposed in the first days of the season during the excavation of k12 and left on a pillar of soil until now.  It is one of a number of such stones which almost certainly migrated downhill from installations on the temple mound.

f 42
ds Packed fill below fill, f30, and above packing, f50, seen in the eastern baulk of k12.  It was seen as reddish (compared with f38), and had few inclusions and forms part of the substructure for apron wall, f10, in k12.  It may have been packing for a late phase of perimeter wall, f11, and addition of the wall apron, f10, or what now seems more likely, one of a number of lots of fill, brought in from elsewhere, that were used to build the mound between the perimeter wall to the south rising to the BA temple to the north.

f 43
ds A very hard, ashy accumlation in the south half of k101.  It abuts the south face of the temple mound wall, f11, and extends to the southern, eastern, and western limits of the locus, k12.  There are some small charcoal inclusions.  Because it seals the accumulations below, it has great promise of preserving the stratigraphy of the early and middle phases of the wall's construction and use.  However, it is doubtful that we will be able to excavate here in the time remaining in this season, and it marks a good stopping point for MZ18.

f 44
ds Large, floating limestone block in the east half of the typological column k102.  It is one of a number of such stones which almost certainly migrated downhill from installations on the temple mound.

f 45
ds Large, floating limestone block along the west edge of the typological column k102.  It is one of a number of such stones which almost certainly migrated downhill from installations on the temple mound.

f 46
ds Large, floating limestone block in the west half of the typological column k102.  It is one of a number of such stones which almost certainly migrated downhill from installations on the temple mound.

f 47
ds Soil in and around stone f40 and the individual stones of f38 in the middle of k101.  In part it serves as a matrix to bind together the elements of f38.

.rd P817

f 48
ds The largest limstone block of the group of stones that was originally designated f39 in the middle of k12.

f 49
ds Soil between the cluster of stones f38 and the east baulk of k101.  It is bounded on the north by monumental wall f11 and is being removed to expose the wall's southern face.

.rd P820

f 50
ds A surface, of unknown depth, of "bakhia", the local virgin soil which consists of reddish clay with white inclusions extending from k102 south into k12.  It gives every indication of being the third millennium surface of the temple mound that extended from the monumental wall, f11, up to the BA temple.

.rd P820

f 51
ds A mixture of bakhia and brown soil surrounding the visible stones of wall, k11, in the west side of k12/k101.  It could be either a coating to prevent water seepage into the interior of the wall or a mud mortar to support a second layer of stones as we see in the vicinity of the apron, f10, on the east side of these loci.

.rd P822

f 52
ds Topsoil in locus 103.

f 53
ds Natural accumulation, primarily loess, under topsoil in k103.  Contains a number of deep roots from surface shrubs.

.rd P823

f 54
ds Two large, flat, unfounded stones lying end to end, running E-W and emerging from the middle of the E baulk of k103.  Organized in such a way as to suggest that they were placed as part of an installation relatively late.  Marked as J3f54.1 and J3f54.2 before being removed.

f 55
ds Large limestone block in the south half of k12, founded on several layers from top to bottom consisting of brownish soil, a layer of soil mixed with brick chunks, and a reddish layer resembling packing.  Originally thought to have been floating, it may well have been part of the west end of the second millennium apron, f10.  The gap between this stone and the apron may have been filled by the stones f39, f40, f48 and f88, which washed out and down to the south face of f11 just to the south.

.rd P824

f 56
ds A successive series of laminations under accumulation, f53, throughout k12.  It was probably built up when rainwater and loess accumulated on the large, flat, plaza surface to the south of the BA temple mound, then dried.  When struck by the pick it comes off in large blocks, which are easily broken with a shovel.  There was relatively little pottery considering the large volume of soil excavated.

f 57
ds Damp, brown soil with bricky and ashy pockets under f50 in k104.  Originally thought to have been natural accumulation, the regionalized inclusions suggest it was deposited by those who were building and modifying the terrace between the BA temple and the monumental wall, f11.

.rd P827

f 58
ds Layer of compacted local virgin soil known as bakhia throughout locus k104.  It is reddish in color with small inclusions of whitish material identified as limstone by visiting geologist, Dr. Christian Fischer.

.rd P828

f 59
ds Brown soil with inclusions of reddish decayed brick along the S edge and ash and charcoal in the NE corner of k104.  A conglomeration of partially burned brick was stacked in the middle of the E edge.

f 60
ds Human remains consisting of a well preserved skeleton, buried in the flex position with the head and knees facing north.  The head was beside a stack of partially baked bricks, f62, to the east, while the hips were to the west.  More complete exposure of the human remains reveals that the individual was a mature adult.  The sciatic notch is medium to wide, but the skull is large and relatively robust.  One well-worn incisor, retrieved from the matrix surrounding the mandible, suggests that the individual was at least middle-aged, if not older.