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Background
Some of the first excavations at Tell Mozan were centered at the top of the highest mound which was designated area B
Area B is dominated by the ruins of Temple BA which sits atop one of the seven mounds which form the top of Tell Mozan. The temple has been excavated and securely dated by ceramic analysis to the Early Dynastic IIIB period. Although later temples were probably built atop this one, their remains have been completely eroded. However, Temple BA is a critical point of reference for excavations of the mound because except for surface accumulations and later repairs and modifications, everything upon which it sits was deposited no later than the temple itself.
A geophysical survey conducted on and in the vicinity of the mound indicated that it was comprised, in part, of a wall of stones. Excavations in unit B6 defined the temple complex as an artificial structure, with a brick cover and a stone perimeter. A German team who made the discovery identified their find as a large cut stone staircase that led to the temple as well as supporting structures including a wall that ran north to south from the south edge of the staircase.
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The Goals
Excavation unit J3 is situated between units J2 to the north and unit J1 to the south Excavations in units J1 and J2 exposed parts of a monumental wall and stairway leading up to the temple from the east. In J2 there is a stone apron along the top of the wall and a section where the stonework is of inferior quality indicating that modifications to the structure may have been made as late as the Mitanni period. To provide data to guide excavation strategy for future years, we must determine the nature of the material contained by the wall. We will explore the construction of the wall and its glacis, with a focus on its changes, if any, through time.
The existance of a large plaza for large assemblies was postulated to exsist to the east of the revetment wall. We will make a sounding to find its floor.
There are small deposits dating to the Late Chalcolithic period scattered throughout the mound. One such was found during the excavation of a late period glacis located to the west and above the revetment wall. If time permitted we had planned to excavate the northwestern half of the unit to find the source.
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The Excavation
As in most of the excavations at Tell Mozan, the basic building block is a square with sides of 5 meters. In this case a block of these squares three meters to a side covered the area of interest. As more issues arose we expanded the number of loci, sometimes deviating from the standard where required. Excavations were halted in 2010 before completion because of hostilities throughout Syria. Most of the staff left for other projects.
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The digital book
This book for J5 was one of the first in the UGR system to be kept mostly current with the excavation. (See the chronicle for details). As a result, work on the of the UGR can be concentrated on publishing. We have not received full benefit because of the small staff, the evolution of content organization, and the need to completely revise the computer programs used to process data and assist in its analysis.
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The uses of the book
To be able to “read” the J3 digital book, like any other such book, requires a certain familiarity with its structure, although the intent has been to make access to the browser edition as transparent as possible. One will find a detailed explanation of the page layout in the Mozan Sitewide digital book.
Briefly, the section accessed from the left hand side vertical bar (in red) is discursive and synthetic, and is presented using traditional concepts and terminology. The right hand side vertical bar (in black) is analytical and it embodies the UGR system proper.
For a synthetic overview of the main results of work in J3 please refer to the overview within the special Introduction to this digital book.
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