Chronicle of work in Unit J6

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Background (2009 - by G. Buccellati)

In the very first season of excavations at Tell Mozan (1984), we opened unit B1, some 60 meters to the north of J1. B1 was the first of five units that yielded what we eventually labelled Temple BA. It was clear that the Temple stood above a high rise with a sharper slope to the south, the direction from which one would have approached to the Temple, given the location of its entrance at its southwestern corner.

It was therefore our intention to explore further this area, and a new opportunity presented itself through the work planned as a result of our collaboration with Peter Pfälzner and Heike Dohmann-Pfälzner. Their goal was to excavate the area to the south of the Temple, in zone C, and as a first step it was agreed that they would open a long trench connecting the southern end of the Temple (B1) with their projected excavation (C2). This trench (labeled B6) would give us a stratigraphic link between the old and the new excavations.

The B6 excavations (1999) were particularly successful because (1) they revealed the existence of a monumental staircase flanking the base of the Terrace. Subsequently, (2) the Pfälzners proposed to undertake a geo-physical survey that extended beyond the limits of the area (C2) where they had undertaken excavations. This survey (2000) showed that the staircase was flanked by a stone wall (of which only small portions had been exposed in the excavations), which suggested the possibility that the Terrace was oval in shape. It also supported (3) our initial hypothesis that zone J was a large open area.

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Previous work

Unit J6 was opened in the 2008 season to investigate the south-eastern end of the Temple Terrace: here we expected to find the continuation of the revetment wall. The area was previously investigated, firstly by a trench running east-west made by Peter Pfälzner in season 1999. In seasons 2004 and 2005, loci kk82, kk83, kk84kk85 were opened in the J2 unit, removing the topsoil and natural accumulations covering the top of wall6. In the 2006 season, the area east of the monumental staircase was again investigated. A new unit (J4) was opened to clarify the situation in this area (with loci k70, k71, k72, k73, k74, k61, k62, k63, k64, k82, k83, k83). The main results of the excavations in J4 were the exposure of a bin a2, a small half moon mudbrick structure dated to Mittani. A deep sounding (J4k100) directly east of wall6, was opened to search for the eastern continuation of the monumental staircase. We thought that wall6 stood astride the staircase and therefore would be later than the staircase. The deep sounding found any steps, rather several layers with a marked slope toward south. At the time we could not explain the nature of those layers, but the date was clearly Third Millennium b.C..

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The 2008 season - The great brickfall

Unit J6 was opened in order to clarify the situation east of the monumental staircase. Work at the beginning of the season concentrated south of J4 and east of J2. We presumed that the wall atop the staircase would turn a corner on the southern end, following for some distance to the east and then turning again south. Thus it was planned to dig in k84, k85, k74, k75, k64, k65 and possibly opening other 3 loci to the south. Here we expected to find the continuation of the wall, framing the terrace to the east and south. During the excavation we had several surprises. We removed almost 2 meters of natural accumulations, dated from the end of Mittani to recent times. A large amount of pottery, bones, and other waste material was found: it was interpreted as a dump, probably coming from buildings to the east and south. The source of our dump could possibly be found in buildings connected with those in area C2 further to the south. Just under the dump we began to excavate in all of J6 a great brickfall. This brickfall was evident also in the eastern section of the trench of Unit C2 (ZOrA 1, 2008, 390-433) dug by Peter Pfälzner. A brickfall was found also in J2, in the lower portion of the monumental staircase. Until we excavated the brickfall in J6, we were not able to connect all these pieces of evidence to one single and large collapse. It took almost the entire season to remove, in J6, 2 meters of the brickfall dated to Mittani. No structures were found to which we could link the collapse, nor did we find the revetment wall. We decided to focus the excavations in loci k84, k85, k86, k87. In k84 and k85, were we expected to find the continuation of the revetment wall, whereas k86 and k87 would allow to open the view for the wall from the south. At the end of the season, we were able to expose the southern end of the eastern wall of the staircase which terminated with two betili, but no continuation of the wall was found. We were able to expose more of the layers east of the wall, excavated in J4k100. We reached here the Third Millennium Strata, found also in J4 (see above previous work). Several floors were found in front of the betili, linking the use of this area to the staircase. The presence of intentionally laid floors east of the wall suggested the presence of structures to the east, or else that the Plaza continued here in the third millennium.

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The 2009 season- The east bend of the terrace wall

The unexpected absence of the wall at a position aligned with that of the revetment wall west of the staircase, caused us to change our strategy for excavations in J6 in 2009. We decided to move to the north and dig in k84, k103, k82, immediately east of the flanking staircase wall, thus subsuming the J4 unit within J6. The main goal was to discover the eastern continuation of the revetment wall. To the west (in J5, J1, J3 and J2) the wall is exposed for all its southern portion for a length of about 70 meters and upt to a height of 3 m. It is then interrupted by the monumental staircase. The revetment wall must continue to the east of the staircase, but fur us was not clear how and where. The continuation of the wall was suggested by the geophysical survey made by Christian Hübner in 2000, which showed an anomaly directly to the east of the staircase. We first found a single line of stones f201 with an east-west orientation directly east of the staircase flank wall. We thought it might be the top of the expected wall. It turned out that the stones were laid on top of a hollow pit, showing that this could not be the continuation of the revetment wall. We removed all the fill of the pit and one meter below we found a wall f201. At the same time, we moved to the north in k82 and k71. Here a partly exposed triangular stone structure was exposed by Peter Pfälzner in 1999. This structure turned out to be the revetment wall, beginning east of the staircase, but further to the north than expected. Finally, we were able to understand the thick red layer f164 east of the staircase wall, which was excavated in J4k100. f164 is an intentionally thick band of red compact earth, meant to protect the eastern side of the staircase wall. Other layers were found under this layer, having all a marked slope toward the south-east. They reflect the form of the Temple Terrace mound, here at its south-eastern end. The staircase and the flanking wall are built on top of it. Further excavations are needed to confirm this hypothesis and to date the construction of the staircase (together with excavations in J2 at the base of the staircase, which would yield more ceramics for dating the structure). At the end of the 2009 season, together with the results of the western edge of the Temple Terrace in J5, we could establish a great asymmetry of the Temple Terrace.

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Plans for the future

The area east of the staircase already in the Third Millennium is higher than the area of the plaza (J2, J1 and southern part of J6). Like J5 to the west, J6 marks the eastern end of the Temple Terrace. The terrace wall turns north in this area after running east-west for almost 70m. The Temple Terrace had several construction phases and was used for more than 2000 years. During this long period, the morphology of the structure changed and especially raised in height. The Temple BA is located on a high rise with a slope to the south. This slope was recorded in J6 and its surfaces were documented as glacis (see for example glacis1). Future excavations in J6 should find out: The continuation of the staircase found in J2 and continuing possibly in k84. A single excavation in J2 and J6 at the base of the staircase, would expose a structure under the main staircase, tentatively dated to the Late Chalcholithic period. Excavating in k82 and k104 would allow to explore further the nature of the wall wall11, exposed partly in season 2009. While the wall continues under the bin a7, would be of particular interest to expose the top of the wall in k73. An excavation in the northern portion of J6 (k81 and k71) should show the top of the revetment wall wall12 and the area behind it (marked in blue). Here a bricky accumulation can be observed, possibly the upper part of the bricks of the glacis covering the surface the Temple Terrace (see B6, BTB7). Excavations to the north, in area BT, would clear the continuation of the revetment wall: does it continue toward north or it bends again to the east?

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Synopsis of elements per season

Following is a chart indicating the elements that were defined in the various seasons of excavation.

The loci in J6 mantained the same loci number of J4 and of J2 for practical reasons.

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This version

The version published here is up to date as of February 17, 2010. Following updates will indicate additions.

At regular intervals, given versions will be archived and their data published in the Current versions portion of the Urkesh website.