| Daily |
2008-8-25 | lR |
Human bones were found in area J7 at the end of the day. It was decided to excavate and articulate the bones during the afternoon, giving us more time to gather the necessary materials to excavate it properly. Preliminary photographs of the bones were taken in the field; these are views showing the left temporal and parietal of the cranium at the point when identified in the field. The cranium was found in extremely fragile condition visible by the brittleness of the bones which flake off and break at the slightest tough. For this reason, the left temporal, maxilla, and parietal were damaged while trying to cover the cranium. This damage was documented in the afternoon with photographs. In the afternoon, yM accompanied me to the field and began to first clean the surrounding area to see if a cut could be seen in section suggesting a burial. Nothing was noted in section, the cranium appears to be sitting in thick brick fall with large brick components scattered within a hard clay matrix. The colors alternate depending on the brick components but are mostly a bright orange-brown, dark brown, and gray. Small elongated inclusions of charcoal, white phytoliths, and large sand grains were also found in the matrix. Several stones were noted near the cranium to the south and are being left in place by cJC to see if any patterns are visible. Earlier in the day a small ceramic cup ( i2) was found complete near the cranium and may be associated with J7.3.
[Input file: S826LR.J / S826LR.-J]
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2008-8-26 | lR |
cJC excavated north of the cranium to the baulk and found no mandible or cervical vertebra furthermore I checked several animal q-lots and found them full of human bones including an almost complete femur and a complete mandible!! This suggests that the massive brickfall of J7 and J6 washed down human bones from presumably the east (via the slope of the brickfall seen in area J6 section (J6 k86, J6 k87), given the depth of the cranium (elevation?) excludes these bones as modern most likely dating to the late Khabur (Old Babylonian) period similar to A16 where funerary structures were found covered by a thick brickfall from the east that also washed down bones. Unfortunately due to the excavation project goals to rapidly excavate J7 sacrificing documentation for a view of the temple stairs, no relays were taken or plan to be taken for disarticulated or isolated human bones. I will try to reconstruct the location of these bones via the feature log and q-log but think that no elevations were recorded, resulting in a loss of provenience. Luckily cJC kept bone lots for J7.
[Input file: S826LR.J / S826LR.-J]
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| Argument |
2008-8-25 | lR |
At the moment we are uncertain if this is a burial or isolated bone washed down from another area associated with the large brickfall. In area A16, 30 q-lots were found to contain human bones in the animal bone lots. Most of these come from a large brickfall that washed meters of bricks similar to J7 brickfall covering a funerary complex (area A15, A18, and A16). The bone q-lots for area J7 will be checked to see if more isolated bones are present. If this is an intentional burial, we expect to find the mandible and cervical vertebra only since the body runs north into the baulk.
[Input file: S826LR.J / S826LR.-J]
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| Procedure |
2008-8-25 | lR |
Tried to consolidate the cranium using diluted wood glue but was unsuccessful. The soil was too compact and adhered to the fragile bones making it difficult to articulate without damaging them. Only the left frontal, portions of the temporal, and left zygomatic were consolidated. We then attempted to block out the cranium however it sits directly on a stone, making it difficult to block it out unless the stone was also removed. Given the time frame to remove the skull (3 hours- only 2 days left of excavation with the baulk scheduled to be taken down tomorrow morning) I decided to articulate the cranium as best as possible, photograph it, then remove it in pieces.
[Input file: S826LR.J / S826LR.-J]
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| C99.NRecovery |
2008-8-25 | lR |
The left side of the cranium was articulated, with the right side lying on an irregular stone with the right parietal, temporal, and portion of the occipital crushed inwards. No traces of the mandible or cervical vertebra found, these may be at a lower elevation if the skull was resting on the rock. Tomorrow cJC will excavate north of the cranium to see if more bones surface. At this point, it appears to be an isolated bone that washed down with the brickfall being stopped by the stone.
[Input file: S826LR.J / S826LR.-J]
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