Depositional data for Unit J7

Caitlin Chaves Yates – October 2010

Introduction
Floors
Deposits
Fill, dumping, collapse
Installations

Introduction

The depositional processes in J7 can all be attributed to non-intentional, or natural causes. By this I mean that there are no intentional constructions, leveling, or installations. The main processes seem to be collapse (brickfall) and natural accumulation (accumulations and topsoil).

Floors

The area of J7 would have been part of the large open Plaza in the third millennium. We would naturally expect there to be floors associated with the use of the Plaza but we did not reach down to third millennium levels. For this reason there are no known floors in J7.

Deposits

Natural accumulations make up the top 1.5 meters of accumulation in J7 with some possible water-laid deposits as well as aeolian deposits. The top 50cm is full of organic materials and roots suggesting it was part of an ongoing process of abandonment.

A distinctive deposit of ash (^ash) can be seen in section of k3 and represents a significant event. This deposit has been linked to a similar ash deposit below the brickfall in J6. Until this level is excavated (it has only been identified in the section of k200) it is unclear if it is a destruction level associated with the brickfall.

Fill, dumping, collapse

This category makes up the majority of the J7 deposits. The large Mitanni brickfall (^bf) slopes across J7, originating to the southeast. This brickfall is very large and covers not only J7 but large portions of J2 and J6 as well. This indicates either a very large building or a continual collapse and erosion of a substantial number buildings to the southeast. The presence of human bones in these levels suggests that there are burials to the southeast. The brickfall slopes down from the southeast to the northwest, mimicking the slope of the area prior to the brickfall. In the area of the Plaza (namely in J7) the brickfall is relatively level on the bottom but tapers down slowly on its top levels the further it gets from the origin of the brickfall.

Installations

No installations were found in J7 which is expected based on the use as a Plaza area. In the later periods the area was covered by a large brickfall and so was abandoned, with no installations on top of the brickfall. Some floating stones were found in the upper layers of J7, about 1m below the surface and they appear to be connected to similar floating stones in J2 although their function is not known.