.bk OH02
.fl I707gB.j
.fd diary
.ri gB
.rd I705

--i 1- Saleh al-Abrash, from Umm er-Rabiya, is the owner of a plot of land where he wants to change from wheat to cotton. He showed us the spot in May 98, during our trip here for the Djezire Conference. Since it is located right on the edge of the rise which marks the boundary of the Outer City, we asked that he wait until we come so that we could dig it on our own. He agreed readily. The general good will towards such matters is quite remarkable, and we owe it to a large extent to Ismail. We are also trying to show as best we can a sense of concern and fairness, which they do indeed appreciate.

--i 2- It seems possible that we may have regular accumulations at least below the plow line (possibly .5 to 1 m). We would notice a sudden change in texture of the soil, along with greater concentration of cultural materials. If we are "inside" the outer wall, there would have to be either a brick structure, or possibly a casemate type of structure. If just outside, then one might expect a glacis of some sort, sloping towards the north.

--i 3- It is also possible that instead of a city wall we may have a series of outlying smaller settlements (though in this case the regularity of the oval seems strange). If so, we might have normal accumulation, as within house structures.

-sg We plan to work with the big pick and to scrape and clear the surfaces every meter or so, changing of course if we find a different stratigraphic situation.

.rd I707
--i This excavation unit is not too far from OH1 (dug in 1985), and we will try to locate it in the ground (we do have the relays, which have been plotted on Autocad, and work OK).

.rd I708
f 4
ds A very clear differentiation occurred between a heavy granular, and a soft greasy soil, with pockets of ash, and greater concentration of sherds. This look like some accumulation, though we do not have any boundaries (such as walls) that contain it.
M1 The presence of some clay lumps is extraordinary: it clearly appears to be sealings suggests that they were dumped originally in this place: were they dumped from a single source "intra muros", or were they used and discarded here?
sg We will switch to small picks, and possibly we may have to sift as well, since the sealings are very small. If so, we will need to put up a tent.

-wk We have 17 workmen, and I have placed Abd el-Karim Hassan in a position of general supervision, short of calling him so outright. He is doing very well, and is to be credited with the finding of the sealings within such a type of excavation as we have had (heavy, if controlled). Also, the general appearance of the square during and after each cycle of excavation is impeccable.

v 2b
ph This view aims at showing rise from the north. The blue pickup on the right, Jim and John on the left, serve as a point of reference at the summit of the ridge. The shots were taken as I walked further to the north: the widest view was taken at some 350 paces from the excavations, and it takes in the high tension pole and behind it left edge of the High Mound all the way to the cemetery on the right. The shots closer to the ridge show two tents which are pitched in the depression between the ridge and the tell: these tents are not visible from a distance, and this gives a good perceptual gauge of the height of the ridge.