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Unit Book J4

The Eastern Top of the Main Staircase (Version 1a)

J4-strategy

Processed on 2026-01-20


Date Author Record
2006-08-16 sC Today we had a meeting in the field with gB, mKB, fAB and jO in order to discuss and plan the strategy for the work in J4. The main concern is to find a strategy which allow us to reach this excavation season's goal: to understand what happened in the area located to the E of the monumental staircase.; Concerning the area linking J2 and J4, some question are open, i.e.: did the "primary" and the "secondary" apron existed also on the E of the monumental staircase (where k82 and k83 are located)? Was the apron close to the E? And, if not, to what was it related? And, do we have the apron in J4? At present, by looking at k82 and k83 (which are almost at the same elevation of the "secondary" apron in J2) there are no elements that indicate the presence of the "secondary" apron in these units. We all agree that in k82 and k83 something happened, and that, at least in the second millennium, this area must have been re-organized/rebuilted/reconstructed. fAB stressed this aspect, linking it with the probable rebuilding/re-arrangement of the "secondary" apron that probably took place in the Mittani period. At present, evidence indicates that the "secondary" may have been built in this period (i.e. the top half of the stone staircase in J2). gB explained the main re-arrangement in the area occurring in this time (which are also evident in the different "organization"/discontinuity and/or accuracy of the steps between the lower and upper part of the staircase): 1) the big stone with a flat surface which sits on an accumulation on the top of the "primary" apron; 2) the second/later phase of the wall E (running NE-SW) to the monumental staircase at the height of the primary apron; 3) the "change" in the staircase, i.e. the secondary apron itself. Therefore, it is possible that the re-arrangement in the stone staircase could have interested also the area on the E of the monumental staircase, where k82 and k83 are located. Concerning J4, we do have some clear information. These are represented by the N section of k82 and k71, in particular: a) the stones/bricky material found in the cleaning of the N section of k82. The section shows a double line of aligned stones (little in dimension) sitting on top of two lines of big stones (prob. belonging to a wall, running W-E); on the top of these little stones, a red layer is visible, which probably is what remains of a mudbrik construction. fAB underlines that this type of construction tecnique is known from the Palace; here, it has been used as a preparation for building walls in mudbrick. Therefore, this seems to indicate that in a later period/phase a structure/construction/platform was located here. The E limit of this structure/construction/platform seems to be preserved (in the section we can notice that at some point the alligned little stones end, and in that place a big calcar stone is located). [Input: Q816SC.j]
2006-08-16 sC CONTINUED What gB underlined, is that in somehow this "structure" is in connection with the re-arranging of the area in later times. pC stressed that, if this is the case, this "structure" would have stopped the passage -in this area- of the staircase. Unluckyly the German trench cuts this area, making thus difficult for us to know the real dimensions (and the nature) of this platform/structure/construction to the W. ; What is left, on the W side, aprox at the bottom of the German trench is a red accumulation of mudbricky material which, in the past, has been always interpreted as a "tower". jO stressed that the red layer visible in the N section of k81 could be part of the same platform/structure/construction of at least linked with it. ; b) aligned stones in k71; In k71, the German trench C2 already exposed a series of aligned stones (to which we assigned a feature number, f10; the feature is constituited by stones still in place and by a series of floating ones, the latter ones located close to the E section of the unit). Concerning their elevation, these are slight higher respect to the "secondary" apron W of the monumental staircase in J02; furthermore, they do not look as being part of a specular apron (as suggested by pP in her reconstruction). However, f10 does present a particular shape: the stones form an angle which does suggest the existence of a particular construction here. On the basis of this particular shape, gB suggested that we have to look where these stones end, since they can be linked either with a possible specular primary or "secondary" apron in this area (if existed), and more probably, with the revetment wall, which should run some m below the surface where k62 and k63 are located.; Therefore, the strategy for J4 will be the following: we will dig in k62, k63 and k74, looking for the presence/continuation in these units of a structure delimited by these "oblique" oriented stones of k71 in k62 and k63, and, secondly, to reach in these units the same elevation of k82 and k83. While doing so, we may find (in case the apron was a specular construction) the "secondary" and more probably the primary apron (it is more likely that the first phase of this construction is still preserved). It is also probable that we are going to expose the top of the revetment wall within one of these units. In fact gB underlines that, whatever happened to the primary and "secondary" apron in this area (if they existed here), the revetment wall should indeed be still in place, and it should be located aprox. were k62 and k63 are. Once we will have a better understanding if the "secondary"/primary apron did exist, and find the revetment wall, we will then dig in k82 and k83 in order to understand what happened to these structures in these unit. [Input: Q816SC.j]
2006-08-20 sC Tomorrow I am not planning to work in k61. [Input: Q820SC.j]
2006-08-30 sC Once we expose the glacis and the baqaya in k82, I called gB and jO in order to discuss and plan the strategy for this portion of the unit (k82 and k83). gB suggested that we could now concentrated our efforts in k83 and look for the face of revetement wall f127 in k83. Therefore, we put a string where the revetement wall should be located (i.e. alligning it with the revetement wall as it is visible in J2), and start digging S to this string (r35). It however to k83 presents different elevations between the N and S area, due to previous archaeological investigation: the S area of the square (280m N to m4409) is m4377 +64 –143 in elevation. This area was investigated by mH and aP during the 2005 excavation season. The N area of the square, where the glacis layer has been exposed (f77), is 120m N to r35. We started digging in the S area of the square. We assigned f78 to the accumulation located here and we start by removing this feature (q166) with the little pick in a small area, which is 60cm S and 400m E from r35, at the elevation of m4377 +64 –143. This small area is few centimeters higer respect the S area of the square (i.e. 240m N from m4409). We thus decided first to reach the same level as the S area of the square, and then to dig the accumulation located there, in order to understand –given the different elevation- if here there was a different accumulation. At the end of the day, we exposed in this small portion of the square two alligned stones, (large in dimension) and a pebble surface, f143 (composed by pebbles which have all the same dimension) E to these stones. The elevation of the stone is m4377 +56 –143; the elevation of f143, the pebble floor, is: m4377 +58 –143. Tomorrow we will finish to remove f78, where it abuts the E baulk; then, we’ll take a general view of these stones and of the pebbles and of the glacis and we’ll start digging f78 in the S area of the square (240m N from m4409). [Input: Q830SC.j]
2006-08-31 sC In order to undestand whether the stones exposed in the S area of k83 belong wither to the apron or to a wall running N-S or to a second phase of the wall E of the monumental staircase, we could dig part of k82 in order to look for possible alligned stone in this square. [Input: Q831sC.j]
2006-09-02 sC Tomorrow we will clean the S section of k84, we will look for the cut of the pit in the section, and then we will start remove the fill of the pit in both baulks. [Input: Q902sC2.j]
2006-09-03 sC Tomorrow we will contine digging in k63 and k73. These two squares turn to be very important for the comprehension of the whole area, given the presence of the wall f84 in k62, running SW-NE, and of the stone f10 in k71, which could belong to the angle of the apron. [Input: Q903SC.j]
2006-09-04 sC Right in the N section of k73 we found a line of stones, six, medium small in dimension; of these, four are long aprox 40cm each (while two are very small in dimension) running W-E right (f146). These look to be in line with two large stone exposed in k83. It looks like that these stones are in line with the suppose revetment wall as it is exposed in J2 (W to the primary and secondary apron). We thus decided to stop digging in k63 (considering also that in that locus we have not find any particular accumulations, indicating any particular use in that area) and we decided to start digging in k72. Before start digging there, we took some general views of the floating stones located here, before their removal. The stone that we are going to remove are: f12 (and its pedestal, f98), f19.2 and f19.3 (and their pedestal, f100), f101.1 and f101.2 (and their pedestal f102) (v58, v58a). We then took a general view of k82 and k72, toghether with the E section of k82, showing the 200m of natural accumulation on top of/between these floating stones (v59, v59a, v59b). [Input: Q904SC.j]
2006-09-04 sC It would be possible that f146, the six stones exposed in the N section of k73, are part of the revetment wall as it is exposed in J2 (W to the primary and secondary apron). We thus decided to stop digging in k63 (considering also that there we did not find any accumulation indicating that that area was used), and to start digging in k72 in order to look for these stones. [Input: Q904SC.j]
2006-09-08 sC Strategy discussion in the field with gB, fAB, mKB and J4, J1, J3 staff on what to do in the final week to meet the season's goal. Before the beginning of the excavation it was expected to expose in J4 the secondary Apron and a staircase, specular to the ones exposed in J2. However, up to date, we do not have clear evidences that support the possibility of finding the secondary Apron and a staircase here. gB underlines how the only clear indication concerning the possible secondary Apron in J4 is given by the strong line of alligned stones in k71 (f10): these give the impression of being specular to the secondary Apron as exposed in J2, in spite of their different elevation. Furthermore, a part of being much higher in elevation respect to the secondary Apron (as it is exposed in J2), these stones do not seem to continue under the S baulk of k71 as well as in k72 and k62, where, given the present elevation, we should have already exposed them, or at least some of them. Therefore, at present, we do not know if f10 is part or not of a possible secondary Apron, and thus, we do not have a conclusive answer concerning this aspect. One hyphotesis, is that f10 could be part of a secondary Apron, disturbed in k82 and k83 (in J2 E to the staircase), and preserved here, or it could belong to a different structure, located in this portion of the terrace or in the NE area of the terrace. We therefore agreed that it could be interesting to investigate whether f10 continues in k70 or not. [Input: Q908SC.j]
2006-09-08 sC CONTINUED The strategy therefore is to open locus 70 (only 200m N to m3666) in order to investigate whether f10 continues in this half square. The other clear information we have in J4 area, it is given by the alligned stones in k62, f84. However, also in this case we do not know its real nature, i.e. whether f84 is a wall or a drain. In support of the hyphotesis that f84 could be a drain, are the following characteristics: its inclination and the shape of the stones, which do not have a very nice face/shape as it could be expected instead for a wall. Contrary to the possibility of f84 as a drain it is that in its NE portion it is constructed with small stone, the lack of a floor and of a structure it could be belong to. These two characteristics therefore suggest that f84 can be a wall; however, as already underlined, as a wall it does not have a nice face/shape. f84 stop in k62 and it does not have any connection with what we have exposed so far in the unit. It also seems that this is the lattest structure we have in the unit. In order to understand if f84 is a wall or a drain there are two possible strategies: one is to dig S to f84 and look for its section; another is to remove a stone and look for where it is sitting. We decided for the lattest. Finally, the third clear information in J4 is given by another strong line: f93 in k73 (the bin). The bin seems to be on a small courtyard, with a pebble stones on the W. gB underlines that similar bins have been previously exposed at Mozan: in A18 (also located in a courtyard, close to some graves) and in the temple area. West to the bin f93 there are some alligned stones. Some of these seem to belong to the secondary Apron (the second and third line of stones exposed in k83), while other (i.e. the lowest line exposed in k83) could be originally part of the secondary Apron but here located during a re-organization of this portion of the area occurred in a later period, and this is why we do not have so many floating stones in k82 as in other areas of J2. In order to understand if this hypotesis is correct, the strategy is to dig in the S area of k83 and in k84. Here at present no structures have been exposed, and therefore we can dig "safely" in these two squares in order to investigate whether here there will be the steps of the primary Apron. Concerning k84, gB suggested to leave a safety baulk of 100m W to the wall f127 in k84 in order not to undermine this wall. We will also continue digging in k72 in order to look for the possible steps of the secondary Apron in this locus. [Input: Q908SC.j]
2006-09-14 pC Today together with gB, fAB and J4 staff we discussed the strategy for the next days. We will dig only in k100 with the goal being to reach in this square the elevation of the 3rd step of the primary apron as it is exposed in J2. gB in fact thinks that if the primary apron existed in this portion of J4 unit, we should find some steps in k100. Since we have only three days before the end of the season, gB suggested to reduce again the excavation area in k100. We decided therefore to reduce of 100cm the area we were investigating in k100). The new SW corner of k100 is defined now by r151. [Input: Q914PC.j]