Structures in Unit J4

Yasmine Mahmoud – September 2023

Synopsis
Discussion

Synopsis

^wall1	f10 Apron like structure in the NW portion of k71 dating to the Early Akkadian period	v6
^wall2	f161 and f162 brick walls in the N baulk of k73 pertaining to Mittani horizon	v71
f159	Aggregation of limestone in the North section of k61 with a SW-NE allignment.	v100
f84	some limestones near the N baulk of k62, aligning SW-NE and pertaining to Mittani horizon	v100

Discussion

The structures of J4 are limited to what was identified as walls, even when its a single row of stones or bricks. The reason behind such identification is the intentional structuring, even if, for the moment, we are unable to determine the function of these wall.

The most defined of these wall structures is f10 (^wall1) which resembles an apron like structure presumed to be part of a larger stone structure. The alignment and building technique are similar to the secondary apron of J2, hence the assumption that it was a part of this apron despite the difference in elevation, attributed to the re-use of the stones that would have been located in k81 and k72. This structure was ultimately understood as part of the revetment wall.
^wall2 is a brick wall, where f162 was assigned to the damaged portion of the wall. Under the bricks of f161 there appears to be some large pebbles that could have been the foundation of a much higher wall. The two walls bond with the bin installation f93 directly south of it and belong to the same Mittani horizon, making it possible that they served as the northern limit of the bin.
Wall f159 is an aggregation of limestones in k61 with a SW-NE allignment. The idenification of the structure as a wall is based only on the clear allignment of the stones. The functtion remains unknown.
Wall f84 is a single row of limestones resembling f10 in the type of construction, with no evidence of its function thus far. This resemblance is only morphological as f84 belong to the Mittani period.

Other structures were identified as walls, however, further invesigation is required in order to confirm this identification.

f170 consists of three rows of light brown an reddish bricks with grey mortar in between. Some bricks in k73 are oriented in a way that suggests that they could have been part of a fallen structure, and could possibly belong to f170 or a structure associated with it. And although f170 is only parially preserved, it seems to be in its original location.
f146 is a single row of limestones, embedded into mud mortar with some small stones between the joints. The structure is approximitly 13 stones in total, and could belong to a step of the Apron, used in a later phase. The limits of the structure are not very clear, and it was labeled as a wall because of the allignment, however, further investigation is required.