Depositional data for unit J5
Construction

James L. Walker – September 2011

Revetment Walls and Escarpments
Staircases
- Secular Access
- Western Extension
Floors and Pavements
- Pavements
- Floors
Water Control
- Dam
- Weir

Revetment Walls and Escarpments

Earliest wall

Wall segment f284 appears as a line of parially dressed stones beneath wall segment f189, and to the north of ^esc1. The top of f284 is below the top of the escarpment. Although we dug an exploratory trench in the small gap between the two, no ceramics were obtained that would have been useful to date either one. There are similar wall segments in the adjacent excavation unit J1 which have been dated to the Late Chalcolithic period.

First Revetment Wall Segment and Stone Escarpment

The earliest of two segments of the main revetment wall, f41, is located in the northwestern part of the unit. It is constructed of worked stones. The wall-top is relatively horizontal while the bottom follows the slope of the mound. It is protected at the bottom by a substantial, four-tiered cut stone escarpment, ^esc1, which in turn abuts a pebble and sherd pavement, f288. We have not removed either, so the construction date cannot be reliably ascertained. Because accumulations with EDIII ceramics cover the escarpment we can estimate that the wall and escarpment were built pre-EDIII.

Second Revetment Wall Segment and Baqaya Escarpment

The later of the two segments of the main revetment wall, f189, is located in the southeastern part of the unit. It is constructed of large, rough stones and bonds with wall, f41, to the west and is the western portion of the revetment wall that begins to the east in J2, and extends west through J3 and J1. We know it was built later than wall f41 because it diverges northward away from the stone escarpment. In fact, it required a new baquaya escarpment, ^esc2, which was built atop the stone escarpment. Ceramics in the second escarpment are securely dated to the EDIII period as are those from probes behind the wall-top.

Wall for Western Staircase

The revetment wall, ^wall2, had been a part of the temple entrance complex for a millenium. When the entire set of structures became covered with soil in the Mittani period, the entrance was shifted to the west and rebuilt. It included a miniature version of the revetment wall, ^wall3. The wall consists of several courses of rough stones laid in a mud matrix. A line of capping stones, f192, f151, were placed atop the basic wall, f3, at a later time to preserve the memory of it as the western entrance stone structures also became covered with soil. The lack of an escarpment indicates that this wall was intended to be decorative rather than functional.

Staircases

Secular Access

From ceramic evidence in the accumulations atop the stone escarpment, ^esc1, we know that the stone stairway, ^strc2, was built during the early Mittani use of this region. It is a series of large, cut stones arranged into steps which abut the face of the revetment wall, f41. Its purpose seems to have been to provide access from the escarpment level to the top of the wall. Grindstones encrusted with bronze, a9, and a slingball cache, a8, on and near the steps are evidence that outside the perimeter of the revetment wall, secular activities took place.

Western Extension

Excavations in units J1, J2, and J3 provide ample evidence that the ceremonial plaza, eastern monumental staircase, and revetment wall were gradually covered with accumulations to the point where their funtionality was lost. By the middle of the Mittani period, construction began on an alternate sacred space, ^sa1. Located to the west of the former sacred spaces and established as a mirror image, it sought to duplicate, on a more modest scale, the now-covered ceremonial elements. There was a plaza, ^a3, a revetment wall, ^wall3, decorative stonework, and a monumental staircase ^strc1, which was the focus. It consisted of five rows of large cut stone blocks ascending toward the temple from west to east. The stairs were bordered in either side by large blocks and boulders. The bottom row of steps was set atop the stones of the original revetment wall, f41.

Floors and Pavements

There were few floors and pavements, primarily because the area at various times was either an outdoor sacred space or a place where outdoor light industry took place. We have not yet excavated any buildings that may have been linked by pavements or paths.

Pavements

Only the edge of the most significant pavement excavated to date, f288, has been exposed. It runs from the southwestern edge of the stone escarpment, ^esc1, further to the west, where we have not yet excavated. There is a line of mudbricks, f196, to the west of the pavement, just under a Mittani sacred plaza floor, f60, which may be the wall top of an Early Dynastic building associated with the pavement.

Floors

The only significant floors are ones associated with the construction and use of the sacred space created by the westward expansion, ^a3. They include f45, and f60. There was one crude, late floor, f143, associated with a post-abandonment temporary structure.

Water Control

Erosion damage from water flow along the sloping surfaces just outside the revetment wall was noticable from Early Dynastic times through the Mittani period. The ED wide stone escarpment, ^esc1, and pavement, f288, initially protected revetment wall, f41. However, after significant buildup later in the EDIII period which continued into the Mittani period, floors and other surfaces eroded noticably. Two stuctures were built to ameliorate the damage.

Dam

Before the westward expansion in the Mittani period, a dam, ^eps1, was constructed that ran east-west perpendicular to wall, f41. It included a settling basin filled with river pebbles. The east end was anchored to f41, but we have not excavated far enough west to find that end. The dam was breached at least once, f260.

Weir

After the monumental entrance was moved to the west later in the Mittani period and wall, f3, was built, a weir, ^eps2, was built at the east turn to divert water away from the wall.

Unit Book J5

The Mittani Staircase (Version 1a)

J5 Synthetic View / Stratigraphy

Depositional data for unit J5Construction