.bk J06
.fl S707pC.j
.fd daily journal for R713 and strategy
.rd S706
.ri pC
.ed S707
;fn Edited by cJC on S727

-dy Yesterday pC, gB, fAB, mKB, rE, jW went out to the field to discuss where to lay the squares for J6, J5 and J1. For J6 we decided, before to begin to excavate in the squares, to cut back 1.5 m the high East section in J2 and to draw it, which is J6k200: this section was creadet by the excavation of 2001 by a german team directed by Peter Pfaelzner (see publication MDOG 134, 2002). This section is important for J6 because shows the stratigraphy we will find in J6.The section is very high (at least 4 m) and for security reasons we decided to cut it from East instead from West for the first 2 m, draw it and then let fall down the remaining part in J6k200. Then the lower part will be more easy to clean and draw. We decided to put 4 markers next to the section. The new squares for J6 will be at lest 6 in two rows of 3 squares and the first to the North are the old squares of J4, which are k85, k75, k65. The next to the south are k87, k77, k67.
-sg The goal for this year in J6 is to find the wall f130 running East-West, which can be seen in J2 (the Southest part of J2 f129). We think that this wall will continue to the East for two reasons: structurally the wall in J2 is bonded to the staircase, meaning that they were build in the same moment. This means that there is no simmetry in the monumental access and the wall bounds the west, where is a sacral and monumental space, whereas to the east we have another situation. Here we excavated in season 2006 (area J4) and we found any steps at an even deeper level than where they are found on the western side; in a deep sounding in k100, we did not find any stone but an interesting stratigraphy: there are several layers sloping to the south and very similar to the situation in J3 north of the revetment wall: this let us think that there is a wall which stops this layers. The strategy for J6 is to start by following the top of the wall, which lays more than 2 m below the tell surface. If we will not find the wall, we are also expecting to find a different stratigraphy than in J2, as it was in J4: probably are here structures which could be correlated to the temple complex. In J2 was found a considerable brick fall at elevation of 89.55 which continues sloping to the west for circa 6 m. This brick fall is also visible in the section of the long k200, which is in J4 k85 k86 at circa 90 m

.rd S708

-dy today I went out in J6 with bPW to put the control points: the new points are m4688, m4687, m4686, m4682. I decided also to have two markers from the locus k85 in J4.
-sy first control points are m4688, m4687, m4686, m4682
--i J6 is located South of J4 and East of k200 and of area J2. k200 is a long trench excavated for several years (1999-2002) by a team of the university of Tübingen, directed by prof. Peter Pfälzner (MDOG 124 2002).  In season 2004 and 2005 was excavated in J2 the monumental stone staircase and part of the revetment wall, which continues to the West in J3 and J1. In J2 was found above the staircase 4 meters of accumulations dated to the Mittani period, alterned by several floors. East of the staircase there is a wall, f129, which makes a boundary to the East, and the stratigraphy here is completely different: east of the wall, in the area J4, there were very high Khabur levels, with brick structures (a bin). This is a very different situation than West to the wall, were are only natural accumulations covering the staircase. In J6 the main aim is to find the continuation to the East of the wall f130, which can be seen for the first part at the end of the wall f129: f129 bonds to f130 and therefore were constructed in the same period, which is Phase 1, as for all the lower part of the monumental staircase. There are several possibilities for the wall: the first is that stops after few meters; the second is that the wall makes a turn to the south, or to the north. 

.rd S713
.ri pC

-dy Today is the first day of excavation in J6. All the staff of J6 was present (pC, eA, hB, cJC, dH). We start removing 50 cm from the West baulk in k84, in order to draw it and photograph. The feature number of the baulk is f1. Then I put the workmen to clean all the staircase in J2 and the area J4. After breakfast we start digging in k84. Topsoil is f2 and accumulation under topsoil is f3. We collect all the pottery in the topsoil and in the baulks, but at the end of the day, after mKB looked at it, we throw it away. The pottery bags are: q1 f1 belonging to the baulk, q2 f2, the top soil in k85 and q3 f3, the accumulation under f2. This procedure will be taken for all the pottery from non stratified areas, as the top soil, the baulks and cleaning.

k 84
dy k84 is a locus already excavated in J4 in season 2005 and in season 2004 as J2. It is a half square being excavated in J4 for the southern half as k84 and the northern half as k100 together with k83. k84 was excavated until the elevation 9150@. The features in k84 in J4 were J4f87 for the top soil, J4f88 for the accumulation under top soil. 
ds Is not a regular square, but a trapezoidal locus, due also to the trench k200 to the West. Is defined by m3821, m3824, m4245, m3828, m3829, m3820, m3830
dy today we begin removing the first 50 cm from the west baulk in k84, left by the J4 excavation 2006. This baulk is important because it is showing the eastern side of the trench excavated by the german team in season 2000. We want do draw all the section: the first 2 meters will be drawn from k84 and the rest, once collapsed this first part of the baulk, will be drawn from J2 k100 to the west (k200). After removing the 50 cm hB, eA, hB, dH draw the section. The section shows the top soil and the accumulation for 1m. It is clean from pottery and stones (very few). In J4f88 we have already Khabur pottery

k 85
ds k85 is defined by the markers m3813, m3836, m3834, m4719, m3835, m4717, m3830, m3820. k85 is a trapezoidal locus located East of k200. The trench k200 was excavated before and does not follow the excavation grid, being excavated from another team (see k200 for further information)
dy we begin to excavate the top soil which is f2. Then we change number in f3 for the natural accumulation under the top soil, which is 30 cm thick. It is a natural accumulation crumby and soft in texture. It has dark organic bands and roots. The pottery collected has been looked and thrown away, being the first 40 cm.