J6

The Eastern End of the Plaza and the Betili (Version 1a)

J6 Synthetic View / Typology / Stratigraphy

Depositional data for unit J6
Accretion

Patrizia Camatta – September 2011, July 2025

WORK IN PROGRESS

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Accumulations

J6 is an open area, bordered by large walls on two sides. The Plaza, a free, open space, occupied the southern side, which had been left unbuilt for at least two millennia (evidence of this is from Units C2, J7, J2, J1). To the east, there were probably houses or other buildings (the brickfall ^bf2 and wall f166 indicate that buildings stood here). The area was used differently over two millennia. When the space was in intensive use, the accumulations were rich in cultural material and interrupted by floors resulting from people walking by. Similar to J2 unit, there are superimposed floors on which windblown soil accumulates and covers them. The floors are related to the structures of the Temple Terrace, but also pits and smaller installation occur (storage bin). The collapse of one or more mudbrick buildings causes the drastical change of the use of this part of the Temple Terrace. Few taces of occupation occur. The accumulations of this period are more compact, hard, there is fewer cultural material and are thick an regular (^a1 and ^a2). 43% of the excavated features in J6 are accumulations. The description of these layers can be found in emplancement and process by which such accumulations form is explained here.

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Early Dynastic

We recorded a series of floors interrupted by accumulations in the plaza, directly south of the staircase and its flank wall. f286, f291 f292 is a sequence of thin (2-8 cm thick) flaky accumulations whith shers lying flat and small pebbles. The last accumulation covered floor f303. The presence of wind blown soil in the plaza is due to more presence of dust in the area but also to the of human activity in the neighbor space next to the plaza. South of the Plaza, in unit C2, there is a large building (see k100 Early Dynastic Building).

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Akkadian

The build up interrupted by floors in the Plaza continues also in the next centuries. A soft and 40 thick accumulation with small pebbles f158 was covered by floor f154. The accumulation consists of compact soil interrupted by a series of thin horizontal surfaces with small pebbles and sherds lying flat. These were visible in section but not recorded during excavation. Another accumulation is f174 under floor f171 located directly in front of the betili.

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Early Mittani

Directly on top of Akkadian levels, we found early mittani floors and accumulations in the Plaza. f148 is the first mittani layer we encontered in the Plaza on top of the akkadian floor f154.
f150 is an accumulation between two glacis (glacis5 and glacis2).

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Middle Mittani

The collapse of mudbrick buildings spread in the Plaza and caused the partial obstruction of the monumental staircase in J2. Afterwards we enconter in J6 a 2m thick layer of accumulations, interrupted by a dump of materials in form of sherds, pebbles, stones and other objects which covered all the unit.

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