Chronicle/history of Unit A12

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Background

In MZ12, 1999, A10 was excavated with the goal of identifying the southeastern corner of AK, the palace and it’s main entrance. During this excavation a distinct structure (a32) was identified based primarily on the layout of the A10 walls, f199, f195 and f223. The initial impression was that this structure was earlier than the palace although it was not fully clear. A new unit was established, A12, to investigate this structure on its own. MZ12 A10 excavation units k13 to k19 were added to the new book of area A12, features, loci, aggregates, items and relays from A10 (k13-k19) were also given A12 corresponding numbers. The excavation of A12 took place over five seasons, 1999-2003.

The purpose of the new unit was to discover the nature and function of the uncovered net of walls (f41, f45 and f69 which equal f199, f195 and f223 in A10) and try to determine their stratigraphic and constructional relationship to AK. By opening these new squares we expected to uncover the reminder of these walls and probably new feature in connection with them, that might help answering the following questions: 1) Are these walls part of AK building? If so, do they form another major sector of the building other than the already uncovered sector?. 2) If these walls are not part of the same complex AK, then what is the stratigraphic relation between the two? By continuing the excavations and carefully excavating the stone walls, at the end of the season we had identified a horseshoe shaped structure (a22) running east to west with the round portion to the west and what appears to be a staircase (a21) to the east.

This season was a study season when we tried to clear up issues which had been left unsolved the prior year in what we called the apsidal structure and named Building W and have designated a32 (a22 apsidal structure and a31 entryway taken as a whole). We hoped to resolve four main issues. 1. Explain the fissure that separated the apsidal structure into a square (a36) and a circle (a33), and the lack of stratigraphic continuity across it. 2. Fully excavate the doorway of the building and find out exactly how it related stratigraphically and chronologically, to the palace. 3. Find the first floor of the apsidal structure and to obtain the complete stratigraphic sequence within the building, also in an effort to link it with the palace nearby. 4. Discover its original purpose and its history and manner of use over its lifetime.

1. The question of the fissure was resolved as the nature of f326 and f258/304 became clearer. f326 was an apparent mud ledge, probably built up by layers of mud laid on top of one another, that completely surrounded the circle on the side of the square. The smooth face on the east side of the fissure was, in fact, the face of this, which had consisted of smoothed layers of mud. f258 and f304 were two red layers which covered the underground structure underneath f223, the ancient gullywash. The separation of k27 and k26 was intentional. The circular area is now designated a33 and is defined by the fissure f321.

2. Going into the season we had excluded the idea that the doorway was a stairwell as we thought it was too narrow and steep. However our excavations yielded more steps and the entire stairway is now known as a31. We realized for the first time that a32, the apsidal structure, had not been freestanding, but instead, most of it had been sunk into the ground, and that it was stratigraphically placed very differently from where we had presumed it to be. This result of this investigation, which had seemed somewhat minor at the beginning of the season, turned out to possess very great implications.

3. Because of the stone construction, we expected a flagstone floor as similar to the courtyard in A13. However, we found a plaster floor f348 which turned out to be the first floor of the structure. Below this floor we found f349, a sherd layer, which was the leveling material beneath the first floor. This layer continued deep into the mortar between the main stones of the wall at the lowest level. This would only have been possible if they had been laid at the same time as the first course of stones in the walls, and therefore were included in the same stratum as the steps, f286, f290, and f315, as well as all of the stones of a32.

4. The purpose of this building eluded us, but something so monumental indicated an importance. The stone construction suggests a link to the ancestral home of the Hurrians, in the Caucasus mountains, and could also be a deliberate attempt to evoke the atmosphere of a cave. The steep and narrow descent into the structure, the lack of windows to admit light, the circular construction, and the rough stone walls could have been part of a cult or ritual of ancestor worship, retaining their importance even after the original meaning of the structure was gone. The building does also bear many similarities to many ancient underground tombs, in terms of its construction; although we found no evidence that it was indeed a burial, the similarities seem to fit the idea of an ancestor cult or dynastic cult which loses its meaning over time.

Most of this summary was written by jL in 2003.

In MZ14, the shape and construction of the underground structure continued to be understood. f375 and f352 are two lines of stones running underneath f374, the mud ledge. f375 and f352 may be the remains of the original western wall of a33, which was once the extent of the underground building, i.e. it was a stone-lined circular shaft into the earth. At some point, this wall either fell or was knocked down, and the square a36 was added on in the western half as an entrance area to the building indicating, at least so far, three building phases.

It is presumed that a32 (and hence a33) predated the AP building, since the walls of the AP building were clearly built to accomodate its presence, i.e. they change course to skirt around it.

The square, a36, is a later addition but we’re unsure why it was built. The stairway, a31, is too narrow for regular use.

This version was updated on 11 September 2024.