Emplacement for Unit A6
Ordered aggregation

Amer Ahmad – July 2023

Walls
Installations
- Tannurs
- Hearts
- Graves
- Platforms
- Drainage

Walls

A large number of walls have been found in A6, because many structures were uncovered, mainly dating to various periods, especially in the northern part where it is identified as a kitchen, most of the walls are mud brick with stone foundations. Three rooms were identified where the walls, some of the walls form the doorways in the structure where wall f8 forms with f12 and f143 the doorways a3 to room D2 (Iwan) and a4 to a100 (room D1), the wall f143 is an extend of f12 and the top of the brick wall has been dug and used for some ash related purpose. The other walls forming the doorways we have also wall f201 is the S doorway of a15 and the wall f199 is the N wall of the same doorway and the wall f72 is the E wall of a2. The wall f210 forms with f78 the lower NE corner in a100, In fact, f210 differs from f78 in that the stone layers are wider than the brick at the top whereas in f78 the lower bricklayers overhang the stones. Some walls were built upon each other in different periods such as f44, it was built of soft buff brick over f78, where the upper date to the 2nd millennium BC while the f78 dates to the 3rd millennium BC, exactly like the walls f194 and f195 upon f200. In the NW of the unit, there is vault a1 which is identified by the two walls f16 and f20 they form the NE corner of it, while f50 is the wall that forms the W boundary of the same vault. Some of the walls are an extension of others. We have f30 which is an extension of f12 towards S and the wall f41 is an extension of f8 towards the N and the stone wall f123 extends from the N to S forming the W wall of the D2. The wall f196 between k219/k218, EW wall might equal f41. There are two walls f430 and f465 at the top of wall f210. There is a wall composite of compacting two walls such as f224 which is f41+f196. The unit has many secondary walls f303, f306, f343, f418, f444, f452 and f453.

Installations

Tannurs

Nine tannurs were found in A6, but most of them were in bad condition. The tannur, f335, rested in a crumbly grey-black accumulation. The partially extant interior of tannur f406 contained fragments of the walls, sherds, ash, dust, etc. What is unusual about this tannur is the fact that its walls seem to have been refurbished (from the outside) so that four separate layers, not counting the plaster on the inside, are present. There is also f407. This tannur exists alongside f406. Much less of its walls were preserved, the inside contained white ash. There are some tannurs uncovered in the NE corner of the unit such as f433,f445,f470,f472, and f469 this tannur-like remains including kiln waste, in f466. But there is a tannur in good condition such as f356, it was built on the floor of room a100, the walls of the tannur are like a baked brick in color and hardness. It is double-walled, and while uncommon in antiquity, the top was found damaged, especially to the W. Some ash was visible around the edges, and a lot of charcoal bits around the outside walls. The presence of a tannur in the lower working area of A6 allows speculation that A6 contains the “kitchen” of building AK (phase 2). The double wall suggests a design for strength, for the oven to be set directly on the floor surface as opposed to being set within the floor.

Hearts

There are other installations associated with cooking, the hearth was found in the context of the unit, we have f104, it was built up on the floor and not a single removable piece. It was simply removed after triangulation i49 (handiron) under it. There is also f376, this hearth is in rectangular shape and appears as a shallow basin in SW of the tannur f356, the material of which it is made appears identical to that of the oven walls. The hearth rests on a bed of accumulation and ash. It is only 6-7 cm high. So it goes with f364 and not with f370.

Graves

Five graves were identified in the A6: a12, this grave was assigned as f209, it was not defined methodically. Upon discovery that the skeleton was complete and that it was a burial, an aggregate number was assigned to the whole without first assigning numbers to the associated features. At the level of the location of the skeleton, there is brick surrounding it. The skeleton is positioned sideways, facing NW, right-hand side on top. Hip and knee joints are flexed. The grave a13, No evidence of a grave cut from above. Only the lower extremity bones have been exposed. No evident brickwork. Several bricks seen in the locus at this level were quite removed from the skeleton–along the N baulk about midway, at the edge of the former terrace were 2 bricks with a thin red layer on top in the middle (NS) on the terrace. The grave a18, the excavation to clean up the pit f426 showed flat laid sherds underneath the lowest bricks of the tomb and also remains of tannur wall, decorated with shallowly impressed circles. This corresponds to a stage of occupation at the level of the top of the secondary walls, a href=”../../d/f/0444.htm” target=”B”>f444. It is a possibility that the tannur fragments were the contents of the pit. The burial a href=”../../d/f/0439.htm” target=”B”>f439 would then be later than the pit f426. But this seems unlikely since it is a layer of ash, and not the pit itself that seems to extend significantly under the tomb bricks. Two other graves were found a11 and a19.

Platforms

Four platforms were identified in this unit. There is platform f311, which was a layer of brick abutted to the stone layer f306, the layer of stones existed above the bottom level of the bricks. The platform f314 was associated with f319 and f313, and lower than f303 and f306. There was also f390 this platform was a layer of brick, alongside wall f78; 2 m E of the doorway a 3. The last one is f409. It was a brick platform sitting in f402, presenting a semicircular view from the NE. N & W in the baulk. Consists of deep red brick, ca. 7cm thick. Below this was black ashy accumulation. found & below that pink-brown hard accumulation.

Drainage

The system of drainage channels present in the palace was built before the walls were constructed, this is clear because in several instances the channels go under the walls, f74 was found in the unit, it was several pieces of chalk conglomerate varying in size from 4 to 14 cm, opening at N and curving toward SE around the wall, f72, it was a part of the drainage system in the AK building, it was used to take the dirty water out of the building towards the SE.

Unit Book A6

The Palace Kitchen (Version 1a)

A6 Synthetic View / Stratigraphy

Emplacement for Unit A6Ordered aggregation