.bk A09
.fl L720.j
.fd daily journal for L719
.ei jlw
.ed L719
.rd L719
.ri jlw

-wk 6 picks and 18 in support. We assume that Salaam Hessu has resigned from the workforce. Ghassan Hussein departed at the end of the day to enter military service.

-dy took the opportunity to thoroughly clean the accumulated loose soil from the baulks and surrounding areas.  The steep slope makes travel around the unit somewhat hazardous.

-sy marker m2632 loosened and removed.

-sy upon plotting the corner markers for k41, k42, k51 and k52 we noticed that they were slightly out of alignment with the other markers in the A9 grid.  They were undoubtedly difficult to survey because the central N-S tier was in a previously excavated step trench and the western N-S tier was placed over berms installed to protect A7 and A9 from water damage over the winter.

k 25
dy continued to dig down to find the first evidence of wall tops along the northern extension of the MZ12 excavation limits of A11. Found a layer of pebbles, f318, in the NW corner just under the topsoil, f307. On the last pick run of the day, began to see bricks that correspond to those of wall, f309, in k15.

k 52
dy thoroughly cleaned this locus, which included a large portion of one of the step trench loci excavated in 1990 during MZ6. So far, we have found a very large E-W wall, f322, a small, late occupation floor surface, f324, and a well-made cement plaster floor, f321.  A human statuette fragment of a complete man's head, i149, was found in topsoil just under the surface of the tell.

k 51
dy while cleaning wall, f323, found several sherds with rims painted on the top, q845.

k 24
dy began to explore the nature of the accumulations under what we first believed was a floor, f306, but now appears to be sediment from standing water. There was pit fill, f314, along the west baulk. We now believe that the the large jar burial, a36, was included in a smaller pit partially hidden in the west baulk, f317. Excavation of accumulation, f313, in the SE corner yielded a very large quantity of pottery (6 q-lots). At the end of the day, we began to excavate along the south baulk under f306. Here, accumulation, f319, was very clean, perhaps reflecting abandonment and subseqent ponding, which produced the hard crust, f306.

a 36
df bu
ds we originally discovered a large jar, i139, in what apperared to be accumulation along the west edge of k24.  It now appears that the jar was in pit fill, f317. When the jar was emptied, we found a few human bones, a small pot, a hand-made bowl, and two tiny shell beads.  Several teeth were included: an incisor, a premolar and a crown of a molar, probably a third molar. There was negligible wear on the incisor and premolar. We can tentatively conclude that this was a burial of an adolescent girl, but a more complete analysis must await a specialist.

f 316
df ts
ds topsoil that covers both the previously excavated and unexcavated portions of k52. Undoubtedly the topsoil in some parts is a result of plant interaction with backfill from the MZ6 excavation.
P2 L723

f 317
df fi
ds fill from a relatively small pit that we noticed after we removed the large burial jar, part of a36, from the center part of the west baulk of k24.  The jar may have been placed in this pit.
P2 L719

f 318
df ly
ds unorganized layer of loose stones and sherds that seems to cover the stone and sherd pavement, f326, in the north third of k25. It is impossible to say whether it was deposited naturally by water coming down the slope or whether it represents additions over time to the pavement.
P2 L721.
tc co f326

f 319
df a
ds accumulation under the crusty surface, f306.
P2 L725