.bk A9
.fl L723jlw.j
.fd daily journal for L723
.ei jlw
.ed L723
.rd L723
.ri jlw

-wk 6 picks and 17 in support reported for work.

-eq removed the pipe for transporting dirt to the bottom of the MZ12 excavation.

k 24
-dy began to remove the accumulation, f319, below what we at one time thought was a floor surface, f306, but now appears to be the bottom of a pond that formed in the gully. Although there are a few deeper spots, due to the excavation of pits, there remains about 20 cm to be excavated to attain a uniform surface. We will be careful to watch for bricks along the north and east baulks. The bottom of the brick structure, f315, has been exposed and the mass is almost surely congealed reddish fill that is found in most of the pits in this area. It is possible that we did not see the fill because the pit may have been used for clean material or it may never have been used after being dug.

k 41
dy contined to remove accumulation on the west edge of the locus. Also, began to remove what remains of the north baulk from the MZ6 excavation. We can see the south face of a relatively crude wall, f   , in section on the meddle of the north baulk. The wall complex, a25, definitely disappears into the west baulk, which we will not extend to the west this season. Also, we have uncovered organized lines of bricks, f332, f333, and f334, that are almost certainly part of a tomb, a37. Cleared the remaining backfill from the southeast quarter of the locus.

k 52
dy after removing a berm on L722, we began to excavate the eastern half of the locus which had not been touched in the MZ6 excavations. Immediately, under the topsoil in the southeast quarter, f316, we found what appears to be the eastern face of an E-W wall, f330, which was badly damaged in MZ6, probably because the excavators did not recognize the bricks, which are the color of the surrounding loess.  Just to the east of this face, we encountered relatively clean accumulation, f331, which suggests the possibility of a room that is contained on the west by wall, f322, and on the north by wall, f330. Wall, f322, appears to be built upon a fine floor surface, f321, elevation 9304, which in turn suggests that the room may be formed by reuse of the original wall and floor complex.

-dy even though we do not have baulks in the northern tier of loci, we are respecting their boundaries by digging each locus fully before proceeding to the next one.

f 329
df a
ds very hard, crusty accumulation between the pebble floor, f326 and wall, f28, along the east baulk of k25. Small chunks of charcoal and a grayish cast to the material suggest it was part of an interior room.

f 330
df w
ds E-W mudbrick wall running along the north baulk of k52, having the north and south faces contained within the locus.

f 331
df a
ds relatively clean accumlation under topsoil, f316, in the SW quadrant of k52.  It seems to be confined on the west by wall, f322, and on the north by wall, f330.

f 332
df bkg
ds two thick, large red bricks oriented N-S on the west side of k41.  They appear to form the west face of a tomb, a37.

f 333
df bkg
ds an E-W row of gray mudbricks extending east from the south edge of bricks, f332 in the middle of k41. They appear to form the south face of a tomb, a37.

f 334
df bkg
ds a N-S row of gray mudbricks extending north from the east edge of bricks, f333 in the middle to k41. They appear to form the east face of a tomb, a37.

a 37
df gv
ds three associated walls, f332, f333, f334, in the middle of k41, forming a small enclosed space typical of burials seen in this unit.