| Notes on function |
2001-08-13 |
jl |
This building continues to surprise us. The clarification of f375 shows that a33 was probably the original extent of the building, and has brought us back to our original idea about the structure's function: a well. Urkesh was clearly a large city even in the middle of the Early Bronze Age, and such a city would have needed a lot of water, which either a large well or many small wells could provide. But if it was a well, why let it fill in? Perhaps the well went dry at a certain point, or perhaps the city was sacked and the well despoiled by invaders. That might explain the thick ash layer f307, which we currently believe immediately postdated the loss of the roof of a32. However, there is no evidence except possibly f307 for such a situation; further, the apparent progression of the pottery within the circle suggests that the accumulation within it occurred over an extended period of time. Further, why have one central well, rather than many smaller ones? gb has pointed out that one large well would probably deplete the water table in its area much more quickly than many smaller wells spread around. Of course, perhaps this is just what happened. Its later use is also unclear; the contents of the fill within the building, especially the circle, resemble the contents of a dump or a pit, but the fill itself seems to clean and orderly to have belonged to a garbage pit. gb has again jokingly raised the idea that it might have been some sort of cage for wild animals, such as a lion, but this idea also has its problems. One, the bone specialists ruled out the possibility of a lion having gnawed on the bones within the circle. Two, the mud ledge f326 seems to be precious little protection against the claws of a lion or other wild beast. Even though this theory is mostly tongue-in-cheek, it illustrates an important point: at some point, presuming that the structure started as a well, it changed its function at the same time that it began to fill in with accumulation. [Input: L913JL.j] |