.bk A14
.fl N831jl.j
.fd journal entries
.ed N831
.ei jl

.ri jl
.rd N831

f 81
=l f110

f 82
ds This is the top layer of fill within the pit a9 in k1.  It is soft and ashy gray, containing a large quantity of sherds, bones and other objects.  It equals f86.
=l f86

f 86
ds This is the top layer of fill within the pit a9 in k100.  It is soft and ashy gray, containing a large quantity of sherds, bones and other objects.  It equals f82.
=l f82

f 87
ds This is the cut of pit a9 within k100.  It is equal to f85.
=l f85

f 88
ds This is the soil in between the decayed wall f89 and the north baulk of k12, presumably contained by the wall.  It is gray with red brick chunks and black ashy inclusions.

f 89
ds This is the decayed end of a wall coming out of the k12 north baulk and then turning west.  It is equal to f31 and f20.  This wall was part of a11, the enclosure surrounding the tannur/fire-installation f132.

f 90
ds This is the last corner of topsoil in k3.  In season L, we did not properly understand the slope and sequence of features, so we did not label them accurately.  This season, using the baulks, we can follow the layers much better.  The topsoil layer in the west baulk and south baulk of k3 sloped down to the southwest corner, were there was f 90, a small patch of soft material, contained by the very hard material around it.  Based on this evidence, I believe f90 to be topsoil rather than stratified accumulation.

f 91
ds This is the hard soil that covers most of k3.  It is brownish gray, with red bricky chunks and black ashy inclusions.  It seems to be the same accumulation found across A14.

f 92
ds This is the topsoil in the k3 north baulk.  Because we have the sections from two seasons ago as our guides, we can excavate the layers more accurately this year than two seasons ago, and therefore have assigned a few feature number to the baulk, rather than reusing the old features.

f 93
ds This is the fill within the burial a10.  It included some pottery that was accidentally removed from the body apart from the whole vessels while excavating and cleaning the burial.

f 94
ds This is the topsoil in the southwest corner of k13.  Because we can see the sections from two seasons ago, we have a much better understanding of the layers this season.  Therefore, we are removing all of the remaining topsoil in the corner of k13.

f 95
=l f112

f 98
ds This is fill of the pit underneath f95.  It is hard reddish brown mixed with soft, ashy gray and is near the end of the pit.
=l f113

f 99
ds This layer is equivalent to f97 in k100.  It is the layer of soil in k1 in which we first glimpsed the white reed matting layers.  Presumably, it marks the final phase of a connection between the platform and the api, and A14's use as a processional way between the two.

f 100
ds This is the top layer of soil in the small corner excavation along the southwest face of a4, which we performed in order to better see the section of the pit.  It is equal to f97.

f 101
ds This is the red matrix with the poor gray bricks underneath f100 which we had previously observed in the a4 section.

f 102
ds This small area was taken by dc to be a separate feature from f101 because it was more gray in color.  However, after a few minutes of excavation, it became clear that it was simply a drier section of f101, on account of it being nearer to the baulk and therefore more exposed.

f 103
ds This is the small wall of poor bricks in an semicircle in the east of k2, next to f104, the cooking installation.  It seems to only be one layer tall.  mkb has suggested that it might have been a bin, but since it is so shallow, this seems unlikely.  It is somewhat similar to a11, in that it is a wall next to a cooking installation, and therefore might be linked to the processional way between the platform and the api, if these multiple cooking structures are related to the ritual use of the area.

f 104
ds This was a small clay vessel in the soil of k2 next to f103.  It was apparently a cooking installation associated with f103, since the vessel was a cooking pot with burned material inside of it.  It is possibly connected with a11 and with the processional way from the platform to the api.

f 105
ds This is the large, bricky mass found at the bottom of the k3 baulk.  It is red and gray in color, very compact and irregular in shape, and contains a lot of sherds and pottery inside.  Its purpose is unknown, but since it runs underneath the k2 baulk, it will perhaps be clarified in later seasons.

f 106
ds This is the bottom layer of the cut in k100 along the face of the pit a4, where we found evidence of a white reed matting layer.  Therefore, we decided to stop digging here.

f 107
ds This is the top layer of soil in the east baulk of k1.  Although we have labelled it as topsoil, it is possible that it is not actually topsoil, since we cut down the high baulks in the northeast area of A14 at the end of season L.  I will have to investigate this more during the winter.

f 108
ds This part of the k1 east baulk is mixed black and red areas.  It seems to be the top layer of the pit a9, however, it is still impossible to be certain about the outline of the pit, because of the way that the colors are alternating.  It is presumably equal to f82 and f86.

f 109
ds This is the top layer in the east baulk of k2.  Although we have labelled it as topsoil, it is possible that it is not actually topsoil, since we cut down the high baulks in the northeast area of A14 at the end of season L.  I will have to investigate this more during the winter.

f 110
ds This is the top layer of the fill in pit a8 within the east baulk of k2.  It is equal to f81.  It is ashy gray, soft and crumbly.
=l f81

f 111
ds This is the top layer in the east baulk of k100.  It is equal to both f80 and f107.  Although we have labelled it as topsoil, it is possible that it is not actually topsoil, since we cut down the high baulks in the northeast area of A14 at the end of season L.  I will have to investigate this more during the winter.

f 112
ds This is the harder gray fill within the pit a8 in the east baulk of k2.  It is equal to f95.
=l f95

f 113
ds This is the hard, reddish layer with black ash pockets underneath f112 in a8.  It is equal to f98.
=l f98

f 114
ds Using the baulk as a guide, we have been able to separate out the pit fill in a9 in k100 into multiple features.  This is the top layer of loose, ashy soil.  It is very dirty.

f 115
ds This pit fill, underneath f114, is more compact than the previous feature.

f 116
ds This feature is in the k2 east baulk, under f109.  It is in the southern half of the baulk, and is significantly softer and more crumbly than f117 to the north.  It is quite possibly still topsoil, as is f109.

f 117
ds This feature is gray and generally more compact than f116 to the south.  It is related to f29 and f33 in k2.

f 118
df ad
ds This is the top layer in the north baulk of k2.  It is equal to f2.
;=l f2

f 119
ds This is the soft, light gray layer of ashy soil in a9 in the k100 east baulk, under f115.

f 120
df ad
ds This is the second layer in the north baulk of k2, underneath f118.  It is equal to f6.
=l f6

f 121
ds These are the white phytolith layers in the k100 east baulk, found underneath f111.  They are equal to f97 and f99.
=l f97
;=l f99

f 122
ds This is the third layer in the north baulk of k2, underneath f120.  It is equal to f29.

f 123
ds After excavating a layer of the northern ledge of k11 as f38, we found a clear division between red and black soil in the lower level of the ledge.  This is the black, presumably ashy soil, pressed against the red soil, and is possibly equal to f37.
;=l f37

f 124
ds After excavating a layer of the northern ledge of k11 as f38, we found a clear division between red and black soil in the lower level of the ledge.  This is the grayish-red soil, against the northern baulk, presumably equal to the f33/f34 layer than crosses the whole unit.

f 125
ds This is the topsoil in the k3 east baulk.

f 126
ds This is the accumulation under f125 in the k3 east baulk.  It is generally gray in color.

f 127
ds This is the topsoil in the southern extension of k11, running along the western edge of A12k23.  The top part of it is backfill from previous seasons.

f 128
ds This is the accumulation within the f20/f31 wall structure in the k3 east baulk.  It equals f32, and is a part of a11.
=l f32

f 143
nd This bricky mass originally appeared to us to be brickfall from the nearby AF palace wall.  However, just after we began to excavate it, gb hypothesized that it might be the eroded top of a brick structure, associated with the line of stones a5 (which may, in turn, have been associated with the AF palace wall foundation).  Therefore, we did not dig it, but are leaving it for next season, when we will have the time to explore it better.

f 144
ds  This is the topsoil in the east baulk of k13.  We are following the layer as observed in the section rather than as excavated two seasons ago.

f 145
ds  This is a possible wall top in the southern half of k89, in between a5 and the AF palace wall.  The outlines of bricks are visible on its surface.  However, fab pointed out that it is a light brown, rather than the red of the palace bricks, so it is presumably not a part of the palace.  Its relationship with a5 and with the AF wall is as yet unknown, but it may be a part of the retaining wall which gb has hypothesized for a5.

f 146
ds This is the soft, probably modern fill underneath f140 in the north half of k89.  We only excavated a little of it this year, not enough to determine whether it was ancient or not.  However, given that it was directly underneath f139 and f140, we are considering the possibility that it is modern.

f 147
ds This is the layer of pit a9 fill underneath f82.  It is somewhat softer than f82, although that may only be because f82 had time to dry in the sun before we excavated it.  We made a new feature for it on the possibility that it was a different accumulation.

f 148
ds This was the gray soil pressed against f145 on its south side.  Because a large quantity of soil had fallen over and against this ledge above the api, it is impossible to determine how much of the material is original and how much is the result of our excavation.

f 149
ds This is the irregular white plaster-like material in f99 in the center of k1.  It was first glimpsed in the soil as a white, wavy line, like the cross section of a plaster face.  We followed that line, and this mass developed.  Its purpose is still unknow, but it is presumably associated with the ritual path between the platform and the api.

f 150
ds This is the topsoil in the north baulk of k13.  We are following the layer as observed in the section rather than as excavated two seasons ago.

f 151
ds This is the layer of accumulation in the east baulk of k13 underneath f144.  It is gray in color and seems to be the same as the f33/f34 layer which stretches across the whole unit.

f 152
ds This is the soft, gray soil in the north baulk of k13, underneath f150.  It is gray, and is probably a very dry part of the f33/f34 layer across the unit.

f 153
ds This is the gray semi-circle of material within f124 in k11.  At first, we thought that it was the edge of a pit, but given that f124 is continuous around it, we are no longer certain.