.bk A20
.fl S728lr.j
.fd journal
.ed S728
.ei lR
.rd S727
.ri lR

f 41
ds mud brick wall running west to east in the northwest corner of k13, partly in the north baulk. The wall measures 50 cm in width, constructed of one brick and a half. The length is unknown as the wall is yet completely excavated, at the moment measures 120 cms. Two types of bricks are present, an orange-reddish and gray bricks with gray mortar lines, with two courses currently visible. The bricks run into the west baulk with more bricks visible in the west baulk suggesting the wall turns to form a corner. A parallel wall may be present 127 cm south from f41. Here a large bricky mass is present but no clear brick faces or lines distinguishable.

.rd S728
f 41
dy Spent the entire day focusing on f41 and the area to the west. Only the northwest corner was articulated and defined thus far so increments of 5cms was shaved off from the surface to see if these bricks extend to the east. Two more bricks were found but the area is extremely confusing with hard compact material showing no brick lines or faces. The strategy then changed, starting from the south end working towards the bricks, 10 cms was removed to see if the inner face of the wall could be found. The faces were found however more bricks surfaced below, extending the width of the wall by a meter to the south. Either this is a very thick wall or something other than a wall.
ar One argument for defining f41 as a pavement rests on the burned area, f59, sitting on one of the bricks of f41, similar to a hearth of some sort. This could be also a reuse of the original wall, setting a hearth over the wall after abandonment and build-up of the area.

f 52
ds Found in the eastern half of k12, triangular in shape and wider in the north measuring 300cm then tapering and sloping slightly to the south measuring 175 cm. This feature is approximately 30 cms below f27, very compact with faint traces of brick lines that do not form any shape. Initially labeled as brick melt for the color, hardness, and texture is similar to f27 brick melt but yesterday we reassessed this feature, finding flat brick lines in section suggesting a possible structure, wall, or pavement.
dy f52 was found sloping down with f24 clearly coming up to f52. 
sg This feature is similar to f41 and f58, a hard bricky mass with no clear brick lines present making it difficult to determine an excavation strategy. At this moment, f52 slopes down in the west where it abuts f24 so we know that it continues in depth. Based on this observation, our strategy is to remove 10 cm from the top, first in a test trench, to see if brick lines surface below.

f 24
dy A total of 15 cm was removed from the entire southeast corner then expanded to the north to level out the rest of the feature. While excavating a tannur fragment was found, q94.1, with one surface complete and the other abraded. The tannur piece was floating in the ash without any floor surface visible. The ash alternated from some areas showing black stains while some areas are slightly more compact and brown. f52 continues to go down but stopped excavating this feature after breakfast due to insufficient tents for shade. Tomorrow we will continue to excavate this feature.

f 52
tc ab f24

k 12
dy In k12, a dramatic distinction exists between f24 and f52, not only in color but texture and hardness. To establish the relationship between these two features, we began the day by removing 5 cm from the southeast corner leaving the contact area between the two features in tact to test if f52 continues down or if f24 lies under f52. f52 was found sloping down with f24 clearly coming up to f52. A total of 15 cm was removed from the entire southeast corner then expanded to the north to level out the rest of the feature. While excavating a tannur fragment was found, q94.1, with one surface complete and the other abraded. The tannur piece was floating in the ash without any floor surface visible. The ash alternated from some areas showing black stains while some areas are slightly more compact and brown. f52 continues to go down but stopped excavating this feature after breakfast due to insufficient tents for shade. Tomorrow we will continue to excavate this feature.

q 94.1
dy While excavating f52, a tannur fragment was found, q94.1, with one surface complete and the other abraded. The tannur piece was floating in the ash without any floor surface pesent. It was removed in fragments and poorly preserved.

k 13
dy Removed 10 cm, starting from the east towards the west following an ash layer that was found below the brickfall f30. The ash proved to be only localized within a small area yet we continued to remove 10cms from the area to see if better defined bricks were below. At the end of the day, bricks were found in the west, and lines present in the east but still very unclear and confusing. f41 is now starting to form a either a thick wall of 5 bricks wide or a pavement. One argument for defining f41 as a pavement rests on the burned area sitting on one of the bricks of f41, similar to a hearth of some sort. This could be also a reuse of the original wall, setting a hearth, f59, over the wall after abandonment and build-up of the area.

f 30
ds A thick accumulation of brick fall from presumably a collapse of structures nearby. Large broken bricks are uniformly found within a softer matrix. Approximately 25 cm thick, this feature transitions into compact bricky mass with larger brick components present, some complete bricks forming f41, wall. The brickfall also covered f59, a hearth sitting on bricks from f41.
dy We continued to excavate this feature today, removing 10 cm, thinking that we found the bottom since in the east a nice ash level was found, presumably the end of brickfall. The layer however was only localized in the east, with the matrix towards the east resembling a combination of brick melt and brick fall. The soil is hard, bricky; some lines are present but don't form any structures or pattern. Tomorrow, the area will be scraped and cleaned to see if any more bricks surface. If not, we should consider changing the feature to define it as more compact than the brickfall above.

f 59
ds A hearth located immediately south of f41 wall, circular in shape and black from ash. On the surface, a layer of over fired yellow-green clay or brick is present with the black ash below. The hearth extends into the east baulk, presumably continuing to form a circle (only half is exposed in k13) and rests on bricks from f41 wall. It is still unclear whether f41 is a thick wall or pavement which changes the dating of f59. If the hearth is sitting on a pavement, then the bricks below are associated and contemporary with the hearth however if the hearth is resting on a wall, then likely the wall was reused at a later phase perhaps contemporary to tannur f42.

f 43
dy pavement was cleaned and photographed today, relays taken, and tomorrow eE will draw f43, f50.

f 50
dy pavement was cleaned and photographed today, relays taken, and tomorrow eE will draw f43, f50.

f 31
ds Initially defined as interface layer between brickfall and ash consisting of broken bricks within an ashy soft fill. We expected to only have a few centimeters of this layer then reach ash but instead a tannur f42 and a cobblestone pavement f50 was found resulting in keeping this feature as the matrix above the pavement and around the broken bricks to the south.

k 14
dy A few days ago we noticed vertical bricks, f56, in the southeast corner of k14 but unclear how far north they extend. These bricks are lower, approx 30 cm from f34 stones and run into the east baulk where they are visible in k15 labeled as f40. The northeast corner was excavated going south to see if more bricks were found eventually removing 20 cm and finding both vertical and horizontal bricks. In some areas the bricks appear to form a step but this is likely a result of excavation where the top eroded bricks are unclear and thus removed, eventually making steps to reach better bricks.

f 56
ds Series of vertical bricks in the southeast corner of k14, running into the east section and visible in k15 as f40. To the north of the vertical bricks, there are also flat horizontal bricks that extend east into k15. At the moment we are keeping both these sets of bricks as f56 in k14 until the area is better defined. Presumably the bricks also run west under f34.
sg remove f34 and see if bricks from f56 are present

f 58
ds A compact layer, similar to brick melt f27 in hardness and lack of inclusions but gray in color sloping dramatically in the north, forming a semi-circular nook measuring 170x70 cm and 46 cm depth. In k12, the same matrix is present in the eastern half of the locus, f52. Both these areas show a compact bricky surface with no clear brick lines and areas that slope down.

k 15
dy continued excavating inside the small structure, assigning a new feature number, f55 for the accumulation as we are approximately 15 cm from the floor surface. The soil here contained large pieces of pottery, stone tools, broken bricks, along with a human tooth complete with the root (maxillary first incisor side to be determined). The area west and north of the structure were also excavated, f44 to expose the stones f57 below. It is unclear if the stones go under the bricks and form the floor of a1.

f 55
ds Fill inside a1, the last 15 cm above a floor surface. The matrix is mixed between soft gray fill, broken bricks with large pottery inclusions and stone tools. A complete human upper incisor was found suggesting this structure may be a tomb. It appears that we are almost at the floor surface and would expect to have found human bones by now if this were the case.

f 39
dy No longer excavating f39, the fill inside a1 has been given a new feature number f55 for the last 15 cm inside the structure.