.bk A20
.fl S914lr.j
.fd strata
.ed S902
.ei lR
.rd S914
.ri lR

-sr The strata has been assigned using the JPC strata sequence. In summary starting from the latest event includes: the topsoil level (s2), the latest Mittani occupation which includes scattered small stone installations and sherd pavements (s11), abandonment and collapse f27 (s12b), late Mittani occupation that reused the space but possibly changed the function of the area into an outdoor area (s12a), middle Mittani occupation that directly reused earlier structures and raised the floor levels inside (s14), early Mittani occupation includes the construction of the buildings and pavements (s15), and the earliest Mittani strata (s19) that is still tentative but includes the deepest structure in elevation, a5, which one can argue belongs to either s15 or s19.

s 2-JPC
df modern, topsoil
ds The most recent levels in A20, includes the berm constructed in 2005 to divert rain water and the topsoil level.
>s f1, f2, f3, f4, f66, f65, f9, f8, f21, f101, f102, f19


s 11-JPC
df latest Mittani occupation
ds Traces of scattered occupation found immediately below the topsoil level. Evidence for this is in the form of small stone installations, a sherd lens or pavement, and several isolated stones with these features sitting on abandonment from the late Mittani occupation however this occupation does not utilize or reuse any structures from the other Mittani occupation levels suggesting a long abandonment period. Pottery analysis places this scattered occupation also within the Mittani period. Stratigraphically, these features correlate with area J5 which found a series of stone walls at the topmost level but dated to Middle Assyrian.
>s f15, f11, f12, f25, f23, f28

s 12b-JPC
df abandonment and collapse
ds The result of the earliest Mittani brick structures, s15, melting in the rain and then hardened by the sun over time forming a thin hard clay crust, uniform and massive in structure, throughout the entire unit. Several dramatic slopes are visible in the north and south which seems to follow contours of the structures below. In order for the bricks to have melted in this manner, we are assuming that the structures were exposed to the processes of weathering over a long period of time allowing for compaction to occur and must have also been the natural surface of the Tell in antiquity. Comparing this brickmelt to the brickmelt in A18 and A16 where no compaction occurs, instead the brickmelt resembles more like soft disintegrated bricks with no crust formed at the top, gives more plausibility that this brickmelt in A20 was exposed for more time. This also explains why the next occupation level, s11 does not reuse the structures from s15 or s14, these were simply not in view suggesting that during the end of the Mittani period, occupation shifted elsewhere at the site, leaving area A20 unoccupied for some time then reoccupied at a later date. This stratum also includes accumulations from collapse of the early to late Mittani levels (s14, s15, s12a).
>s f5, f6, f14, f10, f13, f27, f20, f7, f16, f17, f18, f26, f29, f30, f37, f51, f53, f58, f60, f62, f67, f69, f70, f75, f78, f94

s 12a-JPC
df late Mittani occupation
ds Approximately 20 cm below the brickmelt s12b, installations such as a drainage channel, tannur, and pavements began to surface at a high elevation. These features are from late Mittani occupation that reused early Mittani structures from s15 and built over s14. This occupation level was likely an outdoor production area given the presence of the drainage installation, a3 and rough pavements f73, f72, and f35 which are more similar to wadi wash rather than formal pavements and the high volume of ash. These pavements also overlay a wall, f107, indicating that the structure was not in use during the time of the drainage system. This stratum also includes ash accumulations that resulted from these outdoor installations that area high in volume, sloping, and abut the bricky mass f98, f52, f82, and f64. This ash appears to have been produced over multiple periods of time as evident by laminations and clear layers within the ashy deposits. There is also evidence that during s12a people placed other installations over the ash, including f68 brick pile/platform and tannurs f100 and f42. This argues that the ash was produced during occupation and not exclusively after during abandonment.
>s f80, f81, f83, f82, f96, f73, f72, f35, f128, f42, f68, f45, f22, f24, f36, f31, f32, f33, f34, f35, f80, f103, f98, f113, f114, f52, f71, f79, f43, f48, f49, f50, f54, f61, f74, f76, f81, f88, f100, f104, f117, f123, f124, f130

s 14-JPC
df middle occupation
ds Mittani occupation that directly reused the early structures from ^oc1 visible in the form of adding a2 over f132 pavement, f92 vertical wall on f93 pavement, bins f113 and f79, sherd pavements f112 and f122, raising the floors inside the structures a1, and a5 along with the additions of small brick installations f137 and f138 inside a5. Several north-south walls were also added, f77 and f95.
>s f40, f56, f39, f137, f138, f142, f119, f112, f122, f92, f77, f95, f39, f38, f46, f143, f121, f90, f44, f47, f55, f59, f142, f137, f138, f119, f110, f87, f89, f91, f132, f131, f140, f143

s 15-JPC
df early occupation
ds The earliest Mittani occupation consisting of thick walled mudbrick structures with cobblestone floors that were terraced with the floor from the northern area at elevation 9263, followed by a larger stone courtyard f108 at elevation 9143 then the inside of room a5, with the floor at elevation 9072. At first we initially thought these were all different time periods of use but the courtyard f108 respects wall f84, which is the cross wall for a1 (the northernmost room at the highest elevation) and wall f126 for room a4, and wall f109 for a5. The similarity of the rooms also adds in favor to a contemporary construction of all these rooms with vertical bricks in use, thick walls, stone floors, and the small sizes of the rooms. The pavements inside the rooms were found clean with no pot smashes and no objects directly on the floors (with the exception of an animal jaw sitting on f132 pavement).
>s f64, f41, f63, f86, f152, f57, f132, f93, f106, f97, f107, f129, f99, f84, f125, f139, f126, f127, f108, f120, f105, f118, f139, f141, f144, f145, f146, f147, f149, f150, f153

s 19-JPC
df earliest Mit occupation
ds Presumably the earliest levels at the site based solely on elevation with the floor level inside a5 at 9068 while the floor level of f57 is 9264. The stratigraphy suggests that a5 and f57 are contemporary or within the same strata given that wall f84 runs alongside f116 with pavements f108 and f57 similar in construction. It is plausible that all the structures in A19 and A20 are contemporary and were terraced or that f57, a4, and a6 are later constructions belonging to the middle Mittani period. The only way to clarify this is to excavate further in the area, particularly to remove one of the highest elevation pavements to see if another pavement is below.
>s f85, f109, f115, f116, f133, f136, f148, f135, f111, f134, f151

--i Given the small sizes of the rooms, rectangular shaped stone installation inside a5 (f136), the presence of an adult human tooth lost postmortem (root still attached), fragments of a human skull in a5, and a perforated bronze drinking strainer which have been found in the context of mortuary rituals at Chagar Bazar, Tell Leilan, and Baghauz (from Akkermans and Schwartz 2002;322), and the presence of a small plaque i12 resembling a dead body within a tomb, all lead to the plausibility that these structures are connected to a funerary complex. In upper A18, the structure found dating to ^oc1 contained two neonates inside the structure (above the floor) with evidence that the structure was vaulted and plastered. Immediately south of the structure in A17 a large pit was found containing the remains of 7 individuals found disarticulated and may be the result of clearing out the inside of the mudbrick structure in A18 to reuse the room during a later occupation phase. Similar events may have occurred in area A20 as no complete articulated individuals were found but given how long the Mittani period occupied these structures it is still plausible that the bodies were moved and buried elsewhere. In A16, A15, A18, and A11, during the late Khabur phase there is clear evidence that the mudbrick structures were used as houses or tombs for the dead with the brickfall immediately covering these structures also containing a large quantity of human bones however disarticulated. The massive brickfall of A16 and A18 appears to come from the earliest Mittani occupation s19 that may have reused some of the late Khabur walls which collapsed to the west covering the area with brickfall and disarticulated human bones. If this is the case then s19 and s15 follows the continuity of using this area as a space associated with the dead seen in the late Khabur period that spans deeper in time with the early khabur and URIII period also containing large number of human internments. One difference noted between A20 and the earlier Khabur area is the size of the rooms, which are larger in A20 (for example a5 and the courtyard f108), suggest the possibility that the area was used for other functions. If A20 is indeed a funerary area during s19 and s15 then one must consider its association to area JP and the temple in terms of ritual. This year, area J7 also contained disarticulated human remains from the middle Mittani period found south of the temple staircase that come from structures to the east. This suggests that during the Mittani period internments were also occurring in the east.