; File processed on 2025-09-08
; J1^acc1
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f162
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f181
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f184
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f190
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f191
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f227
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f231
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f233
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f234
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f235
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f236
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f237
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f310
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f312
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f313
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f315
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f319
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f322
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f323
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f330
A35 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC v213
B11 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC Series of semi natural accumulations against the lower part of ED III revetment wall (^wall1). We can define these accumulations as semi natural, because the formation process is due to natural forces but the inclusions contain ceramic and other materials. The material is probably washed down from all the area surrounding the plaza. At the end of the Early Mittani in the High mound happened a shift of urban focus from east to west, with the building of the new J5 staircase leading to the temple terrace. The plaza was no longer effectively in use, but it retained its sacred meaning as shown by any traces of structures as pits, burials or tannurs. At the same time probably some structures were built in the southern end of the plaza, blocking the accumulations that started to fill the depression of the plaza.
; J1^acc2
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f156
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f203
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f224
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f225
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f226
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f229
A35 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC v198
A35 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC v214
B11 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC Series of semi natural accumulations against the upper part of the ED III revetment wall (^wall1). They are made of compact material full of sherds, stone and pebbles, clearly material washed down from other areas, likely the areas surrounding the plaza. This process was due to water deposit, but because of its density and compactness, there was probably still a lot of human traffic. So the plaza was filled up by accumulations, but at the same it retained its sacred meaning, because no installations, as pit, tannurs or burials, were recovered. At the same time, as the accumulations were growing and covering the face of ^wall1, the boundary between plaza and temple terrace was getting less marked.
; J1^acc3
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f38
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f142
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f143
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f145
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f149
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f150
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f157
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f175
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f176
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f179
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f182
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f198
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f200
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f204
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f205
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f206
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f208
A35 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC v226
B11 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC Series of natural accumulations covering the upper part of ^wall1, when the site was almost abandoned and probably just a scattered occupation was taking place in the high mound. The big revetment wall wasn't visible any more and just the memory stones were showing its ancient presence. These accumulations are much different from ^acc1 and ^acc2 because they are almost constituted of pure brown incoherent, but at the same time compact, soil. No many sherds surfaces were formed in this last abandonment period.
; J1^ash1
A2 2008-09-03_S903RE.j rE f241
A2 2008-09-03_S903RE.j rE f278
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f114
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f195
A35 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC v342
B11 2008-09-03_S903RE.j rE ash accumulation under f239 covers f196.
B11 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC Accumulation of soft ash, mixed with mud brick fragments, found in between the two escarpments. This ash is likely linked to a moment of less care of the escarpment. In fact it covers the eroded surface of ^esc1, sloping to the south and partially also to the east. Later, during the re-construction of the escarpment, the ^esc2 was built in part on top of this ash, in part filling the eastern cut in the earlier materials.
; J1^ash2
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f341
B11 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC Ashy accumulation found on top of wall f288 and to the west of wall f259. It seems that the structure a8 forms a sort of boundary for this ash. It was below the surface of the early escarpment and it is probably linked to the moment of its construction, as the pottery seems showing. It is sharply sloping to the east and in part to the south.
; J1^curt1
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f270
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC i43
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC i44
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC i45
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC i46
A35 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC v243
B11 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC Series of 5 big stones forming a clear alignment running almost parallel to the big revetment wall f72. These stones are sitting in pavement f240 (v212), just half a meter to the south of one of the sharp edges that characterize the surface of the second escarpment. These stones probably form the first of this kind of Mittani "curtain wall" interpreted as a boundary dividing the people from the base of the revetment wall and the sacred space of the terrace.
; J1^curt2
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f168
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f188
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f245
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f246
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f247
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f260
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f314
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f331
A35 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC v108
B11 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC Stone wall running east to west almost parallel to the revetment wall f72. This wall is constituted of just a row of stones and it is preserved for two courses. It forms a clear and sharp boundary at the base of the revetment wall. It was built in part against the material belonging to the second escarpment and was resting on Mittani accumulations. Going to the west it became less and less compact till to be formed just by few isolated stones (f314). It also dates to Mittani period.
; J1^curt3
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f180
A35 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC v363
B11 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC Series of big stones right at the base of the revetment wall. It is not exactly the same of the other two Mittani curtain walls, but probably it can be interpreted in the same way. It forms an alignment of stones parallel to the wall. It also could have been used as a sort of bench. Probably it dates to Mittani period, but the stones are on top of the second escarpment so its date is not sure.
; J1^cut1
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f377
B11 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC Cut made to the south of LC structure ^str1. We don't have any direct evidence for this cut because of the later ED III cut and because we didn't finish to remove the material filling it. Next excavtion to the south will clarify its shape and dimension. We can safely assume its presence because of the stratigraphy and the direct over position of ED III materials on top of Late Chalcolithic accumulations with a clear lack of Ninevite 5 material. We don't know why a so deep cut was dug at the base of the place were the big revetment wall was going to be built.
; J1^cut2
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f321
A35 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC v365
B11 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC Big cut dating to ED III, made in order to rebuilt the second escarpment. This cut removed part of the early escarpment, deeply damaged from the erosion. Then it was filled by dumping bricky material. The cut is clear and sharp to the south and to the north, running east to west. Its western edge is less clear and sharp, and in part it can be confused with the water erosion that also removed part of the first escarpment. Moreover to the west the cut is less deep probably because the early escarpment was better preserved thanks to the presence of the wall f259 and the stone escarpment. The eastern edge of the cut is still missing because it goes in the eastern section of J1.
; J1^cut3
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f344
A35 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC v440
B11 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC Cut due to the natural erosion. The water coming from the west excavated a sort of channel inside the natural accumulations and floors dating to the Ninevite 5. This erosion created also a break in the northern part of the stone wall f259. It was later filled by softer accumulations. The baqaya f373 was probably put to try to avoid this problem.
; J1^esc1
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f196
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f309
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f318
A35 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC v389
B11 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC Early escarpment built together with the revetment wall f72, the J2 staircase and the other constructive elements forming the big terrace complex. It dates to the ED III and belongs to the big city reorganization of that period. This escarpment abuts the base of the revetment wall and slopes sharply to the south to link the base of the wall with the lower level of the plaza, assumed to be around 8500, the same elevation of the palace court. The J1 escarpment is built reusing earlier material found in that area. It is flat next to the base of the wall, where it is covered by a thick layer of hard clay to protect the wall from water seepage. We assume this layer was covering all the surface of the escarpment but to the south it is not preserved because of the massive erosion caused by the water coming from west. The same escarpment to the west (J5) is built with a series of flat big limestone slabs, creating one of the most impressive elements of the terrace.
; J1^esc2
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f189
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f239
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f244
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f294
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f296
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f299
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f303
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f305
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f306
A35 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC v394
B11 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC Later escarpment dating, as the early escarpment, to the ED III. This second escarpment was built on top of the previous one replacing it, too damaged to continue to be used. The aim of this second escarpment was to protect the base of the revetment wall, most of all from the water that damaged the esc1. So, for this reason, it was built much higher than the previous one, covering about half of the height of the revetment wall. It is constructed of dumping material, most of all bricky material inside which many sealing impressions have been found. This material was brought from two directions: from south and from north, likely from the top of the revetment wall. This material filled the big cut f321 made in order to have a better construction of the second escarpment itself.
C3 2010-08-28_U828LC.j lC In fact it seems strange that an escarpment built of dumping material, even if much bigger and higher than the previous one, could protect the base of the wall. It is possible that what we see today, i.e. a very irregular installation at the beginning was more regular and with an harder surface. Mittani accumulations are abutting it, so it lasted for a very long period.
; J1^pav1
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f232
A35 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC v197
B11 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC Pebble and sherd pavement very compact slightly sloping toward south. This is the last clear Mittani pavement used for a certain period of time, as shown by the numerous sherds and bones embedded in its surface. It is sharply different from all the natural accumulations with sherds found at higher elevations in J1. The pavement is stopping exactly to the south of curt2, forming a sort of surface for this open area.
; J1^pav2
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f238
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f240
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f325
A30 2011-09-28_V928LC.j lC EDIII pebble pavement of the Plaza, used until Mittani period, when the first accumulation on top of it started to be formed. It means the pavement was kept clean for about one thousand years.
A35 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC v260
A35 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC v388
B11 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC Pebble and sherd pavement very compact sharply sloping to the south. This pavement is the earliest Mittani pavement. It is in part overlaying the material of the second escarpment, and in part the also earlier Ninevite 5 floors. It is in general quite sharply sloping to the south and in part also to the west and to the east forming a sort of shallow basin more or less in correspondence of the north to south wall f259. This is probably due to the presence of higher levels to the east (filling of second escarpment) and to the west (Ninevite 5 sloping accumulations). Many sherds and bones were uncovered on top of it. Many sherds belong to Early dynastic and this is likely due to its direct contact with these levels about one millennium earlier. This direct over position shows clearly how the plaza was kept clean for one millennium.
C40 2011-09-28_V928LC.j lC The pavement was later assigned to EDIII, unlike earlier thought. The pottery coming from this pavement is mixed (Mittani, EDIII and Ninevite 5) and this was the starting point for a stratigraphic review that brought to a new assignement. Now the construction is dated to EDIII on the bases of pottery sherds, and mainly for stratigraphic relationships: the pavement overlays the Second Escarpment, it is going to the West until J5 where it is covered by EDIII accumulations.
; J1^pav3
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC f268
A35 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC v331
B11 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC Pavement with small sherds and small pebbles not very extended in surface. It is very different from ^pav1 and ^pav2 because of the component dimensions and for its extension. It is probably one of the numerous Late Ninevite 5 surfaces, originally abutting the structure a8 and later cut by the ED III cut. This pavement shows a clearly use of the open space of the plaza. It is very similar to the Ninevite pavements excavated in J2 and abutting the lower staircase. This could show a similarity of use and probably a contemporarily, at least of use, for the lower J2 staircase and the J1 structure a8.
; J1^str1
A2 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC a8
A35 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC v437
B11 2009-09-19_T919LC.j lC L shaped structure found at the bottom of the ED III revetment wall (^wall1). This structure is formed by the bonded walls ^wall2 and ^wall3. It is in some points poorly preserved and we can just in part assume its function. It seems having, very likely, a function similar to the ED III terrace complex. The ^wall3, running north to south, was probably forming the western end of the plaza and, at the same time, retaining the accumulations coming from the west and probably also the water flowing. The northern wall was probably used as a revetment wall for an early terrace complex. The date for this structure is not clear, but it is possibly dating to Late Chalcolithic period as shown by the pottery recovered at its base. If we assume a similar function for the ED III and the earlier, possibly Late Chalcolithic, terrace complexes, this fact involves an extraordinary continuity of meaning and use for this sacral area.
I12 2012-10-15_V928LC.j lC Only further excavation could clarify the stratigraphy and provide more datas for a safe data assignement. Following a conservative interpretation we assigne it to Ninevite 5 period, phase 3f-JPD.
; J1^wall1
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f72
A35 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC v218
B11 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC Revetment wall built along the temple terrace, probably as a protection against the erosion and for aesthetic reasons. In fact it doesn't have any real structural function (see absence of foundation, limited width). It is preserved for about three meters, very likely its original height. It runes east to west for about one hundred meters in the southern side of the terrace fronting the big plaza. To the west, in J5 it makes a sharp round turn to the north, forming the west end of the terrace. It remained visible and used for more than one millennium, without any big structural change.
D3 2008-09-06_U818LC2R.j hB r943 (41194 47543 - 8953 / Relay location: 1)
D3 2008-09-06_U818LC2R.j hB r944 (41246 47456 - 8842 / Relay location: 2)
D3 2008-09-06_U818LC2R.j hB r945 (41239 47434 - 8997 / Relay location: 3)
D3 2008-09-06_U818LC2R.j hB r946 (41308 47318 - 8800 / Relay location: 4)
D3 2008-09-06_U818LC2R.j hB r947 (41323 47263 - 8949 / Relay location: 5)
D3 2008-09-06_U818LC2R.j hB r948 (41356 47199 - 8942 / Relay location: 6)
D3 2008-09-06_U818LC2R.j hB r949 (41372 47140 - 8963 / Relay location: 7)
D3 2008-09-06_U818LC2R.j hB r950 (41480 46998 - 8984 / Relay location: 8)
D3 2008-09-06_U818LC2R.j hB r951 (41611 46814 - 9005 / Relay location: 9)
D3 2008-09-06_U818LC2R.j hB r952 (41632 46802 - 8921 / Relay location: 10)
D3 2008-09-06_U818LC2R.j hB r953 (41699 46682 - 9000 / Relay location: 11)
D3 2008-09-06_U818LC2R.j hB r954 (41734 46647 - 8893 / Relay location: 12)
; J1^wall2
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f288
A35 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC v438
B11 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC Big stone wall running West to East and bonded with wall f259 forming a big structure, likely linked with a Late Chalcolithic mound and plaza. The wall is built with irregular big sized stones, and pebbles to regularize its face. The lower courses are made of bigger stones, better set out in the ground. The wall is slightly inclined to the north and it is built of a single row of stones, probably as a retaining wall. It is about two meters in height, but we don't know how its original height was. Likely it was originally higher, as it shown by the many collapsed stones belonging to f336. The wall is poorly preserved to the west, in part probably for ancient episodes of collapse, in part for later ED III cuts that removed some of its stones.
I12 2012-10-15_V928LC.j lC As for ^wall3 the date is uncertain, first assigned to late Chalcolithic on the base of the few sherds found at the bottom of it, then has been suggested a Ninevite 5 date, on the basis of stratigraphic relationship with the nearby units. Following a conservative intepretation we assign it to phase 3f-JPD, waiting for new excavation for a final assignement. For a more detailed discussion see topic "LC or Ninevite structure?"
; J1^wall3
A2 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC f259
A35 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC v438
B11 2009-09-13_T913LC.j lC Stone wall running north to south bonded with wall f288, forming a big L shaped structure. The wall is built with irregular big sized stones, and smaller stones and pebbles to regularize its face. The lower courses are made of bigger stones, better set out in the ground. It is slightly inclined to the west. Probably it was a sort of coating-retaining wall linked with the accumulations coming from the west, likely brought from the massive water flowing running toward the lower level of the plaza. Probably this wall dates to the Late Chalcolithic and forms the western boundary for the Late Chalcolithic plaza.
C3 2010-08-28_U828LC.j lC The wall is inclined to the west and it is impossible it was built freestanding. As shown by v425 any cut is visible in the accumulations found behind it. But it seems that a cut with a filling is visible more to the north (v). So probably the old accumulations to the west of the wall were removed by water erosion that brought new material against it. The erosion should be very strong from the west to damage the first escarpment, the LC structures.
I12 2012-10-15_V928LC.j lC As for ^wall2 the date is uncertain, first assigned to late Chalcolithic on the base of the few sherds found at the bottom of it, then has been suggested a Ninevite 5 date, on the basis of stratigraphic relationship with the nearby units. Following a conservative intepretation we assign it to phase 3f-JPD, waiting for new excavation for a final assignement. For a more detailed discussion see topic "LC or Ninevite structure?"