.bk J04
.fl Q903sC.j
.fd daily journal Q903
.ei sC
.ed Q903

.rd Q903
.ri sC

-dy Today we started with a general cleaning of all J04 Unit, and then dM took some general views of the whole area (v56, v56a, v56b, v56c). Since yesterday, while removing the baulk, we have also removed all the markers in the central portion of the unit, today bwP assigned new markers in k73 and k63.
-wk Today Salah Sadi was present but worked all the day with the electrician. After breakfast I send a complete team of workmen (2P, 2S, 1W) to J03: they will be working there for the next two days.

k 84
dy Since from yesterday excavation we realize that we missed the pit f86 while digging in k84, today we started by cleaning the S section of k84 in order to look for the pit in this section, in order to record its top and bottom elevation. However, also in this section the topmost part of the pit is not really visible as well as the bottom; only the central portion of the pit is cleary visible. The bottom of the pit, however, seems to be located on top of a very compact accumulation (which is visible also in the E and N baulk of k84) which seems to be a bricky melted type of accumulation. Being the understanding of the stratigraphy difficult also by looking at this section, we decided to start digging the pit in the E baulk of the square (f86, q196). The idea being to first recover the wolf/dog bones, and then to look for the bottom of the pit in this baulk. After 8cm we start finding the wolf/dog skeleton (i5): Kamiran Hussein toghether with cC and vN started to expose the very carefully the bones (r75, r76, r77). After breakfast hPU came in our unit; he shortly explained how to remove the soil above and between the bones and told us that these bones probably belong to a saluki dog, a particular kind of hunting/racing dog. He will come back to the filed later in the day. If these bones really belong to a saluki dog, this represents a very important recovery. In fact, this dog is known mainly by sealing impressions, and, up to date, only two sheleton have been found in Northern Syria, in later contexts. In k84, instead, we are in Mittani levels (all the pottery found within these accumulations have been checked by mKB, and dated to Mittani period). Therefore, this could represent the oldest speciment of saluki dog recovered in this Northern Syria up to date. hPU told us also that the group of small bones recovered within the saluki dog (at the height of its legs) belong to a frog (i6). Today we started digging also in the S area of k84 (i.e. 120m N and 300m W from m3830). We started by removing the topsoil (f87, q197) and the accumulation below it (f88, q198). However, we stop digging almost immediatly in this portion of k84 since I have been asked for some workmen. I send the team working here (2P, 2S, 1W) to J03.
;*****top of the pit not visible: This information is indeed very useful for the strata assignment (the top elevation would determined the attribution of the pit to a certain/specific strata

k 73
dy Today we started with the cleaning the whole locus. However, we did not expose any ash layer, as expected on the basis of the ashy spots noticed one week ago in the E section of k73. We assigne a new feature number, f89, to the compact and bricky accumulation which characterizes the whole square. We then started to remove the accumulation with the little pick in the N area of k73. Here have been exposed some melted bricks as well as brick still in place, which looks to be part of a wall running SW-NE; these bricks are located 130m W to m4467 and are alligned with two lines of bricks visible in the N section of the square; the grey mortar between them is still preserved and cleary visible. We continued to remove f89 in all the area (q200, q202) it is missing only a little area in the SW corner of the square. At the end of the day k73 is characterized in its whole are by a bricky accumulation. In the NE area of the square, close to the W baulk of the locus some little pebbles have been exposed. They look to be part of a pebble floor, which could be the same as the pebble floor exposed last week in k83.

k 74
dy Today we did not dig in this locus. However, we decided to remove a floating limestones in the N baulk of k74. We thus assigned a new feature number to the stone, f91 (which is located at 20cm S to the NE corner of the square) and to its pedestal (f92) before their removal.

k 62
dy Today we did not dig in this square but only removed f82, the floating limestone close to the E section (f83, q199). dM took a particular view of the wall f84 (v57, 57a).

k 63
dy Today we started with the cleaning the whole square. However, we did not expose any stone or any bricky accumulation, as instead for k73, but only a very compact natural accumulation. We assigne a new feature number to this accumulation, f90 (q201), which is extend to the whole square. We then start removing the feature with the little pick in the N area of k63. f90 is very compact, and looks to be a wash layer, it is characterized by a platy structure once removed with the little 8and big) pick, it is fine in texture, very compact. Looking at the blocks of soil removed, it it possible to observe to the sedimentation of the soil as water deposit (soil thin at the top, ticher on the bottom). Once we noticed that there was no bricks or any difference in the accumulation below f90, and that f90 was aproximately 8 to 10cm thick, we start digging with the big pick in the whole area. We start exposing a very compact surface, which again looks to be a natural accoumlation, compacted by water. In this square, we have a completey different situation respect to k73. 
 
-sg Tomorrow we will contine digging in k63 and k73. These two squares turn to be very important for the comprehension of the whole area, given the presence of the wall f84 in k62, running SW-NE, and of the stone f10 in k71, which could belong to the angle of the apron.