Depositional history for Unit OH2

Giorgio Buccellati – July 1998

Introduction
- 1998 - G. Buccellati
Depositional History
- 1998 - J. Walker
- 2011 - C. Chaves Yates
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4

Introduction

1998 - G. Buccellati

The accumulation f4 extends uniformly throughout the entire excavated area (a 4x4 ms square). The general alignment of the inclusions and the absence of any detritus show conclusively that this is an accumulation that has grown gradually rather than a fill dumped at once. We looked carefully for evidence of a slope in the deposition, but the alignment of the inclusions seemed to be rather level; and we could not find any trace of a regularly laid floor surface. Nor was there any wall within the space excavated ö admittedly limited (4x4), yet large enough to suggest that we might find, if not the trace of walls, at least an inferential suggestion as to their location from the direction of the deposition. This seemed to suggest that we were in an open area; the hypothesis was corroborated by the fact that below this accumulation (f4) we found another layer (f5), which showed similar characteristics to f4, except that it was more granular and bricky: not an intentional subfloor (since there is no clear floor surface below the accumulation f4), but presumably relatively fine brick debris that was compacted by the use resulting in accumulation f4. The layer immediately below (f8) gave clear indication of having resulted from water collecting within a bowl-like setting, because of the evident presence of laminations. The containment of the stagnant water, and the laminations which resulted from it, was due to a rise noticeable in the Southern portion of the square: the material of the laminations was the same as the material that provided containment.

Four significant conclusions can be drawn.

The items recovered were in an ACCUMULATION rather than in a fill: thus the material did not come from another location, in particular not from any distance away. The original use must have been in the immediate vicinity of their current emplacement.
We must therefore be in the PROXIMITY OF A BUILDING THAT WAS LINKED TO VERY SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS SERVING THE CITY ADMINISTRATION. There were sealed containers as evidenced by the presence of sealings discarded and preserved near their original place of use. And the seals evidenced by the impression they have left are of high quality. Objects of quality and good manufacture were used in the same building, in particular the beautiful Simple Ware bowl that was preserved almost complete. Special types of objects, in particular a double mouth vessel, also attest to a special use of this presumed building.
The most significant result that ensues from these observations is that the OUTER CITY WAS INDEED TIGHTLY RELATED TO THE URBAN CONTEXT OF THE INNER CITY. OH2 is no small extramural hamlet: it is part and parcel of the urban type of administration which we know so well from the city itself.
THE DATE IS COHERENTLY THAT OF THE MIDDLE OF THE THIRD MILLENNIUM, and both seal impressions and pottery are closely linked to that of Temple BA on top of the Tell. Such an early date, for such an outlying excavation area (some 400 meters from the edge of the High Mound), so near the surface of tell, was predictable, but is still remarkable: it is, at any rate, the first time that we find seal impressions in the Outer City.

Since the graves excavated in the area (especially OA4 and OB1) date to an earlier period, this seems to corroborate our standing assumption that the city walls ringed what is now the High Mound during the first part of the third millennium. At this time, burial grounds were placed extramurally. By the middle of the third millennium, the inner city wall was rendered inoperative, and the city extended to what is now visible as the Outer Ring. We still have not proven, or disproven, that this Outer Ring is an Outer City Wall: but we can now confidently say that the Outer City was an integral part of the urban layout of ancient Urkesh, with the same urban institutions of accounting being fully operative here as in the heart of the city. OH2 was not a rural appendage, but a regular and integral component of the urban network of Urkesh.

Depositional History

1998 - J. Walker

The evidence gathered and analyzed to this point suggests that the ridge contains the remains of a building or buildings that supported an administrative function for a limited time in the middle of the third millennium. Additional soundings should be made to further test this hypothesis.

2011 - C. Chaves Yates

Stage 1

The earliest levels in OH2 are the collapse layers found below the laminations. This origin of this collapsed material is unkown but it includes bricky materials (f11)and the scattered stones of a1 and a2.

Stage 2

The second stage of deposits in OH2 was the laminations that built up across the area. They were caused by the entrapment of water in a shallow basin. The blockage appears to be in the southern area although the blockage was not excavated.

Stage 3

After the laminations built up the whole area was covered by a relatively thick accumulation that includes numerous sealings. This layer is clearly dated to the early mid-third millennium, with the materials such as the sealings and the ceramics drawing strong parallels with those uncovered in and around Temple BA.

Stage 4

The upper layers of OH2 are less clear as they represent the portions that were disturbed by plowing. These layers included a mix of sherds from different periods as well as modern organic materials. It is difficult to determine the sequence of build-up in these layers as they are highly disturbed.