.bk J03
.fl P801jw.j
.fd introduction and strategy --i,-sg
.fn corrections and additions made by jW on Q413
.ei jw
.ed P801
.rd P801
.ri jw

--i Area B is dominated by the ruins of Temple BA which sits atop one of the seven mounds which form the top of Tell Mozan.  The temple has been excavated and securely dated by ceramic analysis to the Early Dynastic IIIB period.  Although later temples were probably built atop this one, their remains have been completely eroded.  However, Temple BA is a critical point of reference for excavations of the mound because except for surface accumulations and later repairs and modifications, everything upon which it sits was deposited no later than the temple itself.  A geophysical survey conducted on and in the vicinity of the mound indicated that it was comprised, in part, of a wall of stones.  Excavations in unit B6 defined the temple complex as an artificial structure, with a brick cover and a stone perimeter.  Excavations in units J1 and J2 exposed parts of a monumental wall and stairway leading up to the temple from the east.  In J2 there is a stone apron along the top of the wall and a section where the stonework is of inferior quality indicating that modifications to the structure may have been made as late as the Mitanni period.  To provide data to guide excavation strategy for future years, we must determine the nature of the material contained by the wall.  Is it brick, with the stones a decorative face?  Is it compacted fill contained by a more substantial wall?  Was it formed by accumulations from earlier periods?

-sg  To answer the questions about the nature of the material contained by the wall we need to select a small section along the perimeter and excavate towards the temple at the center.  In this case we have assumed control of three squares running E-W, that were begun last season as loci J2k33, J2k43, and J2k53 and ended before the wall top was found.  The new designations for us are J3k1, J3k11, and J3k21 respectively.  As these are excavated further, we expect to encounter the outside (south) top and face of the wall which runs E-W at at this point.  Two new loci will be initiated, J3k12 and J3k13, which run N-S starting from the N baulk of k11.  In these squares we expect to encounter the top, interior face (north) and material in the mound contained by the wall.  Although area supervisors look at all pottery in the field, pottery from q-lots is generally not immediately processed in the laboratory except in special circumstances.  This season, we will designate a small locus from which pottery will be immediately analyzed. This will be particularly valuable in guiding stratigraphic decisions and analysis in the field.