.bk J3
.fl U901mKB.j
.fd J3 LC3 features: results of the analysis of ceramics of J3 this season 
.ei mKB
.ed U901
.rd U901
.ri mKB

-sg this season the ceramic analysis team is working on the analysis of all the remaining unanalyzed sherd lots from J3, and this is yielding some important and unexpected insights into the possible configuration of the mound in the earliest periods. <br>While the Late Chalcolithic 3 sherd lots excavated in J3 were analyzed previously as we excavated them, some features, with relatively small numbers of sherds, were not recognized immediately as dating to LC3 and therefore were not analyzed until this season. During the course of this analysis we discovered that J3 features f513, f114, f151, f152, f209, and f120 had either exclusively LC3 pottery or had relatively few later sherds in comparison with the the vast amount of LC3 pottery.

-sg In my notes of U831 I included the elevations of these features because they are high and this seemed to me very important for our ongoing research on the configuration of the mound in the various periods of its habitation, and in this case the shape and elevation of the high mound in LC3.<br>I suggested in my notes on these ceramics, included in the J3 Global Record of U831, that I look more closely at the stratigraphy with jW. We had this meeting before breakfast on U901 and it became clear that these features, except for f513, were in a stratum just above the baqaya stratum in k23 and k13. jW pointed out that f121 and f50 ceramics might belong together, I looked at the sherds and determined that they too were LC3.<br>I then put out in the Sherd Yard all the sherds from these features and called a meeting for after breakfast, with myself, jW, gB, and fAB, and asked jW if he would prepare a sketch section for the meeting that included all the features under discussion.

-sg My objective in calling this meeting was twofold: first to point out that there were more high features in J3 that dated to LC3 than we had recognized during the excavations, and secondly to suggest that a small excavation in J3 this season might yield more information on the configuration of the High Mound in LC3.<br>During the meeting we looked at the impressive amount of ceramic evidence from these features and discussed conducting a small operation, headed by jW, in the upper part of J3. All the possibilities for the placement of a small trench were discussed that would maximize the information we would obtain on the mound formation in this period. It was decided to meet out in the field on Saturday morning, also with pC, to decide on the position of this trench.