Built Environment Overview

James L. Walker – April 2021

Structures
Use areas
Installations
Loose materials

Structures

Structures The entire area of unit J3 was devoted to ceremonial functions from its inception in pre-Late Chalcolithic periods through the Mittani period. The earliest structure excavated was the corner of a major temple securely dated to the LC3 period. We anticipated finding Ninevite V structures at the next higher levels, but there were none. The major constructions defining the area were a massive EDIII stone wall and an accompanying stone apron and stairs. Mittani structures were modest consisting of memory stones atop the EDIII wall.

Use areas

Because of the ceremonial and monumental nature of this part of the tell, recognizable use areas were sparse and small. The earliest was a small area next to the LC3 temple where a large deposit of URUK seal impressions were found, possibly a storage area for temple gifts. The second was a small region where three burials were found. One was carbon dated to the LC3 period and the others were found nearby at similar elevations. The third was a concrete-like Mittani-period floor excavated to the south of the EDIII monumental wall and lkely part of the plaza where people congregated below the temple. The fifth composed an organized group of large boulders, a floor, and a tannur probably constructed in the late Mittani period and suggesting a functional change to a living space in the post-Mittani period.

Installations

Very few features excavated qualify as installations. First are the two graves and the jar burial. Second are the three and possibly four glacis, intallations in the sense that they served to visually define the ceremonial function of the temple mound. Third were the various pits scattered about the unit. Although ony those dug for the burials contained archaeological material, one assumes that the others were dug to dispose of unwanted objects now gone. Fifth was a late-occupation tannur. Sixth were several instllations of large and medium-sized stones whose function could not be determined.

Loose materials

The majority of J3 features are loose materials of two types. The first are accumulations, floors, lenses, and fills. The second are displaced (or floating) stones.