Accretion

Yasmine Mahmoud – June 2025

Accumulations

J4 is an area of minor use, therefore, the majority of its depositions are natural accumulations, deposited over the periods of no use.

Imperial Akkadian

The Imperial Akkadian period, located directly below the Mittani level, was very minimally explored in J4. Therefore, it is only logical that we do not have many accumulation layers belonging to this period. f50 is the only accumulation layer exposed in this unit.

Early Mittani

During the Early Mittani, not many accumulation layers are present. f116 and f169 are two consecutive natural accumulatin layers from this period, and both contained a cluster of stones very close to wall f10, belonging to the Imperial Akkadian period. These stones, which could be related to f10, were covered by a natural accumulation layers during the natural build up phase of this period. The upper portion of f116 belongs to s14, while the lower portion to s19.

Middle Mittani

During the Middle Mittani period, the area of J4 went throught various depositional events, from a minor use, to being affecte by the brickfall in J6, to being re-used again in a humle phase of rebuiling, before the gradual buildup took place towards the end of the Middle Mittani. This is reflected to some extent in the accumulation layers of this phase, ulternating between natural accumulations covering human activites (f64 covers a lot of sherds and broken vessels and two tannur) and other accumulattions containing many kiln wastes and sherds or lithic artifacts (f89) and some containing organic material, ash and animal bones (f76), representing the scattered use phase. All the accumulations that belong to s14 and sub stratum s14a, are accumulations above the structures built in stratum 14c and are part of the gradual build up (f72).

Late Mittani

The accumulations of this period are natural accumulations that formed the build-up of the Tell in this area. Most accumulations contained phytolitics, some sherds and stones f60, and others containedd bricky material related to the erosions that took place later in this period f55.

f60 AD This is a natural accumulation under f54 in k72. It has a platy structure and it is hard in consistence. It is characterized by the presence of laminations and phytolitics, and by very small stones (which are less than 1cm in size). f60 is red brownish in color when picked, but when it dries it is gray. While exposing the feature in the whole locus, we noticed, in the central portion of k72 a small lens of red soil, which could possibly be related with the presence of (some) melted bricks. All the accumulation layers in this period are natural accumulation, waterleid in the case of f90, characterized by the presence of several layers, in which is possible to distinguish the different deposition of the water deposit, with the largest clust at the bottom, and the smallest on the top of each layer.

Middle Assyrian

During this period, J4 was covered by the gradual build-up and the layers belonging to this period are a series of consecutive natural accumulations, some of which are a result of modern day or inter seasonal depoits.