| | Area: North | | | | Dug in Year: 2004 | | Feature Type: burial | | | | Related Photo (Click to view larger version in new window) | | | | | Location: mid S part of sp. 226, close to S wall of sp. 226 | | | This feature was excavated and recorded as a burial cut even though there was no body in it, except for a phalanx of an adult individual. Since it resembled a mudbrick lined burials excavated at the TP's area and yielded iron nails and late pottery sherds (terra sigilata inclusively), we thought it was a disturbed burial from which the body has been removed (the human bone). Analyses of the material yielded by the fill (U. 8865) might produce some more human bones. However the grave was backfilled with the surrounding midden and the human bone might be just occasional. In such case the possible interpretation might be that the grave construction went wrong and (judging by the dimensions, especially the width of the grave, the poor condition and the fragmentation of the mudbricks) and that it was abandoned.
2 things puzzle me about it though:
1) Larger part of the feature was covered by Neolithic midden but I guess this is due to the erosion and the sliding down of the midden deposits as well as covering with the surrounding midden soil in case of abandonment.
2) In the small section lrft for the bricks about 15 cm higher up than the rest, we could see 2 courses of bricks and a mortar line inbetween but the width of bricks in plan was only 10 cm, as if they were laid vertically along the side (S side with double lining). Was it their original width or they have been cut?
F. 1452 is a Lte Roman ''false bottom'' burial.
It was first recognized as a cut with a mudbrick lining in sp. 226 next to the S wall (F. 1458) of the space. The fill enclosed within the mudbricks was removed and the ''false bottom'' of the burial, consisting of beige mudbricks, was exposed. It covered a skeleton of a young adult male, dorsally extended, left hand on hip. The head poins the W. There were no grave goods encountered. A white residue was visible around the skull and the right side of the skeleton, and traces of wood and iron nail were found as well. It is possible that the body was wrapped in a matting or thick fabric. It remains unclear what was the function of the nails as there was no room for a coffin ot similar construction.
The grave cut was rectangular, with square corners, vertical sides and a flat base. For further details see unit sheets 8865-67, 8878, 8879.
Both upper (U. 8865) and lower (U. 8878) fills yielded small clay horns, which are most probably related to the Neolithic midden deposit with which the grave was backfilled. | | | | In situ Conservation: No | | Lifted: No | | | | Number of Related Diary Entries: 2 | | | | Conservation Recorded: No | | Related Photos: 10 (Opens as a group in a new window) | Buildings:
none | Spaces: (Click to view the record)
| | No. Of Units in this Feature: 5 (Click here to view unit list) |
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