| | Area: North | | | | Dug in Year: 1998 | | Feature Type: wall | | | | Location: between spaces 88 and 89, east wall of space 88 | | | | Grid X: 1054.41 Grid Y: 1183.26 | | | Thick clay wall between spaces 88 and 89. Orientation SW-NE. Unit assigned to the surface of space 88 revealed outlines of this wall and the cut in the west wall (between spaces 88 and 87) made by a Byzantine grave (F. 151). Regarding wall between spaces 88 and 89, scraping of the west wall of 89 showed that there was no wall plaster, and the bricks at the top are irregular and eroded. After defining the south and the north ends of this wall (163), it was tried to distinguish between solid wall and possible opening between spaces 88 and 89 (recognized by intensive burning and different soil). Continuing the excavation, it became clear that instead of an opening this could be a niche in the eastern wall of space 88. It was filled with bricky and burnt material. It is also possible that the original connection between these two spaces was blocked by building a wall on the side of space 89.
East wall of the space 88 is made of regular rows of bricks and layers of mortar . It was partly damaged when F. 151 (Byzantin burial) was dug into it. Next to the later burial cut there is the above mentioned niche-like structure/opening?
Munsel chart for the bricks: 7.5 YR 6/4; for the mortar 10 YR 4/2, 10 YR 2/1
Dimensions of the top bricks: 0.60x0.50x0.06 m
The bricks of this wall resemble those of the south and the north wall of space 88, as well as mortar. Southern portion of the wall is exposed to moisture, which makes this area look darker in colour and soil greasy, moist, not so firm and full of salts. The colour of the bricks in southern half is orange brown, while in northern half it's light, light brown, almost beige. Bricks are made of very sandy clay.
Mortar is midden-like (with inclusions such as charcoal bits, gypsum, salts, pieces of animla bones, burnt clay and small stones), light grey in north and black in south half of the wall. The lowest layer of mortar lies underneath the last row of bricks and directly on top of an earlier ('black-bricked') wall.
For detailed description of bricks and mortar see units #8667 (brick) and # 8668 (mortar).
Regarding possible niche/opening in the upper part of the peserved wall, it hasn't been defined while removing the wall, so it will stay unclear whether it actually existed. | | | | In situ Conservation: No | | Lifted: No | | | | Feature Relationships: | | abuts: (Click to view the record) 1017 | | bonded with: (Click to view the record) 1019, 1026 | | cut by: (Click to view the record) 151 | | | | Number of Related Diary Entries: 0 | | Conservation Recorded: No | Buildings: (Click to view the record)
| Spaces: (Click to view the record)
| | No. Of Units in this Feature: 18 (Click here to view unit list) |
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