Unit 16852

Category: Layer    dug in 2008

Area: Trench 5 

Interpretive Categories: Mudbrick 

Data Category Information: none

Discussion: Mudbrick in mudbrick wall F.2413, the western wall of space 340.

JHB 2012: Unit 16852 is the mudbrick from the wall F.2413/5055. The unit is composed of all material (including mortar) from both sides of a central, unexcavated column of wall F.2413/5055. This column was left to maintain a profile of the wall and will be excavated in 2013 (flotation and archive samples to be taken here). After excavation the column profile revealed three phases (all were excavated together). The lower phase (I) yielded a plaster line ca. 10cm inside an external fill layer that did not show any visible brick of mortar lines (likely made of rammed earth). About 10cm above that was a second phase (II) about 70cm thick, showing very faint mortar lines, or if not mortar a binding layer used in rammed earth construction. Above this phase was a third phase (III), beginning at a thick (4cm) black mortar line (actual mortar). This black mortar line traverses the entire perimeter of B.98, neatly defining the uppermost and final phase of wall construction. Above this line are two white mortar lines, more visible than the PhII lines, but less visible than the standard mortar (of B105, 106, 107). All lines in the wall, with exception of the black mortar, were only visible after the wall was wetted with the sprayer.
The mudbrick (or earthen slabs) contain material inclusions that appear to come from the East Mound (Neolithic pottery). According to Burcu Tung, the brick material is nearly pure silt and contains orange concretions particular to alluvium. Both these lines of evidence point to the construction material coming from the eroded wash/alluvium between East and West mounds.
This wall (2413/5055) end in the North by abutting wall F.2428 and does not abut wall F.2429. The wall (2413/5055) abuts wall F.2425/5050 to the west. These two walls are not mortared together and the space between them is occupied by "between wall fill". This fill is very soft and irregular, with small inclusions. I believe this fill is eroded wall mudbrick/construction material. The space between the walls is irregularly spaced, and the back of the wall is not straight, but rather jagged. 

Consistency: firm 

Colour: dark yellowish brown 

Texture: silt 

Bedding: heterogeneous (mud brick, mortar, inclusions) 

Inclusions: pottery, obsidian, animal bone, stone, shell 

Post-depositional Features: animal burrows 

Basal Boundary: floor of B.98 

Unit Stratigraphy (as recorded in the field): below: (Click to view the record) 16839 equal to:none 

Dry sieve volume: 1840 

Total Deposit Volume: 0 

Number of Related Diary Entries: 1

Settlement Phase:

Associated Mellaart Levels (from Space): Unassigned at present 

Associated Hodder Level (from Space): Unassigned at present 

Finds Room Information:

All material from site passes through the finds room for washing and separating before it is passed onto the various lab teams. The finds room keeps a basic inventory of what is found. A finds material type list is given here. Further analytical detail maybe provided by the Lab Team data below.

X Finds Material: nothing recorded  

Finds Material Stored: nothing recorded  

Lab Team Data

Please note the list below does not represent everything that might have been found in this Unit, but represents the datasets we have available on-line. Please contact us to obtain more information about this Unit.

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