Unit 21501

Category: Layer    dug in 2014

Area: North 

Interpretive Categories: Painted Plaster 

Data Category Information: In Situ: in situ; Location: wall/blocking; Material: plaster; Deposition: layered (wall plaster); Basal Spit: painted

Description: Geometric wall painting done in relief. The painting comprises a number of diamond shaped columns done in a robust red ochre. There is a second more orange ochre layer which occurs in patchy sections primarily toward the eastern half of the painting within and around the diamond pattern. The more robust red ochre layer occurs under both thick plaster patching and under very fine, thin, greyish plaster, separated from the patchy orange ochre by only a few layers. Two distinct design variations are present between the eastern and western halves of the painting. Western: looser checkered diamond paterned withiout the patchy orange fill. Eastern: tighter checkered diamond pattern with patchy orange fill. Both are double bordered on the inside, but the western half may have additonal designwork inscribed which has deteriorated.

Previous Conservation Work: Wall Plaster was previously grouted using perlite in 10% w/v Paraloid B-48N in acetone where detachment from mudbrick substrate had occurred on the eastern side. 

Discussion: The relief of the painting makes it very distinctive, in addition to the robust nature of the red ochre. The Painting was repaired in antiqutiy. Layer was mechanically revealed and defined with scalpels (Blade No. 22 and 15). Evidence of multiple past repairs, retouching or reworking events was discovered in the form of plaster patches, with and without pigment, and partial remains of the same geometric pattern in non-phase layers of the plaster. Orange pigment under the fine, thin layers of the greyish plaster was difficult to preserve intact due to cohesion between the fine plaster layer and the pigment. Previous conservation grouting was repaired where it had begun to fail with fine perlite in 10% w/v Paraloid B-48N in acetone.

Painting was block lifted in the 2015 season by the conservation team. 

Consistency:  

Colour: White (plaster) Orange (paint) 

Texture:  

Bedding:  

Inclusions:  

Post-depositional Features:  

Basal Boundary:  

Unit Stratigraphy (as recorded in the field): above: (Click to view the record) 21552 below: (Click to view the record) 30123 

Number of Related Diary Entries: 0

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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