Unit 32496

Category: Layer    dug in 2016

Area: South 

Interpretive Categories: Arbitrary layer for a fundational deposit 

Data Category Information: Location: building; Deposition: heterogeneous

Discussion: Layer probably visible after remove the primary infill (U22337) of the Sp 552, so exposed during 2015 season. Was dark brown and a bit more compact than the floor surface U32469. From the beginning we was able to see that difference in the north part of the space, close to the wall F7841, but we was not able to define clearly the limits, so we start to dig this layer together with the room floor U32469.
But after removed stratigraphically the different rebuilding phases of the N wall of the space (F7841), and detect the clusters (32494 and 32495) we decide to give a different unit number to this dark brown layer. The limit of this layer is a bit arbitrary, mostly in the south part of it, but we are pretty sure that the limit in the N is the edges of the wall F7841 and the cut U32615.
This layer, as we said, was dark brown, very compact and with natural stones and charcoal as a main intrusion, during the excavation we found and articulated animal skeleton (X1) that we think that was placed on porpoise as a deposit. Unfortunately we was not able to see if there was a cut or kind of burial structure for it. According with the lab specialists is a wild cat (Felis chaus or silvestris burial) around 3-4 months old. The specialist also suggest that the animal was either put in the ground only semi-articulated or it was disturbed post-depositionally and during initial excavation. The latter seems somewhat more plausible (rather than the animal undergoing similar treatments to humans). There is no evidence for skinning marks or other consumption/cut marks on the animal (though admittedly the anterior part of the skull is missing). This suggests that the animal was likely buried whole - either placed at the top of the infill or buried under the floor but the cut cannot be discerned - and post-depositional rearranged the animal. Anyway this bones are still being studied.
The botanical lab feedback also detected household waste in the infill and chipped stone lab detected a burnt grinding tool which retain the use face and exhibits moderate wear (this is broken in 6 fragments that refit), a part of other stuff.
So for us this layer with the wild cat and the clusters are placed on porpoise inside the cut U32615 as a foundation deposit to build the reparation F7847 to the wall F7841. The process was probably this: The north wall of the space F7841 was not stable enough, or was damage and they decided to rebuild. For that process they made a cut (32615), cutting partially that wall from the south. Inside that cut as a foundation deposit they add the clusters 32495, 32496 and 32600 and also the wild cat (X1). After that they cover everything with the U32496 and on it they build the reparation F7847. The only remains documented of that wall reparation was a mixed of rubble (mortar and bricks) on the base of the F7841 and a pillar abutting the wall F7841, element that made us think that probably the original wall was no steady enough. After this repairing phase we also detected another one, which is related with the unit 32491 and the F7835 

Consistency: Compact 

Colour: Dark brown 

Texture: Clay and silt 

Bedding: Massive 

Inclusions: Charcoal, natural stones 

Post-depositional Features: Salts 

Basal Boundary: Truncated, gradual, arbitrary 

Unit Stratigraphy (as recorded in the field): above: (Click to view the record) 32469 below: (Click to view the record) 22337, 32497, 32498 equal to:none 

Total Deposit Volume: 45 

Number of Samples recorded by excavator: 8

Number of X-Finds recorded by excavator: 1

Number of Related Diary Entries: 0

Settlement Phase:

Associated Mellaart Levels (from Space): IX 

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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