Unit 23227

Category: Layer    dug in 2017

Area: South 

Interpretive Categories: Midden 

Data Category Information: Location: external; Deposition: coarsely bedded (dumps)

Description: U 23227 is found below the earliest features and packing of the earliest floor for Building 17. It is a general unit assigned to all that area, and specifically to the excavated area within the 3 x 4 m trench which was placed into space 620 so that the excavation aims could be realised. 

Discussion: U. 23227 is a midden which extends within the entire space below Building 17. It was found below the earliest floor of Building 17, within space 620. The very top of this midden was surface U.23203 - U.23214. Below these surfaces, midden U.23227 appeared uneven, but curving smoothly, as if it had been affected by rain fall or water running smoothing surfaces and layers. The appearance of U.23227 strengthened the idea that space 620 was an open space. With the aim to be able to examine the deposits below the midden during excavation season 2017, and in order to minimize the amount of space needed to be excavated within the midden, space 620 was sectioned into a 3m x 4m trench, for this aim to be achieved. 4 meters extended from the west facing side of Wall F.8169 (i.e. the western wall of Building 161) in the East, towards the West, along wall F.8169 for 3 meters. About 1 meter space off the South wall and 3 meters off the North wall were excluded from this sounding. The excavation of this trench started with the use of a pick-axe, but soon the excavation methodology had to change as human burials started emmerging within this space.
The consistency of U 23227 differed in the West from the East. In the East, thin cultural layers upon thin cultural layers, water laid deposits, and several lenses of cultural activity were identified. Those had been interrupted by burials F.8049 and F. 8450 for which cut(s) were also identified through the midden (i.e. U.23227). Further towards the West, U 23227 was more homogenous; it consisted of a more firm but friable deposit of clay and darker brown colour below and above thin cultural layers and lenses. This difference in the consistency of U.23227 between the Eastern and the Western part is visible from above, as shown in orthophoto "B17_2017_003"; see also associated sketch. Within that deposit (U.23233 and U.23255) two burials were found: F.8451 and F.8455. There was a debate among the excavators whether these two separate burials, i.e. F.8451 and F.8455 were found within separate cuts of U.23233. Although it is possible that the upper part of these possible cuts were lost, because of the excavation method initially applied, it was still debated whether separate cuts were identified. One cut, which was not debated and it is still clearly visible in the North facing section of the limited trench within space 620, is that of those thin cultural layers abruptly stopping in the East of this darker brown deposit. So, this is a certain cut of U. 23227, about which all of the excavators agree. Now, there are two hypotheses: either indeed U.23227 was cut twice in the West also, by burials F.8451 and F.8455; or a second cut is further in the West, possibly within the limits of the limited trench, and further in the South (possibly beyond the limits of the limited trench). Namely, this second hypothesis proposes that a wider cut was made into the midden where human remains were placed. This second hypothesis is based: (a) on the fact that no convincing cut was found in between burials F.8451 and F.8455 for each burial respectively; and (b) on the fact that the burial fills for F.8451 and F.8455 were identical (clay, friable, of dark brown colour, heavily contrasting with the surrounding layred and lensed midden). If the second hypothesis is correct, then a wider area within U.23227 had been chosen for the deposition of several burials within the midden. The author of this part of the discussion supports this second hypothesis, as in her opinion no persuasive cut within the midden was identified for these burials (F.8451 and F.8455). On the contrary, the darker brown, clayish deposit within which both burials were found seems to continue beyond the hypothetically identified cuts. The fact that U.23227 within space 620 was not fully excavated does not assist the verification of this second hypothesis. However, it is possible to see this darker brown deposit connecting the two burial excavation-pits, and also continuing beyond the southern and western limits of the excavated space, while a part of this deposit remains unexcavated in the north within the trench and in between the locations of these two burials. (VK)

Layer exposed directly below the floor U23203=23214 and the remains of the earliest floor/make up of B-17 (U 21895). This unit correspond to a layered deposit composed by different episodes of activity with ashes, other organic material (charcoal, bones…) and also “garbage” through in that area before the B-162 and B-17 were built. So seems clear that this spaces was an open area (Sp. 620) before these building were constructed.
This layer had been only partially excavated, because the area had been sectioned in order to dig a deep sounding trench during 2017 season.
Obviously all this deposits are visible in the section and seems clear that are sloping in direction NE-SW. A part of the ashes and charcoal layers and lenses, is also visible a very thin layers of orange clay between them. Diferent specialists had been suggested that this layers can be a kind of “sealing” deposits placed to control the smell of this “garbage” deposits. Regarding of the characteristics of this layers exposed above, seems clear that all of them are kind of midden.
The interesting thing about this deposit is that we define at least 5 burials cutting this layers. Few of them had been interpreted as foundation deposits for B-17 but at least the F8049 seems clear tha is a burial placed in the midden.
Within the same unit we remove more or less the first 0.20 cm of this layered deposit, after that we stopped arbitrarily when we exposed another light grey deposit, and assigned a new unit number (U23245) just to document another sequence of ashy layers. (09/06/2017 -CB) 

Consistency: Very loose, friable and compact at places 

Colour: Diferent intensisties of grey, lenses of light grey ash, layers of brown, patches of dark brown 

Texture: It was mostly clay and silt, but also a bit of sand (less than 10 %) 

Bedding: Compound paralel layers mostly of ash, but also clay sloping direction N-S 

Inclusions: Charcoal, natural stones 

Post-depositional Features: trampling 

Basal Boundary: trampled 

Unit Stratigraphy (as recorded in the field): above: (Click to view the record) 23245, 23229, 23233 below: (Click to view the record) 23203, 21895, 23214 

Dry sieve volume: 880 

Total Deposit Volume: 909 

Number of Samples recorded by excavator: 5

Number of Related Diary Entries: 0

Settlement Phase:

Associated Mellaart Levels (from Space): XI, XII 

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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