Unit 31210
Category: Layer dug in 2013
Area: Trench 5
Interpretive Categories: activity surface,fill
Data Category Information: Location: building; Deposition: heterogeneous
Discussion: 31210 shared an arbitrary boundary with U31184 above. In turn, the basal boundary of 31210 was defined as the surface on which U18372 (the mudbrick and mortar structure) and X1 (the groundstone slab) were placed. JHB has been analysing the stone slab. The slab is 23 kg of andesite, probably originally sourced from the nearby volcanic rock. The sides are chipped. The bottom surface is slightly convex with slight use-wear and a residue of orange pigment. The upper surface, is concave and shows varying use-wear and reroughening. The upper edges have been rounded. One end of the slab was lodged ca. 7cm deep in the southern corner of the mudbrick structure. This end of the slab differs from the upper surface's concave curve, turning into a blunt, convex end. This end does not show signs of used-wear or reroughening. These provisional observations of the slab help interpret the formation and function of the slab-and-mudbrick constellation. The mudbrick structure (U18372) seems liberately placed and aligned in the middle of the room. The structure shows no signs of breakage, and thus it's unlikely to have fallen or been dropped. It is more likely that the mudbrick structure was built to incorperate the slab, perhaps to make a workbench. The differences between the end of the slab, which was protected with the mudbrick and the slab's working surfaces suggest that the slab was used there, in the room, for long enough for these destinctive features to emerge. Furthermore phytoliths (s.5) and macrobotanical remains (s.6) were closely associated with the slab. Further analyses of flotation samples (s.1, U31221) and phytoliths (s.2, U31221) from underneath the slab may provide additional information, as will the flotation sample (s.13) from where the macrobotanical remarks were found, yeah. If this interpretation of the slab-and-mudbrick "workbench" is true, it means that building 105 may have seen several interdigtated phases of use and waste deposition/infilling. The building was used after a hypothetical floor was already buried, and the people never bothered to lay a new, proper floor. Either that or we have simply failed to recognize some surfaces as floors. Extra attention needs to be paid to less obvious signatures, e.g. Compaction in order to get a better idea of the use of the building. NB: s.13 extends into U31221 and can be used as latter's flotation sample.
Consistency: Heterogeneous mix of compact dark brownish-grey silt, firm lumps of light yellowish-grey clayey mortar and compact yellowish clay
Colour: dark brownish-grey silt, yellowish-grey clayey mortar and compact yellowish clay
Texture: silt and clay
Bedding: materials mixed together in lumps
Inclusions: No inclusions apart from finds
Post-depositional Features: animal burrows
Basal Boundary: flat arbitrary (no difference in soil) but defined by the surface on which U18372 and the groundstone slab (X1, U31221) were situated
Dry sieve volume: 383
Total Deposit Volume: 447
Number of Samples recorded by excavator: 17
Number of X-Finds recorded by excavator: 2
Number of Related Diary Entries: 8
Settlement Phase:
Associated Mellaart Levels (from Space): Unassigned at present
Associated Hodder Level (from Space): Unassigned at present
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Buildings: (Click to view the record)
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Spaces: (Click to view the record)
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| Features:: none |
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 ArchaeoBots Sample Recorded: No Ceramics Data for 2013 still to be released Clay Object Records: No Chipped Stone Records: No Conservation Recorded: No Faunal Records: Yes
Count of records:: 1 Figurine Records: Yes
Count of records::none GroundStone Records: No Heavy Residue Records: No Microfaunal Records: No
Sorry not all of this data is available online at present, please contact us if you are particularly interested microfauna recordsPhytolith Sample: No
Sorry not all of this data is available online at present, please contact us if you are particularly interested phytolith samplesDownload this Units Data
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