Unit 4995

Category: layer    dug in 1999

Area: South 

Interpretive Categories: robbed obsidian hoard,waste disposal hole 

Data Category Information: Location: cut; Description: scoop; Deposition: homogeneous; Basal Spit: basal deposit

Dimensions: 0.19m (E-W), 0.25m (N-S), 0.04m deep 

Discussion: 4995 was the organic-rich deposit that filled a neat circular cut 4996 above the dirty floor surface 5090 in the south east corner of space 178/ building 23. Its rich organic content gave the deposit a distinctive yellowish tinge, but otherwise the matrix looked very similar to many of the ashy spreads of occupation debris that have been found above floors in the area. It could represent one such deposit which was buried beneath the contemporary floors rather than being spread over them. Otherwise, it could be that the original deposit was removed, and the remaining cavity was filled with general waste material from the area. The size and shape of the cut for the deposit is similar to that of obsidian caches that have been found during the excavation of other buildings. The flakes of obsidian from the deposit also had a distinctive appearance, being more blade-like than the irregularly shaped obsidian flakes that were common in the floor deposits form the area. It could be that these flakes are the remnants of what was once a more substantial deposit of obsidian in a cache beneath the floors, which was subsequently removed and used. 

Consistency: friable 

Colour: rich yellowish-brown 

Texture: ashy silt 

Bedding: massive 

Inclusions: 10% charcoal, 8% plaster, 10% bone pieces, 2% coprolite, occasional obsidian flakes, phytoliths, shell fragments and tiny pebbles 

Post-depositional Features: salt encrustation 

Basal Boundary: sharp, distinct and smooth, lying within cut 4996 

Unit Stratigraphy (as recorded in the field): above: (Click to view the record) 4996 below: (Click to view the record) 4978, 4980, 4991 

Dry sieve volume: 0 

Total Deposit Volume: 0 

Number of Samples recorded by excavator: 2

Number of Related Diary Entries: 0

Settlement Phase:

Associated Mellaart Levels (from Space): X 

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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