| Entry: | It is quite clear I have a lot of catching up to do, I might not get the time to write my diary but things keep going in the trenches and of late some very exciting things. Conveniently I'm still describing space 113 and over the last couple of days thats where much of the action has occured.
Continuing on from 1883, this turned out to be a relatively sterile 'levelling/packing/infill deposit overlying a similar deposit 1886,with a clear surface interface which was compacted, heavily cracked, sloped towards the west, although no obvious activty areas it had a small obsidian cluster 2007, and an organic deposit 1893 (coprolite?) over it. It was at this horizon that 2003 was defined as a small patch of scorched deposit which on invetigation turned out to be the upper collapse of an oven 87. The sequence of this process was discussed with Wendy, and what we think happened was that as the room was backfilled with 2006, sterile, clayey, well mixed deposit, the same material 2005 infilled the oven structure (whether this was done carefully and therefore deliberately is debateable), and then 2004 and 2003 represent the final collapse of the oven lining. We think that 1886 then represents a truncation horizon, only because it was a clear horizon but with no obvious activity and that the top collapse of the oven poked through. Unit 2006 was excavated down to a dark ashy midden deposit which in section of an animal burrow appears to be flooring.
The oven is a rectangular mud superstructure with an oval inner lining, it abuts the north facing wall of the so called platform which at this phase must represent a room.
The area around the oven was excavated as a sectioned area and the western half of the room was excavated as 2019 with a baulk dividing the two. Overlying 2019 against the western wall of the room/platform was 2030, interpreted as some kind of packing and it was on removal of this an obsidian cache 2038 was found. This appeared to be in the wall of the platform/room but to place it some kind of context the southern wall of space 113 had to be cleaned which revealed a possible blocked doorway and in fact in certain light it looks as if there is a re-cut in this blocking. The cache had to come out yesterday, pretty much as it was discovered, as because of security reasons we weren't allowed to leave it in-situ.
Craig and Banu worked till 7pm planning at a scale of 1:1, numbering and bagging each of the 35 piesces, wrapped in acid free tissue for residue analysis. There were also 8 other pieces which appear to be part of a further cache 2039, , still to be excavated. Today we investigated further and found that the cache was possibly under floors associated with the opening (prior to blocking), possibly associated with Mellaart's level VII but what we don't understand is why there is this small area of flooring over what should be the wall of the room/platform. This could be due to slumping and if so, what? the blocking of the doorway into this small room in the southeast corner or space 113. Craig is also digging a large pit cutting the top of the room/platform btu I'm too tired to go on at the moment despite the exciting discovery of Craig's 2nd basket or mat impression (the first he found was within 1883 (or at the interace of 1883 and 1886)), all that remains is phytoliths in concentric circles and though it's time consuming I'm getting Frank to consolidate and lift it, to see whether we can do this successfully.Entered By: Shahina Farid |
