| Entry: | We have finished digging for the season in Building 96 and all that's left is the documentation! It would have been nice to get to a really consistent plaster layer across the building at the very end, but unfortunately that's not what happened. Makeup layer u. 20877 came down on two different plaster layers at the same time-- one on the west side of space 370 which is the later layer, and an earlier one on the east side of platform 3508, east of the burial cuts. Fortunately some of the patchy, later floor is also preserved on the east side of platform 3508 so the stratigraphic connection across both sides of the platform remains clear. This later, patchy plaster floor can be taken off early next season, as well as the plaster on the top and sides of platform f. 3507. From the section, though, it is easy to see that the earlier plaster layer revealed while removing u. 20877 seems to be the earliest one in the space-- or at least one of the earliest-- suggesting that we will reach room fill in B. 96 early next season.
It's difficult to step away when the end seems to be in sight, and the steps to reach it are so clear, but perhaps it is a bit like writer's block-- to avoid feeling stuck you should stop just when you feel that you have a lot of momentum, rather than when you are struggling to force yourself to continue. The momentum is real in B. 96-- I even had a dream last night where I very quickly removed those last 2-3 layers above the apparent first plastering of the space!
One mystery that remains is the question of where the cuts might be for the two remaining individuals buried in the space-- evident right now as a cranium and some legs (sk. 20853). We uncovered these two skeletons quite early in the season and it is difficult to leave without excavating them or even finding their associated cuts! The possibility even remains that they may belong to the same person-- we just don't know! In contrast to the floors, which are unbelievably predictable, the burials at Catal are always full of surprises. So: we leave with the sequence of floors easily apparent and the plan of action regarding them complete and clear, but with the two skeletons-- with whom the conservation team has become quite friendly!-- still obscure and still unable to determine the best way to approach their excavation. |
