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It's my first diary entry after one month in Çatalhöyük and I'll start with my humble English with some preliminary general reflection about building 131:
We were starting the excavation of the building 131 that was unearthed in 2015. This big building was completely burned. The Posts have strengthened the walls of the building, a large posts is placed near the platforms. They are the supports of a flat roof. Finally, the floor is lined with clay and plaster. The Interior, which is left empty a vast central space, includes three platforms (Mastaba in Arabic) and a storage cell and kitchen space with oven and a fireplace.
We can notice that the interior of the building is not physically divided by walls in the sense of the word. But the space is clearly a subsidy by hypothetical areas of activities, ritual and daily life between the north and south of the internal space of the building. These places have been called by Hodder (clean and dirty floor). The north was occupied by platforms and storage cell.
The platform served receptacle for deposits of funerary graves, accompanied by wooden objects, some pearls and shells and obsidian tools. The presence of human graves in the platforms, suggest that the platforms played a significant role of "symbolic" order in the northern area of the building.
This association of graves and objects is the testimony of certain ritual practices. If the grid of these rites escapes us, it is clear that we are facing a tradition ritual system linked to the history of the building.
The southern eastern corner of the space was occupied by the oven, earth and small banquette, which is based the ladder on it. Thos are the most obvious elements, because they rely on specific requirements, the spaces of food processing in the building.
The objectives of excavation in building 131 are, to identify clearly the occupation levels in the building, and to attend the oldest building’s level, and finally to revealed stratigraphic relationships between B.131 and B. 77.
During excavations space 500 S/W, and platform F.7950, three main levels of occupations have unearthed, it was identified by the presence of plaster floors: U30052, U30053, U30069, each floor has several layers de plaster and makeup.
The first level in the space U30052 is preserved in the south/east edge of the platform F.7950. This level is very disturbed in the south part of the space, the fact we had difficulty to find it. On the other hand it is possible U30063 part of this floor in the middle of the space.
The second Level is represented by the plaster floor U30053 and always in the south edge of the platform f.7950. This floor is located in the northern half of the space. It contains five layers of plaster. U30070, U30073, U30075 belong to this floor.
The third level is represented by the plaster floor U30069, it is possible that U30058 (red plaster) and U30059 F.7980 (ledge) are contemporary with U30069 (to check). The post F.7979 is also contemporary with this floor. It has been carefully plastered and surrounded at its base by U30059.
The construction of the platform F.9750 consists tow main phases, the first is related with the tow plaster floor U30052 and U30053. The second is related with U30069.
In the southern part of the building (the kitchen), we can distinguish three levels also, but we can`t confirm at the moment the context and the relationship between the two areas.
Our goal for the coming days to continue digging the floors layers in the platform F.7950 and the in burial F.7982.
Thy |
