Unit 2268
Category: layer dug in 1998
Area: North
Interpretive Categories: Room fill
Data Category Information: none
Dimensions: 180 x 165 cm.
Discussion: Note: X.11 Bos scapula is noted to have been transferred to unit 2289, however in unit 2289 there is no evidence of a scapula with these same XYZ coords. I keep the original notation of this Xfind on this unit sheet in an effort to clear this up and hope that this find won't fall through the cracks. For now, we have now way of knowing how this find is labelled.
This unit was started at the bottom of the Byzantine grave (F.151). A bone was collected from the bottom of the grave which was assigned a new unit number (2268). This grave was cut inside unit 2266, which represents the surface of Space 88. The coords for the bone are x:1052.597 y:1182.351 z:1012.694. Other bones collected from this same unit in the grave were put into the same bag. After some 15 cm. of ashy and light layers of room fill in Space 88, which represented the first unit in this space (2266), the unit number 2268 was assigned to a layer underneath. There is probably gentle sloping from N to S. A number of heavily burnt bricks and fragmented ground stone, also burnt, were found in this layer almost evenly distributed in the whole space. There are sufficient amounts of animal bones in this room fill which would suggest use of this space as some kind of a midden area through a longer period of time. Fragmented burnt brick and stones and bones were probably thrown into this room. This infilling, at this time, probably has nothing to do with the original destiny of this room, which was probably partly burnt as suggested by the reddish (burnt) line of plaster on the western wall of the space. Occasionally ashy patches are visible on the whole surface of this unit. It seems that harder bricky soil lays along the walls of the space. A large patch of plaster in the middle probably represents a collapsed wall. A smaller lump is also next to the burnt area towards Space 89. Concerning a possible connection of these two spaces through some kind of opening, it is still not clear what is going on. Between two edges of bricks of the eastern wall of the Space there is a space of 40 cm. in width filled with ash, stones -burnt- and with a red deer antler pointing towards Space 89. After more cleaning in this space, removing of the block plaster and brick in the middle of the space, something like a horncore (with a sharp edge on one side) was found and it probably fell on top of a stone and that was covered with collapsed plaster and brick. It indicates, among other things, that the infilling of this space took some time. The line of sequential replastering (with several burnt bands) becomes visible stretching from the northern wall towards the south. It looks like a platform edge of some kind. Along the W-E axis, some 25 cm. apart from the southern wall, there is a clear straight platform edge (10 cm in width) or maybe a bin. It is some 20 - 30 cm. apart from the western and eastern walls on both sides.
4/8/98
Cleaning and excavation of the whole space continued. There are several distinct areas in this space at the moment. In the NW corner several bricks with lumps of plaster (collapsed -perhaps from the feature appearing to the east from this corner, with visible layers of replastering) a bin wall (?) that was already mentioned, along the southern wall and a possible part of it sticking out of the eastern wall represent another zone, while it has not yet been possible to establish a clear eastern edge of the possible feature next to the northern wall representing yet another zone. 10 cm to the north from the bin wall, lays a large cattle scapula next to the western wall and 5 more cm to the north is a grinding stone with possible burnt grinding residue on its surface. Next to it is a part of a red deer antler and some skull fragments. The grinding stone was covered with yellowish deposits that is the same as the surrounding soil. It seems that the grinding stone was burnt and then covered with the mentioned yellowish deposit. There are lenses of burnt soil in it.
6/8/98
After more cleaning it seems that a large scaplua lies on the yellowish deposit described above (that covers dark deposits underneath). However, the red deer antler, grinding stone and cattle skull beside it possibly lay on the mentioned blackish soil. This cattle skull with horncore next to the western wall and another one showing up in the middle of the space are partly covered with zone collapse (wall?) plaster in the NW corner of the space. In the same corner there is an imprint in plaster (covered with whitish salt) that resembles the shape of a horncore.
Recognition: Color and composition
Definition: Up to a wall
Execution: trowel and leaf trowel in spits
Condition: Moist
Consistency: Between soft/friable and firm
Colour: see sketch on cont. sheet
Texture: sandy clay loam
Bedding: compound layers
Inclusions: bone, teeth, shell, burnt brick, and stones (medium)
Post-depositional Features: salts and burning
Basal Boundary: gradual - smooth
Unit Stratigraphy (as recorded in the field):
Dry sieve volume: 480
Total Deposit Volume: 510
Number of Samples recorded by excavator: 10
Number of X-Finds recorded by excavator: 48
Number of Related Diary Entries: 0
Settlement Phase:
Associated Mellaart Levels (from Space): Unassigned at present
Associated Hodder Level (from Space): Unassigned at present
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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 Ceramic Records: No Clay Object Records: No Chipped Stone Records: No Conservation Recorded: No Faunal Records: Yes
Count of records:: 166
Unit description: A medium-large unit, which overlies the major bone cluster (which has ground stones, scapulae, horn cores and antler). (Some of the material in this unit is probably part of the same deposit removed as 2289, notably the plaster cast of a horn, but probably also some of the bone. This unit included some sets of articulated cattle/large mammal bones on the east: an ankle, vertebrae. The deposit on the west is described with unit 2289.) The condition of the bone is relatively good, fresh, not reworked. There is very little burnt (but that which there is is black and grey); and little digested. There are some big pieces (e.g. ribs >20 cm long, and whole circumferences of long bones, suggesting that unit was not trampled or crushed by overburden). Diversity of taxa: cattle-size, sheep-size, boar, fish, bird). Cattle: all body parts represented - head, forelimb, hindlimb, feet, frags of horn core - but interesting lack of scapula (contra unit below). Some rib fragments very long, and a couple are chopped at proximal shaft (for dismemberment?). Sheep/goat: all body parts present. Appear to be mainly sheep where diagnostic. Wild boar mandible present with huge M3; once more, there are no pig/boar postcranial bones. Bird bones are femur, tibiotarsus and vertebra. Interpretation of this unit may be that this is post-consumption debris, not bone from primary butchery or storage. It represents many different animals, joints, but has some integrity in condition i.e. not totally mixed. Not unlike Mellaart area middens, but has big pieces indicating that material is not crushed by burial or trample. There is a bag of hand-collected small mammal bones put in with flot samples (>4mm) from Bach. Two >4mm flot samples done fully from here (sample 2 and 3). The only material from sample 4 was actually a plant part. Last number = F164Figurine 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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