Unit 4121
Category: layer dug in 1999
Area: South
Interpretive Categories: dump/midden
Data Category Information: Location: in abandoned building
Dimensions: approx. 9m E-W ; 3m N-S ; 0.48m deep ( E.) - 0.20m deep (W.)
Discussion: Excavated at first from base of ridge towards the east end of the space. Then spitted back E. to W. At E. end to start with clay lumpy inclusions but just down from surface a more uniform brown colour. At E. end of space, especially the metre closest to building 2 a definite concentration of bone - much of it quite large and we assumed it to be cattle - especially since a high proportion of our cattle DNA samples came from this area - and also the large horn core. The unit as a whole was fairly homogenous and we didn't feel that we were excavating through a series of discrete layers - appeared mixed up. Again we found the cattle bone at the E. end at all depths and this would seem to confirm this impression.We possibly could have divided the unit into 2 halves looking at the section - but didn't notice any dramatic change while digging, and the first clear horizon was the one we stopped at ( dark grey and clayey ). Before if we tried to follow a horizon we'd quickly lose it.
The excavation of this layer did start to reveal a lump of apparent wall collapse orientated N-S. The midden material under (4121) seems to lie over this. One noticable variation within the unit lay immediately to the west of the wall collapse; there was a definite concentration of charcoal and ash in this area - approx. 1m square in extent.
Recognition: classic midden deposit - previously identified as midden.
Definition: up to walls on eastern and southern side - edge of excavation northern and western sides. clearly defined
Execution: mattock/trowel - initially from line of ridge in midden working east - second spit east to west, then additional spits
Condition: slightly damp
Consistency: friable
Colour: mid brown - but with different colour inclusions - pale cream/grey ; - also mid to dark grey
Texture: silt / clayey silt - top 0.05 to 0.10m more clayey
Bedding: massive
Inclusions: large building material - clay lumps, concentrated towards E. end; charcoal, flecks to med.; bone, up to large; obsidian, small/med.;clay balls, - all fairly frequent, up to 5%. Clay figurine frags. and shell , up to 2%
Post-depositional Features:
Basal Boundary: change in accumalated deposits? abrupt, distinct, smooth, fairly flat at the E. end then sloping gently to the west from approx. 913 easting
Unit Stratigraphy (as recorded in the field):
Dry sieve volume: 11385
Total Deposit Volume: 11460
Number of Samples recorded by excavator: 56
Number of X-Finds recorded by excavator: 1
Number of Related Diary Entries: 4
Settlement Phase:
Associated Mellaart Levels (from Space): Unassigned at present
Associated Hodder Level (from Space): Unassigned at present
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| Buildings: none | |
Spaces: (Click to view the record)
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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:: 812
Unit description: F 868, 870, 879, 1437, 1438, 1439, 1442, 1446 and 1833 subsampled for ZooMS (DCO 2014) This is a huge, mixed midden covering all of space 115, level 8. A very dense unit with cattle, equid, sheep, goat, pig, ass, tortoise, dog, fox, medium (duck?) and large birds and a number of small unidentified mammals. All body parts are represented except for the birds which are represented by wings only. There is also a large amount of worked bone including points, rings, toggles, and others of uncertain use. Both young and mature animals are present in the sheep-size. Among the cattle there is a large number of bones belonging to a huge animal, almost certainly an aurochs, which acording to the excavators were concentrated in the SE corner near a complete horn core. There are at least two articulated cattle wrists - this is evident from the weathering on the carpals, not from observation in the ground. Many of the equid teeth show old individuals. Many teeth recorded separately to jaws as loose, and may have fitted together? There is a small amount of low-temperature and very rarely high-temperature burning. Weathering generally slight to low medium in range. There is some digested bone and a small amount of carnivore gnawing. Preliminary examination of the material suggests that the composition of the bone discard in the midden may have varied spatially. Some areas appear to have quantitities of bone from the larger taxa and some do not. This difference may however reflect the different excavation methods used in this unit. Since all the material was taken out as a single unit all of the material was rough sorted as a homogenous group. F1 - an enormous Bos primigenius horn core. Preliminary examination suggests that it is bigger than the one on the other side of the wall from phase 8, Building 2. Although the total length is the same, the outer and inner curvature are much bigger. However, since the horn was only partially exposed, measurements are very tentative. M2 - 540 mm M3 - 920 mm (revised 910mm) M4 - 700 mm (revised 680) NB There is another flattened but almost complete horn core at the other end of this space in Unit 4997, an arbitrary piece of this midden unit dug to release the wall. It is from a different individual. (2000): This unit was left unfinished in 1999 and completed in October 2000. The appearance of the remnant of the unit is consistent with the existing FUD. Flotation samples 12, 2, and 18 were studied this season (diagnostic pieces only - the undiagnostics were merely weighed and counted). They are large, with battered, digested, and highly fragmented pieces, as is normal for a midden. Sample 12 yielded a fish dentary, and all samples contained microfauna. Last number = 3071Figurine 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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