Kenan Tepe

July 13, 2004

Trench F18

Daily Journal and Trench Summary

Andy Creekmore

We only worked in this trench for one day, so this text comprises the daily journal and the trench summary.

This trench is located in the northwestern quarter of Area F, north and west of trench F14. We excavated this 1m E-W X 4m N-S trench to ground-truth the remote sensing results from last week, which seemed to indicate a wall (negative anomaly) running SW-NE through this area. We placed this trench at the following coordinates, which should make it cross directly over and perpendicular to the supposed wall seen in the gradiometry:

SW: n4188698.0000, e659734.0000

SE: n4188698.0000, e659736.0000

NE: n4188704.0000, e659736.0000

NW: n4188704.0000, e659734.0000

The ground surface in this area is characterized by low, deflated, undulating plow scars cutting W-E across an otherwise relatively flat area to the south. The ground surface contains prickly brush and dry grass. We began a topsoil locus (L1) that continued until we reached a surface (L2) and loose, reddish fill with white lime bits (L3). The surface was very compacted, being comprised of small cobblestones, pebbles and large Early Bronze Age jar pieces. We also found a complete sheep/goat mandible on the surface. In contrast, the northern 3m of the trench contained loose, reddish-brown soil with white lime bits. Such soil is characteristic of the virgin clay at the site but in L3 its looseness and rich EB artifacts indicate that it is redeposited material. This soil is also used for mudbricks, thus L3 may be eroded mudbrick walls or fill from earth moving activities. Surface L2 lasted about 10-15 cm before it yielded to a compact earth with some pebbles (L4) but nothing like the concentration of debris seen in L2. L3 continued as it was but we changed KT bags to maintain tighter control of the material. Time did not permit much further digging in L3 or L4.

An important small find, L1 KT1, is a ring base of a Ninevite-V related bowl with a potter’s mark (an ‘X’) incised on the base. Ceramics from L1 included some green-glazed Medieval period pots. Otherwise, all loci contained typical EB and LC ceramics such as out-flaring jar rims, incurving rim bowls and greenish Ninevite-V related fine wares. We uncovered very few lithics and a moderate amount of bone.

We found surface L2 in exactly the spot where the remote sensing data showed an anomaly but it hardly qualifies as a wall. Perhaps the remote sensing data is reacting to something buried deeper than the approx. 50cm we were able to reach today. Alternatively L2 was compact enough to register on the machine. How then do we explain its linear aspect? Perhaps L2 is a path, or a drip line beside a building with a mudbrick walls. L2 may also represent the ancient edge of the site where garbage was deposited in erosional depressions near a hillside. Finally, L3 may be the source of the anomaly. In that case, perhaps the transition from L2 to L3 marks an edge of some kind between garbage dumping in a pathway and the fill beyond. Unfortunately time did not permit us to excavated this test pit to a more appropriate ground-truthing depth of 1 or 1.5m.

Workers today:

Zafer Akunci

Veysel Aydin

Selim Subasi