Journal / Summary:D-10-2005-Summary

Kenantepe 2005        Page 1

Datum: 587.95

Trench: D.10

Date: June 10, 2005

TRENCH SUMMARY FOR THE 2005 SEASON

This trench opened to find the possible continuation of the building discovered in the south of D.8. The wall L.77 of D.8 was going into the S section and this was a good indication that the southern part of the building could be recovered. Work began on June 4th and ended on June 13th. It was interesting that the reliable archaeological contexts were very close to the surface. We have found series of pits (L.3, L.4, L.5. L.6, L.11) only about 40cm below the surface soil L.1. Most of the pits were dug into the Ubaid levels, except the pit L.5 due to flint scraped bowl. Another one may be the pit L.3 because there was a painted sherd lying on top of one of the cobbles. Although the pottery from those pits has not been examined carefully, Bradley suggested that some sherds have II. Millennium attributes. Pit L.3 was filled with cobbles. At first, I thought that it was a wall but later on it became more convincing that it was a pit filled with rocks and medium to large size broken or smashed pots. Due to small area this pit was exposed, I tentatively call it as a pit. Pit L.4 and L.5 were dug next to each other and they both distinctively filled with ash. Pit L.6 was built slightly later and partially damaged the pit L.4 on the E side. Pit L.11 was the largest. At first, I thought that there was only a concentration of piled mud-bricks. After two working days, it became clear that those bricks were dumped into a large pit and when the pit was full and became not enough, more bricks were piled on top of the pit as much as possible. The lower part of this pit also had an ash layer that was dumped before those bricks. Accordingly, having 5 pits with various sizes had severely damaged the Ubaid deposits beneath them.

The Ubaid room L. 7 was in the N portion of the trench. It was about 2.30x1.60 m in size but its walls were barely visible. The best preserved one was the E wall L.9 with only one row of bricks and white plaster on the interior face. The W wall L.10 was damaged by the pits L.11, L.3 and L.4 but the brick abutting the possible north wall in the N section and the other next to it were survived. The S wall L.12 was also damaged by the pit L.6 in the S and it is represented by the two bricks in the W side and by the turning curve of the plaster on the wall L.9 towards the W. The large pit L.11 also destroyed the interior space of the room causing the size and the corners of the room blurry. The S and the E of the trench was already damaged by the severe erosion as well as the wheelbarrow path prepared to remove the dirt from trench D.8. However, the white plaster surface L.15 surprisingly survived under harsh conditions and found in the space next to wall L. 9 as a 40-50 wide strip. Because it is not abutting to this wall, it seems to represent a feature that is earlier and under the room L.7. Further excavations will make the problems related to Room L.7 architecture and the use of the L.15 plaster surface solved that have been emerging on June 11th and 12th.