June 2, 2007

Area D

Trench 6

Excavators: Jason Kennedy and Barish Uzel

We began today in Locus 85. We made one pass with big picks uncovering a continuation of the pebble surface. Barish then decided to make another pass with the big pick which revealed a soil change in the north and west portion of the trench and a continuation of the pebble surface in the middle, suggesting an older level and in somewhat different position of the pebble surface road in the trench. Two loom weights, (KT # 2 and 3), a basalt grinding stone (Kt # 4), and a bronze arrowhead (KT #5) were recovered from the removal of Locus 85. We then decided to bring Locus 86, our believed mudbrick terrace down to the current level of Locus 85. After cleaning Loci 86 and 85 we photographed them and decided to bring Locus 90, the erosional fill in the southeast corner of the trench down to the level of Locus 85 in hopes of outlining a further extension of the wall in Locus 87. We then took Locus 88 down to the level of locus 90, 86, and 85 to further delineate wall 87 and to examine the subfloor fill of Locus 88 below the foundation structure that was Locus 84. It is also possible that an earlier pebble surface road runs under locus 88. We then continued to remove Locus 89 to the level of locus 85 and 88 to attempt to discover more of wall 87. We then removed the wall, Locus 87, and took that level down to the same level of the rest of the trench. Within the wall in 87 we discovered a Basalt Loom Weight (KT #1) and three Basalt Grinding Stones (KT #’s 2, 3, and 4). Two of the large grinding stones (KT #2 and KT #3) were built into the wall suggesting their reuse in building after their initial use as grinding slabs. After taking the entire trench down to the level of Locus 85 we then cleaned the trench, prepared for photographs, and took final elevations shots to allow us to close Loci 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, and 90.