Daily Trench Journal

Area D

Trench 5

July 22, 2002

Five loci, grain surface L5098 and above fills L5103 and L5100, late pit L5085, and Ubaid contemporary fill 5106 were worked on today. The main goal of today’s work was to get the fragile contexts, in particular the grain surface, sorted out before we start taking the W, and possibly a little of the S, baulks down a bit. We plan to take them down early next week.

Nothing remarkable was discovered, though of note the grain surface appears to peter out a bit as it approaches the western wall of oven L5111 so a nice stack of grain against the oven wall, which would be great for establishing a contemporary relation, might not be in the cards. When it comes to the oven, the final proof (as such exists in archaeology) may have to wait until the feature is excavated, probably mid next week. Still, there are some difficulties even in that because, where finding grain under the oven insures that it is a later feature, finding no grain could mean any of the following: a) the oven is contemporary; b) the oven is older so the grain surface was deposited later; or c) the oven is later and when built was done in such a way to cut the surface.

The other thing of note from today’s excavations is that WNW late pit L5085 is much larger than I had originally anticipated. Its vertical extent (including that shown in the baulk) is now near 70 cm.

Finds worth mentioning include a possible figurine leg off the grain surface, KT 5103.33 and a pottery spindle whorl from the late pit, KT 5085.25.