August 13, 2001

Attention continues to be focused on the southern building. Focus today was on the interior oven (L5062) and the area on the outside of the walls (L5060). Dealing with the latter required a superimposed pit be removed prior (L5055) in the area between W wall L5045 and the western baulk.

The pit came out with relative ease, and underneath it there appears to be some additional mudbrick architecture which is, I dare say, probably related to the building. In addition a second row or possibly mud-plaster layer was found on the western surface of the western wall. The area beneath the pit was dubbed L5065.

L5060, which was taken down to the level of the three fishnet weights along the northern wall (L5045) revealed genuine white plaster bonded to the wall and continuing to the depth of our current excavation, which means we have indeed found the surface or it lies still a little bit deeper. It does, however, confirm the depth of the entirety of the wall, which is wonderful given we were having trouble finding courses.

The big carbon sample (KT 5383) was taken out of oven L5062, which has proven to be more extensive than we originally thought. Digging it (level with the general level we're doing currently) revealed that its northern extent is not flush with the W-E segment of L5045, but rather that the wall comes to the oven, whose wall in turn forms a T. The oven appears to be quite large (possibly as much as a meter and a half in diameter) and circular. Some of it extends into the eastern baulk. Also, apparently inside the area the oven (should?) occupy, there is what appears to be a perfectly circular pit, L5064, but it has yet to be dug. Its relation to the oven should be interesting.

Finally, a little time was spent digging in the trench northwards, partially because the architecture may extend that, and partially because space is limited for too many people to work in the area around the structure. In any event, areas of mid-trench fill locus L5054 were shaved a couple centimeters, followed by five centimeters being taken off the southern portion (as L5066) where the matrix seems mostly consistent and some sherds could be seen extending up from the soil.