July 24, 2001

The occupation of the day continues to be understanding the southern and northern floor features (L5034 and L5027). In the south, though the floor has been removed, evidence of its previous existence are relatively abundant. In the southern section a slightly ashy layer (the floor was indeed slightly ashy in the very south of its expanse) can be seen. Further the western mudbrick wall (L5008) clearly reached its end at the same level as the material, though still quite hard, has many more inclusions and is a more brown color below the former floor level.

Pit-cum-oven L5029 in the SW corner has been better articulated now, and produced some shell (KT 5226), a carbon sample (KT 5227) and a core (KT 5228). Its west and south sections, where the oven continues into the baulk show very nicely the stratigraphy of the oven.

While trying to put to rest the dimensions of SE oven L5024, a series of mudbricks, possibly collapse, were uncovered. We tried to relate them to the floor by running loci 5043 and 5044 down about 10 cms from the pit's western edge and to the west from there. The mudbricks were thus found to be at most 2 rows wide at the top, though it is unclear whether they are completely collapse or some other feature. In the process of articulating them against the pit edge, a surface level (packed earth mostly) was found, but as it is about 40 cm below the current level of the trench, it will be a while before get there.

In the north half some time was spent working on determining the extent of eastern wall L5039. Another few cm of L5028, which is the south of surface L5034, was removed, and L5039 can now be seen to continue to the S, and possibly into the big mudbrick series of walls in the center of the trench (L5031). Gonna have to start digging into that soon. Curiously, a very thin red, plaster like coating was found on a portion of the wall and photographed after we figured out it wasn't pottery and stopped scratching at it.

Another thing that confuses me is wall L5038 and the area between it at wall L5039 is made of a very fine, clayish fill. It is simply an extremely fine material and how it relates to the surrounding area vexes me. Digging into L5031 may help me in this arena, too.

L5022 (along the eastern side of the northern half) was dug down 10 cms to try and determine that area's relation to wall L5039, and apparently there is little. The area was mostly soft fill, though a few larger stones are starting to appear, which leads me to believe continued digging there will lead to a stone feature or surface of some sort, though unrelated L5039 or L5034. Tomorrow I hope to articulate the eastern face of L5039, now that it is clear it does not continue in additional rows in the direction.