Jen Swerida: The trench I focused most of my time on during the 2005 season, Operation 30, is located within the Tell’s hypothesized “religious platform,” directly south of the temple. The rectangular pit was originally thought to be a burial from a later time period. As we dug further and further down, however, it became apparent that this was a chamber intentionally build into the platform during the period of occupation. The room was originally covered with an arched mudbrick roof and the walls of the chamber were covered in a thick layer of plaster. The roof has since collapsed and the sporadic loose bricks pose a challenge for excavation.
The first chamber we dug appears to be an entryway to corridors extending to both the east and west. A doorway in the eastern wall was found leading into a significantly longer hallway. Plaster lines on the surface of the platform suggest a continuation of the corridor to the west of the original chamber, although no connecting doorway has been discovered. That area of the feature, however, has yet to be excavated.
The eastern chamber yielded a well-preserved southern mudbrick wall, presumably the extreme northern edge of the platform, a bonded eastern wall, and, most excitingly, the outline of an arched entryway heading north into the side of the Tell. An unusual mudbrick wall fragment just out from the western side of the arch and almost blocks the passageway but does not extend to the full height of the ceiling or surrounding walls. The floor of either chamber has yet to be uncovered.
In the upcoming season, I hope to follow the corridor north through the archway and fully excavate the theoretical subsequent chamber. Additionally, I hope to locate the level of the floor in the original two chambers and to determine if the corridor continues any further to the east. If time allows, I would also like to begin excavations on the chamber to the west of the original trench.
