As yesterday, today we worked in WSI2 and WSN. In WSI2, we continued in locus 14, extending from the west corner toward the north in order to trace the transition between locus 11 and locus 14. We began to encounter the medium brown clayish silt alongside the internal baulk, adjacent to locus 11, as well in the area near to the northwest wall. In the course of excavating locus 14, we encountered a broken basalt groundstone--mono.
In WSN, we continued to work in locus 07. By looking at the baulk created by the excavation of loci 6, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17 and 18, I can see that the matrix of locus 07 seems to continue to a considerable depth (raising more questions about how this can possibly be a floor). Decided to take one more pass across this area, and then will change loci. Tomorrow will extend to the eastern corner of locus 07. One small find found in locus 07 today--a pointed bone tool. Also, to charcoal samples collected.
Today Hasmik and I walked the area behind WSN and noticed that the northeast and southwest walls appear to continue up slope (up the ridge). In addition, there seems to be another wall running from east to south behind WSN. It's almost as though the room might be bigger, although the southeast wall of WSN makes that unlikely. Perhaps this is another small room? Perhaps the room was once rectangular and the back wall of WSN is a later wall (the rounded one)? Really not sure.
Interesting developments in Katie's trenches, WSAC and WSAD. After opening the doorway between the two rooms, we encountered a few unusual situations. First, in the middle of the doorway there are a few large stones that appear to be aligned. It looks as though there's a wall that runs beneath the level of the Iron 3 walls. The angle of this wall does not accord with those of the walls of WSAC and WSAD. Also unusual was the absence of a second course of stones beneath the western side of the doorway. Two of the stones that are visible from the surface appear to be floating. There is a stone beneath the middle boulder, but it is set further back, suggesting that all of the stones of the western side of the doorway have slid forward. The only way to verify this is to expand the trench slightly in this area, because I am unable to detect additional stones with a trowel or stake. If they are there, they are quite a ways back. At the same time, the stones of the passageway are clearly visible on the northern side of the doorway, although there is an unusual cluster of small stones in the corner within WSAD. After drawing and photographic the top course of stones that block the doorway from the WSAC side, we removed these (three stones), so as to better clarify the doorway. It will be exceedingly interesting if it turns out that we have LBA architecture beneath the Iron 3 walls.
Another interesting development in WSAD is the feature of small stones in the eastern corner of the room. It is now clear that these are aligned and at least two courses deep. It looks as though this feature site below the bottom course of the northeast wall. If this is the case, and if the feature belongs to an LBA occupation, then we would have gone through the Iron 3 floor already. We'll see in the section.