Today was another busy day on the western slope of Gegharot. We completed our second and third transects (T-37 E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L). Most of what I observed reinforced my previous conclusions. Bedrock is shallow (~30cm) in the units situated to the east (higher on the slope). Conversely, in the westernmost units bedrock is nowhere to be found in the first 2 meters. The highest densities of cultural materials are found in the middlemost units. T-37 J, in particular, was of considerable interest. We found a cluster of stones (locus 4) that appear to be part of a wall that runs N/S. This feature continued into the baulk. The matrix adjacent to and underneath this feature was rich in bio-organics and contained the greatest density of pottery we have yet encountered. Interestingly, in this unit and all the others tested in the western slope all the pottery is early bronze. I have yet to find any overtly LB materials. It seems that the wash either predated the LB / an LB retaining wall prevented materials from moving to this part of the site. In this regard, this area of excavation is important for thinking through the relationship between the settlement on the citadel and the other known EB units at the bottom of the hill.
While we finished the three transects as we had initially planned, we also amended the plan to add two additional units at the base of the western slope parallel to T12 beneath T37 E an T37 I respectively. We also decided to resume operations in T-37 E in order to find bedrock however deep it may be. This will help us to better understand the topography of the area and perhaps infer where and at what elevations we might expect to find in situ evidence of EB architecture.