Today on the western slope of Gegharot we continued our expansion to a 6x8m trench, bringing down the northern eastern baulks to join the bottom depth of the remainder of the trench. In both respective areas we exposed continuations of previously known walls (locus 9 and locus 10). This also served to enlarge loci 7 and 12). It now appears that wall 9 is curvilinear and continues further into the northern baulk. The arch shape that was unearthed today has helped considerably to understand the configuration of the architecture. It is now possible to understand (at least in the northern half of the trench) what constitutes exterior from interior space. It will be interesting to see in upcoming days -- after we expand the unit north -- how complete a picture we have of the structure. How much of the architecture on the western slope eroded? What differences do we find in the material culture between the interior and exterior space? Do we have a surface and/or in situ materials?
It remains unclear, however, what the architectural configuration and orientation is like in the southern half of the unit. As of recent work, it seems possible that wall 10 may not be a straight feature directed from NE to SW. Further excavation should hopefully elucidate if this wall too curves (and perhaps even joins with the exposed architecture in the northern part of the unit.
The western slope of Gegharot continues to proffer a high density of material culture. Particularly in northern half of the trench (in the NE corner) we have a considerable amount of pottery. While some of the pottery is resting horizontally (and has been excavated/ documented accordingly), a lot of it still does not appear to be in situ -- and is found in the loose matrix of locus 6. The amount of bone in this area is also high compared to that of the rest of the unit. As we came down on loci 11/ 13 we have yet to find a clear explanation for why this is the case.
Tomorrow we will continue our work in this area. After we complete the initial extension in the eastern region of the trench we will likely extend north once again to trace wall 9 further.