ÇATALHÖYÜK 2001 ARCHIVE REPORT

The Excavation of the BACH 1 Area, 2001

BACH 1 Alanindaki Kazilar, 2001

 

Mirjana Stevanovic, Ruth Tringham

Abstract

    As a result of the 2001 excavations the 5 major phases in the construction and occupation of the building have been revised and clarified. Most significantly the two rooms, spaces 86 and 158 comprised one large room, now designated space 201, in the first three phases of the building’s history. Possibly from the earliest phase, some kind of screen wall partitioned space 201. A small northern wall was added in phase 2. It was not until phase 4 that the composite partition formed by the two small internal walls, two pillars and the elaborate white plastered screen wall was added.

    The burials so far excavated all belong to different phases in Building 3’s history. The earliest are the children’s graves dug into the Central floor area in phase 2. In each phase we can recognize a main oven in use, along with smaller ovens in the southern part of the building. The detailed excavation of floors in the western part of Building 3 (space 158) revealed a number of storage bins as well as ovens.

    By the end of the 2001 season, we had completed the excavation of all but the earliest phase of occupation and construction. The remaining phase 1 floors will be excavated in 2002 when we are planing to carry out our study season parallel with the excavation.

Özet

    Bu seneki kazılarda, binanın yapım ve kullanım sürecinin 5 ana evresi yeniden gözden geçirilmiş ve aydınlığa çıkartılmıştır. Geçmiş çalışmalarda ortaya çıkarılan 86 ve 156 nolu odaların, binanın ilk üç evresinde aslında tek bir odadan oluştuğu (201 nolu alan) anlaşılmıştır. Bir ihtimalle, daha binanın erken evresinde oda küçük bir perde duvarı ile bölünmüştü. Odanın kuzeyine küçük bir duvar 2. evrede eklenmiştir. Ancak odanın gerçek anlamda bölünmesi, iki küçük duvar, iki hatıl ve özenle sıvanmış perde duvarının 4. evrede eklenilmesiyle olmuştur.

    Şimdiye kadar kazılan gömülerin tamamı evin farklı evrelerine aittir. En erken gömüler, 2. evrede merkezi tabanın altına gömülen çocuklardır. Bir ana fırın ve binanın güneyinde bulunan daha küçük fırınların her evrede kullanıldığı anlaşılmıştır. Binanın batısında (158 nolu alan) gerçekleştirilen detaylı taban kazıları, depolar ile birlikte fırınlar da ortaya çıkarmıştır.

    2001 kazı mevsiminin sonunda kazılar, binanın en erken evresine kadar gelmiştir. Geriye kalan 1. evre tabanlarının kazıları, seneye 2002 sezonunda, araştırma mevsimi ile paralel olarak gerçekleşecektir.

Introduction

Work commenced on 7 June, 2001, (one week later than our scheduled start date) and ended on July 15, 2001.

The primary aim of the season was to continue and possibly finish excavation of Building 3 (space 86 and 158) in order to undertake the study season in 2002. The small buildings known as Spaces 87, 88, 89 which were excavated 1997-1999 (see reports for previous seasons) were not excavated in this season due to our focus on Building 3. We continued the partial excavation of Space 85 located immediately to the west of Building 3 in order to clarify the phasing of the West wall (see Fig. 2).

In previous years while excavating the fill of Building 3 we had recorded a number of burials from the late Roman period, as well as the roof, midden, screen wall of the Neolithic building, and two periods of its entire western wall of the house (reported in previous Archive Reports). In the 1999 season we began to excavate the building floor level and its platforms. In the 1999-2001 seasons, as we progressed down through the multiple phases of the building we uncovered several burials under the platforms and central house floor of space 86.

We have known since the second (1998) season of the excavation of Building 3 that it stands out among the currently excavated houses at Çatalhöyük by its size and complexity. In the 2001 season, however, we were once more reminded that this complexity is even greater than originally perceived.

By the end of the 2000 season we had interpreted the stratigraphy of Building 3 in terms of 4 (probably 5) major structural phases, each consisting of multiple sub-phases. Our excavations of the 2001 season strengthened this interpretation, but suggested that these changes in spatial configuration and floor construction coincided with different floor levels in the building than we had proposed in 2000. In this new interpretation, during the 2001 season we excavated all the platform floors in phase 2 and much of phase 1. In the central floor area the phase 2 (floors 11-14) floors were excavated. (2 - 5 floors). In space 86, one single burial and a composite Neolithic burial was excavated. Much of the 2001 excavation focused on the excavation of the narrow room, space 158, whose floors were excavated from phase 4 floors down to the level of the top of the phase 1 floors. As a result of the demolition of the two small internal walls and the screen wall, it was realized that in much of the early history of Building 3 (phases 1-3), there had been only a single room, which was designated space 201.

Our plans to finish the excavation of Building 3 in 2001 were again modified by the delay of the starting date of our excavation season. As a result, the remaining few (1-3) floors belonging to the earliest phase in the history of Building 3 will be excavated in 2002. We are planning to carry out a study season parallel with the excavation. That is, in 2002 a large part of our team will start the study season from the beginning of the project and will carry it out parallel with the excavation.

Excavating Building 3 (Spaces 86, 158 and 201)

Building 3 is the largest single building in the Bach excavation area (see Figure 1). Its interior dimensions are 6m x 5.5m. Building 3 comprises a large, open central space (86), and a long and narrow space (158). These two spaces are separated by a series of walls running in a N-S direction comprising two short interior walls (F. 160 and 161), and the "curtain or screen wall" (F.601) in the middle (consisting of F. 155, 156,164). During the 2001 season, these walls were dismantled, and the large room that covered at least the southern part of the building in its earlier history was designated Space 201.

At the beginning of the 2001 season, the two spaces (86 and 158) were clearly distinct and each had a separate sequence of floors. The floors of space 86 had been excavated to an earlier point in their history than those of space 158. For this reason, much of the focus of 2001 was on excavating space 158.

Phasing the house

As a result of the 2001 excavations, we have modified and clarified the phasing sequence that we had devised after the 2000 season (Figure 2). In place of the 4 major (and 1 minor) construction phases of building 3 - A-D (E) - defined in the 2000 season, we have defined five phases (1-5, with 1 being the earliest). The re-plastering sequences of the floors of each platform and the central floor area have been assigned to sub-phases of these major phases (Figure 2). Phase 5 (corresponding to phase E of the 2000 series), which comprised the latest (uppermost) floors were removed in the 1999 season. This phase was not present in all the parts of building 3, being most obvious in the northern part of the building that is on the platform features 162, and 173, where the floors were covered and presumably preserved by the collapsed roof.

In the 2000 season we removed the floors of phase 3 and 4 (D in the 2000 series) across the entire Space 86 (except for the NW corner platform F. 162). By the end of the 2001 season, the three platforms at the northern end of space 86 (F. 162, F. 173, F. 170) had been excavated well into their phase 1 floors, with only 1-2 floors remaining (Figure 4). The platforms in the southern part of space 86 (F. 169 and 167) and the central floor area had been excavated to the top of the phase 1 floor series.

It is very obvious to us that there was a major re-configuration of the spatial organization (platforms etc.) of Building 3 between phases 2 and 3, in which, for example the two-room configuration of phases 4-5 was changed into a one-room configuration. An important manifestation of this change can be seen in the configuration of the platform in the southwest corner (F. 169), which, in phase 3 was much larger, extending to the west wall of Building 3. During 2001, the small interior walls (F. 160 and 161) that had divided space 86 and 158 were dismantled and seen to have been constructed as part of the phase 4 re-configuration (Figure 3). The pillars (F. 164 and F. 156) at each end of the "screen-wall" were also dismantled, as was the screen wall itself, and showed that this feature had a longer history than had been thought in 2000.

The long narrow room along the west wall, Space 158, whose history had been intimately connected with the history of the transformations of the west wall of the building (see 2000 Archive report) was excavated in detail during the 2001 season and provided a number of significant features to clarify the use of this space and its complicated history.

Layers of burning in the entire house

The excavation of the 2001 season provided some clarification as to the layers of apparent intensive burning that had been observed in 2000 in the profiles of the post-retrieval pits (Features 602, 168) and the burial pit (Feature 617 and 631) stratified immediately below the phase 4 (C-phase) floors. As we excavated down to these layers, it became clear that they were re-deposited burned materials used as packing for floors of phases 1 and 2 in the northern part of space 86. The source of the burned materials was not clear. We excavated fire installations from all phases, but the debris from ovens is unlikely to have been the source of the 10 cm thick layers of burned materials.

Space 201

Space 201 was defined half-way through the 2001 season, as the space which existed before the solid partition between space 86 and 158 (walls (F. 160, 161), pillars (F. 156 and 164), and the screen wall) were constructed. Space 201 defines Building 3 in phases 1-3. Even in these earlier periods, however, there was some partitioning of space by a small wall in the north and some kind of screen wall in the center.

Space 86

The overall impression of the Space 86 at floor level is a tripartite division -: Northern, Central, Southern. The divisions are defined rather differently than they were in 2000. The "Northern section" comprises the three platforms along the north and east walls (Features 162, 170, 173). The "Center" is the Central floor area (F.606) that is lower than the surrounding platforms. The "Southern section" comprises the lower "kitchen area" (F.613 etc.) and the large platform (F. 169) on its western side, and Feature 167 on its eastern side, which started out as a step and became a platform.

Central floor area

The Central floor area (Feature 606) is located in the middle of the building and it covers about 2 square meters (see Figure 1). By the end of the 2000 season, the closely packed floors of phases 3-5 (previously D-E) in this area (floors 1-10) had been removed. In 2001 the series of floors of phase 2 (#11-13) were removed, along with the underlying packing to the top of the phase 1 floors (floor #14).

Close to the end of the 2000 season the skeletons of two young children (F. 648 and 756) were excavated in the northwest part of the central floor area, close to the screen wall and the platform F. 162 (see BACH Archive Report 2000 and Human Remains Archive Report 2000). They were associated with a third skeleton (F. 757), buried slightly earlier, that was excavated during the 2001 season. A full report of this burial can be found in the Human Remains Report 2001. This was an infant buried in a basket, only part of which was intact. A strand of clay beads had been placed on each of its upper arms, dark-colored ones on the right side and light-colored ones on the left side (Figure 5). A freshwater shell that was used as a vessel for cinnabar and a material whose composition is unknown had been placed near the top of the head. The shell was covered on the outside with resin, which - if it turns out to be frankincense - would mean that scent was important. Otherwise, it is most likely that the resin was applied for its adhesive properties. Next to this - also under the top of the head - was a bone pin partially embedded in green pigment. Remains of uncarbonized wood, which could have been a part of a little wooden box in which all the mentioned items were placed, were also excavated nearby.

All three burials were cut through and from the phase 2 floors of F. 606. The phase 2 series of floors (#11-13) in F.606 comprise at the top 1) white plaster floor (s), under which is (2) a layer of brown-beige compact clay packing; (3) a grey layer of clay - probably floor, and then(4) a thick layer of loose re-deposited burned constructional clay lies directly on the latest phase 1 floor (#14) that will be excavated in 2002. The layer of burned clay packing is similar to the burned packing found under the phase 2 floor (#5) of the platform F. 162.

In the northwest part of the Central Floor Area (F. 606), specifically between the screen wall and the burial cuts of F. 648, 756, and 757, the thick layer of burned red clay material is missing, and in its place is a thick layer of black carbonized remains of organic matter, including ash, charcoal, numerous tubers, and miscellaneous finds (e.g., an obsidian tool, and a burnt fragmented stone tool). Because of the stratigraphic position of the burials, it is clear that the layer of organic burning is not directly part of the burial process, although there may be some kind of relationship. Although some of the burned organic material may be re-deposited, there is definitely evidence of in situ burning in this area.

In the 2001 season, we began to excavate the phase 1 floors of F. 606, specifically floor #14. Floor 14 is the latest phase 1 floor and comprises soft, moist, thin layer of white plaster. The remaining phase 1 floors and packing will be excavated in 2002.

"Kitchen" , entrance floor and related southern platforms

This whole area had been severely damaged not only by post-abandonment midden deposition, but also by heavy traffic, use and repair during the lifetime of the building. Most of the floors in this area may have started white, but became deposited multiple layers of organic materials, comprising ash, charcoal, and phytoliths, so that it gives the appearance of being a "dirty" area.

The "Kitchen" and Entrance Area

Along the South wall of the building 3 is a 2-square meter area known as the "kitchen or dirty area" (see Figure 6). Like the Central floor area and at its same level, this is an open floor area. It is separated from the Central floor area by a threshold built of fine white plaster (F.645) which runs from the SW corner of the platform F. 170 westwards along the north edge of the platform F. 169. It was put in place at least during phase 2 (floors 11-13 of F. 606), and possibly earlier and remained in use until phase 4. In cleaning the lower plaster surface of the threshold red dots were observed painted in a line. In phase 5 in the history of Building 3, the large oven, F. 613, excavated for the most part in 1999-2000, was the dominant fire installation in the building (see 2000 BACH Archive report) . The multiple floor layers in the "kitchen" area in this phase are mostly red burnt or scorched black-red.

In 2001, excavation proceeded below the oven F. 613 into the phase 4-2 floors. Many of these floors were scorched and discolored by the heat of the later oven F.613. The same heavy activity and disturbance to the floors as had been seen in the later phases. Floor #7, for example, was originally white but through use and proximity to the fire installation Feature 779, it became discolored and scorched.

Feature 779 is a damaged horseshoe-shaped oven that was set in the South wall of Building 3. This oven is interpreted as the dominant fire installation during phase 2 in the history of Building 3. The damage was made for the most part by later cuts, entry traffic, and oven features (e.g. 613). East of the oven was a likely entry area into the house also in this phase 2 and may also have been responsible for some damage to the oven. In the clay packing for the oven was found a complete ball-like polishing (for plaster?) stone tool. In the plaster floor of the entry area was found a mini obsidian mirror.

South-East Platform - Feature 167/637

During phase 3-4 of Building 3, in the southeast corner of Space 86 and to the east of "kitchen area" was a complex "platform", F. 167/637. This comprised a step-like platform with a lower step to the North (F. 637), and in the south and a higher step against the southern wall (F. 167). On the west edge of these steps was a higher bench which had large cuts made through it. (see 1999-2000 Archive report). These two circular shallow cuts (both nearly 20 cm diameter), have been interpreted as the possible remains of an entrance ladder that was fixed in the floor of the platform.

These features, as well as the features of the latest phase (5) in this corner, were considerably damaged by cuts that were dug in preparation of the post-abandonment midden and by the post retrieval pit (F. 168).

In 2001, excavation started with the earlier phase 3 floors in which the steps were leveled to comprise a bench set in the SE corner along the house walls. It extended in the north to the post which was set in the post-retrieval pit (F.168). On its western edge it was also bordered by a high bench which probably also served as a ladder base. In this phase the platform was heavily used and renovated many times, with at least three major renovation events.

South-West Platform - Feature 169

This platform in the Southwest corner of Building 3 has a long and complicated history that was intimately bound up with the history of the southern end of Building 3, what we have referred to as the "dirty" or "kitchen" part of Building 3. It was heavily damaged during the abandonment phases of Building 3 and we can see that its uppermost floors were stripped off before the post-abandonment midden debris was deposited. In the later phases of its history (floors 1-2, phases 4-5) that we excavated in 1999-2000 it comprised a smaller platform between the South wall of Building 3 and the short interior wall (F.161) that separated Space 86 from Space 158. Fire installations in the "kitchen" abutted its eastern edge. In its earlier history it became a much larger platform incorporating the southern part of the previous space 158, and filling the southwest corner of Building 3. As a result of our excavation during 2000-2001, we have come to a much clearer understanding of the complexity of F. 169. In the latest phases of the platform, after the partitioning wall (F.161) had been built in phase 4, there were at least three major structural phases, each with a number of replastered floors and features. From the lowest

    a) Floor 3 (phase 4): A narrow platform (on the E-W line), with white clay floors and with a series of hearths lying in a N-S line on the "kitchen" floor, abutting the east side of the platform (Features. 630, 632, 604, 752).

    b) Floor 2 (phase 4) series: the northern section of the platform was extended eastwards to be flush with the eastern edge of the series of hearths on the "kitchen" floor (Features. 630, 632, 604, 752). The floor of the platform was moulded around the northern edge of the hearth

    c) Floor 1: (phase 5) In the final floors of the platform, all of the hearths were out of use and were incorporated into a now much larger squarish platform in the SW corner of space 86 platform, finished with a thick, smooth white plaster floor.

Many of the phase 4-5 floors of F. 169 were removed in 2000, but the significance of the ovens embedded in them only became clear after the excavation of the "kitchen" area in 2001.. For the most part, the excavation of F. 169 focused on the floors below the small partitioning wall (F. 161), that is the floors of phases 3 (floors 4-5), 2 (floors 6-7), and 1 (floor 8-9). In these phases, Feature 169 became a large platform that extended from the "kitchen/entrance" area to the West wall of Building 3 into the former Space 158. In phase C, the small interior wall (F. 161) had not yet been constructed. Thus the platform (F. 169) in phase C most likely extended to the very corner (SW) of Building 3. The floors 6-7 are clearly synchronous with the 11-13 floor series in the Central floor area (phase 2). Set into the white plaster of floor 8 (phase 1) in the very southwest corner of platform F.169 (and Building 3) is a large oven, designated F. 785. This has been interpreted as the dominant oven in phase 1 of Building 3's history.. It is located below the oven F.642, which had been the dominant oven in phase 4. The oven, F.785, is well preserved; at least two floors are visible; its rim has not been preserved as well. It is slightly set into the West wall, as was the oven F.642. The oven may have continued in use also during the existence of Floor #7.

It is interesting to not that in the packing between floor 7 and 8, lying face down on Floor 8 itself is a cluster of potsherds which were clearly placed here as part of the packing. The inner and outer surface of the sherds are coated thickly with organic residue (taken for analysis). Pottery is extremely rare in the floor debris of the building itself.

Northern "clean" platforms

The remaining floor surface in Space 86 is taken up by three platforms, which are raised about 20-25 cm above the level of the Central Floor.

North-West Platform - Feature 162

This platform is large, square in plan with rounded corners. In 1999-2000 we removed the phase 5 and 4 and part of the phase 3 floors. In 2001 the floors of phase 3 (#3and 4) and 2 (floor #5) were removed, and the upper phase 1 floors (#6-7). The phase 2-4 floors of this platform were constructed of thick very fine white plaster with a smooth finish. From this point of view, its finish was given much greater care than the other platforms, whose white finish only appeared in phase 4.

The excavation of the lower floors of Feature 162 in 2001 was not carried out until the series of burials that disturbed a large portion of this platform had been completed. The burials themselves are described in detail in the Human Remains Archive Report for 2000 and 2001. Here we discuss the sequence of burial events inasmuch as we can identify it from the stratigraphy of burial cuts and skeletal materials. The platform, Feature 162, was cut at least four times in order to bury four bodies. All four burials were cut from phase 4 floors, in some cases all the way through the floors and into the midden below the floor of Building 3. The excavation and analysis of these skeletons was completed in the 2001 season.

The latest burial of this complex was of a young child buried in a basket (Feature 617, excavated in 1999). Just before this burial, a mature woman of 40-45 years of age was buried (Feature 634, excavated in 2000-2001) (Figure 7). Her remains were fully intact and her burial cut into and partially disturbed two earlier burials, both of adolescents. One of these adolescents (F. 644, excavated in 2000-2001) was completely disturbed and scattered randomly. The other adolescent, a young man aged between 14-16 years, was only partially disturbed by the burial of the woman (F. 647, excavated 2000-2001). The majority of this teenage boy's remains, which probably represent the first burial under this platform) were intact. No grave goods were found with these burials, but evidence of basketry and rope associated with the burials provide significant information on the burial ritual.

After the burials had been excavated, excavation of the lower floors proceeded. Floors 3-4 (phase 3) had been partially excavated in 2000. Their excavation was completed in 2001. Below floor 4, a solid beige packing lay on top of floor 5 (phase 2) which was the earliest of the thick white plastered floors on this platform. This floor was helpful in defining the changing configuration represented by phase 2. It was laid down before the construction of the small interior wall (F. 160). Its western end was nevertheless defined by a wall (F. 772) that had subsequently been truncated by the construction of Feature 160. Its eastern end was defined by a clear lip or low wall that separated it from the platform F. 173. On the southern edge, Feature 162 at the level of floor5 flows smoothly into the plastered floor of the central floor area (F. 606).

Floor 5 comprises a thick white plastered floor (certainly a composite of several floor replacements). Floor 5 is built on a very different set of floors and packing belonging to phase 1. Floor 5 itself is laid on a thick packing layer of burned construction clay. The floors of phase 1 (#6-8) are separated from each other by thick layers of loose packing, and are finished with a thin layer of plaster. According to the profile of the group burial pit, two floors (#8-9) remains to excavated on this platform.

North-East Platform - Feature 173

This large platform in the northeast corner of Building 3, was excavated in 1999-2000 to the top of its phase 1 floors (floor 6). The 2001 season began with the excavation of the thin plaster floor of the uppermost phase 1 floor (#6) (designated C phase in 2000), that was separated from the underlying thin floor #7 by a loose packing layer. Floor 7 was separated from the underlying thin plaster layer of floor 7 by a thick packing layer of burned structural material, especially in the southern part of the platform. By the end of the 2001 season, only two more floors remained to be excavated before midden would be reached, as could be seen in the profile of the burial pit (F. 631) that had been excavated in 2000. These will be excavated in 2002.

The floors on the platform 173 along the North wall of Building 3 were consistently distinct from the rest of the platform, in that they dived down steeply against the North wall and had thick layers of wet compact clayey packing. We believe that this difference is related to the nature of the underlying structure. No further burials were found in this platform in 2001.

East-Central Platform - Feature 170

This large platform abuts the East building wall and was built between two wooden posts, evidenced by two large post-retrieval pits along the East wall of Building 3 (see Figure 3). By the end of 2000, this platform had been excavated to the top of floor 6, that is well into its phase 1 occupation. In 2001, floor 6-7 and their underlying packing layers were excavated. According to the profile in the two post-retrieval pits (F.168, F. 602) )excavated in 1998-9, there remains one more floor to be excavated in 2002 before the underlying midden will be reached.

The phase 1 floors were typically very thin over a layer of heterogeneous packing. The packing along the edges of the platform were frequently burned constructional clay, re-deposited. The packing below floor 7 is especially rich in burned clay material that seems to be re-deposited fire installation material.

The Ground-Penetrating Radar study that had been carried out in September 2000 after the excavation season (see 2000 Geophysical Archive Report by Clark Dobbs, Don Johnson) had led us to hope that some of the anomalies might be explained as burial pits. However, as yet, the large surface of F. 170 does not show any cuts for burials. It is possible that the vitrified and other highly fired clays under floor 7 might have been responsible for the anomalous measurements.

Partitioning features

Small interior walls - Features 160 and 161

It is clear that both partitioning walls were built during phase 4 of the Building 3 sequence. During the 2000 season, the interior wall F. 161 was almost entirely removed (BACH Archive Report 2000). In 2001 it was entirely removed and found to be associated first with Floor 3 on the platform F. 169. . It was connected to the South wall by a large post. In phase 4, there had been a pillar (F.164) at the northern end that was removed in 2000. On the north end of the wall was a large post-retrieval pit (F.624/767).

In 2001, the northern interior wall (F. 160) that was painted in red on its eastern side, was removed. As the wall was dismantled, it was clear that the wall was constructed and renovated numerous times. These can be related to different floors of the platform F. 162. The bricks and mortar of the wall that was constructed on floor 2 of F. 162 (phase 4) are very different from those constructed on the floor #4 (phase 3). Below the bricks of F.160 and associated with floor #5 (phase 2) is another wall (F.772), which seems to have existed at least from floor 8 (phase 1), but which was truncated by the construction of F. 160. Thus the northern zone of space 158 seems to have been segregated by some kind of partition wall from the earliest phase in the Building 3 sequence. This, however, will be confirmed by excavation of the earlier floors of the northwest corner of Building 3 in 2002.

Curtain/Screen wall - Feature 601 and Pillars

Since the 1997 excavation, the white plaster of the screen wall (F.161) has been excavated and gradually revealed. At each end, the wattle-and-daub curtain wall was structurally connected to a brick pillar (F. 156/759, 164/646/623). The plaster relief on the curtain wall and the pillars were built during the phase 4 of the house, like the short interior walls. They have been gradually excavated during the 1999-2001 seasons. The wall plasters on the curtain wall were mostly removed during the 2000 season. Both pillars (Features 156 and 164) (see the 1999 report for detailed description) were strengthened and renewed during their use-lives. The southern pillar (F. 164 was removed in 2000 (see 1999 and 2000 BACH Archive Reports). The 2001 season showed that these features may have had a longer history than we suspected earlier.

The northern pillar (F.156) was removed in 2001. It was based in a round feature (F.759) which cut into F. 162, and was constructed at the time of floor #2 (phase 4) in F.162. The base of the pillar (F 759), however, seems to be the remains of an earlier feature that is from an earlier phase (phase 3), related to floor 4 in F. 162.

The screen wall itself seems to have had two phases in its construction and use. The later phase (phase 4-5 in the Building 3 sequence) is the screen wall that we have been excavating since 1998, with pillars, interior walls, and heavy white plaster relief elaboration. In this phase it would have been a high structure, possibly all the way to the ceiling producing a significant separation between the two rooms (86 and 158) in the house. The earlier phase of the screen wall(phase 1 in the Building 3 sequence) was without pillars, and would probably have been a low and short partition between the main space and a small room to the west.

Space 158

A focus of the 2001 season was the phasing of the floors and other deposits in Space 158 and linking them to the sequence established in the large room of Space 86. All the floors and features that had been excavated in Space 158 up to the end of 2000 belong to the phase 5 of the Building 3 sequence. The 2001 excavations showed that Space 158 was intensively used during all phases of the building's history and played an important role as a location of storage and food preparation.

The floors and features of Space 158 have been grouped in three zones: Northern, Central, and Southern. This "zonation" holds even for those earlier phases (1-3) when this room was less segregated from space 86.

In phase 5, the northern zone was dominated by a possible platform (F. 629), under which was a pit; the central zone was dominated by a composite bin-like features (F.171), under which was a basket-filled cut (F. 750). South of F.171 was a white plaster floor in which a basin-like white plaster feature (F. 639) was excavated. The southern zone was characterized by numerous floor plasters and their packing and a niche (F.607) set in the west wall. All of these features were reported in the 2000 BACH Archive Report. The 2001 season began with the continuation of the excavation of the phase 4 floors in Space 158. In the southern zone, the floor of a large but fragmented fire installation was excavated (F. 642) .in the very Southwest corner of Building 3 (F. 642). This oven has been interpreted as the dominant oven in phase 4. The floor on which this stands (#3) coincides with the construction of the internal wall (F.161) and blocking off space 158 from space 86.

In the floor below this (#4) belonging to phase 3 in the Building 3 sequence, the southern zone was already part of the platform F.169 which in this phase extended to the West wall of the building. In the central zone, during this phase, was the oven F.646, that had been discovered below the storage bins in 2000. Feature 646 is a low oven (about 15-20 cm high) built on the house floor (#4). This oven has been interpreted as the dominant oven in phase 3 of Building 3. The oven is sitting on top of very thick packing layer (30-40 cm), under which seems to be an earlier phase of the Screen wall. We are suggesting, therefore, that in this phase, the partitioning central Screen Wall did not exist, and that this oven was located in the center of the building on a kind of step.

Next to the oven, also on top of the massive packing layer, was a white plaster bowl that was filled with clay balls (F.758). Over 700 small clay balls were found in this basin (see Clay Balls Archive Report, 2001).

The central zone in phase 3 was separated from the northern zone by a low threshold running east-west (F.623). The northern zone has not yet been excavated below the phase 3 floors.

Below the massive packing layer, in phase 1-2 of the Building 3 sequence, when an early form of the screen wall seems to have existed, the central zone of the former space 158 seems (as in phases 4-5) to have played an important role as a location for storage. On floor 6 (phase 1) three bins were excavated (F. 780, 781, 782).

Thus we have noted that, in the southern and western part of Building 3, ovens and bins alternate in the sequence of phases.

Space 85

The large midden space to the west of Building 3 continued to be excavated in a 1-meter strip running north-south and immediately next to the West wall of Building 3. The deposits were rich in organic remains, especially animal bones.

Note on media recording and photography

In order to capture the completely horizontal aerial shots as seen in Figure 3 and Figure 4, Michael Ashley-Lopez and Jason Quinlan - the BACH team media specialists - flew on their mountaineering trapeze suspended from the tent rafters (Figure 8). Regular frequent digital video recording is characteristic of the BACH team excavation procedure. In addition we have been taking steps to record the excavation with immersive digital technology as Cubic Virtual Reality images. More details are provided in an on-line supplement to this report at http://www.mactia.berkeley.edu/catal/archivereport2001/bach_archive_maddog.htm.

Acknowlegments

We are enormously grateful to John Coker, of Hillsborough, California, USA, without whom our excavation in 2001 would not have been possible. We are also grateful to the U.C. Berkeley Archaeological Research Facility and University of California, Berkeley Research Apprentice program for their support.

Figures

Figure 1: Schematic plan of Building 3 showing all the features excavated in 2001.

Figure 2: Table of Phasing Sequence in the Life-History of Building 3

Figure 3: Aerial photograph of Building 3 after the removal of interior walls (F. 160 and 161)

Figure 4: Aerial photograph of Building 3 at the end of the season

Figure 5: Neolithic child burial (Feature 757) in the Central Floor area

Figure 6: Close-up of the "Kitchen" area and Platform 169 in the south of Building 3

Figure 7: Neolithic group burial (Feature 634/644/647) in platform F.162

Figure 8: Michael Ashley-Lopez and the suspension traction for aerial photography in the BACH area



© Çatalhöyük Research Project and individual authors, 2001