Çatalhöyük 2004 Archive Report

ÇATALHÖYÜK 2004 ARCHIVE REPORT

Excavations of the 4040 Area

Spaces 229, 230, 241, 242 and 244

Emma Twigger

Çatal core Team
Supervised by: Emma Twigger
Site Assistants: Martin Corpos and Inga Small (Stanford Field School), Pia Andersson, Rahmat Seresty

Abstract

The area excavated to the south of Buildings 49 and 48 revealed five spaces; a rectangular room, Space 229 with an east-west room partition, five post scars, a red painted wall panel and floor surface, a possible basin and an oven which protrudes to the south of the space into Space 241. Space 241 is a midden area which is later than Space 229 and was overlain by a structure consisting of individually constructed walls with the remains of an eroded floor associated with it. Space 230, to the south-east of Space 229, was the latest of the structures within the area, a set of walls (F.1602) which had been cut through the earlier deposits but which had no remaining associated floors. Beneath this is Space 242 which is a complex of multiple phases of truncated walls, the east side of which (F.1612) abuts the midden area and has an unusual rounded form. This space is also partly associated with Space 240 (discussed below by Ruth Tringham). The excavation of Space 244 was begun at the end of the season and therefore little is so far known about it.

Özet

Bina 49 ve Bina 48'in güneyine düşen bu alanda beş ayrı alan tespit edilmiştir; dikdörtgen bir oda, doğu-batı oda ayrımı ile Alan229, beş kolon izi, boyanmış bir duvar ve taban yüzü, olası bir basin ve Alan 241'in güneyine düşen alanda bulunan bir ocak. Alan 241, Alan 229'dan daha geç bir döneme ait olup, tek tek duvarlardan ve bunlara bağlı tahrip olmuş tabanların üstünde yer alan bir çöp dolgusudur. Alan 229'un güneydoğusunda bulunan Alan 230 bu alan içindeki yapıların en sonuncusu olup, daha erken dönem tabakalr tarafından kesintiye uğramış ve hiçbir tabanla bağlantısı olmatan bir grup duvar kalıntısından oluşur. Bunun altında yer alan Alan 242 ise birçok tabakadan oluşan tahrip olmuş duvarlardan oluşmakta (F.1612) ve doğusunda çöplük dolgusu ile birleşmekte olup, olağan dışı bir yuvarlak şekli vardır. Bu alan aynı zamanda Alan 240 (Aşağıda Ruth Tringham tarafından bahsedilen) ile ilgili olduğu düşünülmektedir. Alan 244'ün ise kazı sezonu tamamlandığından kazısı bitirilememiştir.

Introduction

Work in this area commenced on 05/07/04 and was completed on 09/08/04. Initially sandbags were removed to expose the top of the archaeological levels which were planned during the 2003 season. After trowelling the area clean it was decided to start by excavating Spaces 229, 230 and 241 as these could be well defined from the surface on the basis of walls, and are adjacent to Space 100 where the Stanford team started their excavation in 2003. Space 242 was designated after the removal of a structure Space 230 and is located directly beneath it. Towards the end of the excavation season it was necessary to extend the excavation eastwards into Space 244 as this eastern area appeared to predate Spaces 229, 230 and 241(see Fig 9).

It was decided to follow the ‘fast track' until secure contexts were reached at which point a reassessment would be made. Essentially, in this area, the deposits that were sampled were those with good potential for the recovery of faunal remains, generally burned deposits or midden, however, none of the deposits were subjected to full intensive sampling. Micromorphological samples were taken from the floor layers of Space 229.

Figure 21: Late Burial F1603. Looking North

The Late Burials

The latest phase of activity in this area consists of late burials of which four were excavated. All were east-west orientated and presumed to be Roman or later in date. The first of these F.1600, located on the east edge of Space 229, was of a young child and had been badly affected by erosion which had left the skeleton in very poor condition; there were no associated grave goods. The second burial F.1601, was located between Spaces 241 and 230/242 and was an adult in fairly poor condition with no grave goods. The third burial of an extended adult F.1603, was cut into the abutting walls of Spaces 229 and 100 (Fig 21) and seems to have respected the plaster surfaces of the walls, to the extent that some of the wall plaster from F.1613, which was damaged by the placing of the skeleton, was replaced when the grave was filled. At the head of the skeleton was a copper alloy disk, near the left hand a small gold object and at the feet a long-necked glass vase of similar type to others found in the area, a stone palette and a large cluster of iron nails (approx. 150) in a roughly rectangular shape. F.1610 was the last of the burials to be excavated and was in the south-east part of Space 244. The adult had been buried in an unusual position, extended but with the legs bent to the right side, with the knees slightly overlapping and feet close together. It has been suggested that the individual may have suffered a broken hip, but further study would be required to confirm this. The grave cut (10742) was correspondingly wider than usual and contained coffin nails and a possible coffin plaque/clasp which indicate that the coffin was probably also especially wide. In the north-west corner of the grave was a bulbous glass vase which was removed intact.

Space 229

This is the earliest of the spaces discussed here. It is an east-west orientated rectangular structure preserved to a depth of just over 1 metre, the north wall of which abuts the south wall of Building 49 (excavated by the Stanford team). It has an east-west partition wall F.1615, dividing the western portion of the space into two areas. All the walls of the room are plastered with multiple layers amounting to more than 20mm in thickness. There are 5 post scars, midway along the north wall F.1620, in the north-east corner F.1621, near the south-east corner F.1622, midway along the south wall F.1623 and at the end of the partition wall F.1624 where there is also a post retrieval pit (Fig. 22). On the east wall of the space between the post scars F.1621 and F.1622 is a red painted surface below a moulded horizontal ‘dado' (Fig 24). There are also scant remains of the same layer of paint continuing across the associated floor surface. There are no remains of platforms in the space, but it appears from the micromorphological sections visible so far, that the two sections created by the partitioning of the western area may have been lower than the contemporary floor surface in the rest of the room, and were possibly separated by low plaster dividers. Micromorphological samples have been taken from the floor layers for further analysis.

The east wall F.1617 also carries the remains of a plaster feature F.1625, which slopes down from south to north and appears to have joined the base of the post located at F.1622 (Fig 23 Left). It is possible that this was some form of basin or bin, but a feature of this shape has not been found before, and much of the feature was removed/destroyed before the backfilling of the room.

The last remaining feature of the room is set in the south wall F.1616 and is the remains of an oven F.1611, which protrudes south into the midden area Space 241, a type which can still be seen in the modern villages of the Konya Plain. Associated with the construction of this oven are changes to the structure of the building. The eastern portion of wall F.1616 is missing and the end of the wall, as it remains, is partially plastered, which suggests that there was originally a doorway to the room which was later blocked by some packing of the same material as mud brick but not formed into bricks. Further excavation is required to confirm the sequence of events. The floor layers of the oven were found with a pile of wall collapse overlying them, but the top of the oven had been removed before this collapse episode, perhaps at the time when the room was backfilled.

Figure 22: Plan of Space 229

Figure 23: Space 229. Left-looking E. Right- looking W

The space was backfilled in a single episode (10711), which is a very homogenous deposit, with an even distribution of fragments of animal bone throughout and almost no other artefactual material; there were no other finds within the space.

Figure 24: Details of wall plaster in Space 229: from left-right, red painted ‘dado', alcove, wall ‘pilaster' F.1620

Given that Space 229 pre dates Space 241 to its south it was decided that the building itself should not be excavated at this stage. However, it is a plan that has not previously been seen at the site, and shows a remarkable lack of artefactual evidence such that we think its function may be very different to buildings excavated across the site thus far. In an attempt to understand more before further excavation commences, micromorphological samples were taken across the floor deposits.

Space 241

This space lies to the south of Space 229 (see Fig 9) and the upper levels made use of wall F.1616 along with F.1606 and F.1604, which were constructed independently of one another, and possibly F.1602 to create another useable space. The remains of a floor which had been badly eroded due to its proximity to the surface of the mound was found associated with these walls and this later room had plastered walls, as shown by the presence of plaster on the upper portion of the south side of wall F.1616.

Below these walls and floor is a midden which extends south into Space 232 (see below), and west beyond the limit of excavation, it is bounded to the east by space 242. The midden deposits have built up against the south wall (F.1616) of Space 229, as can clearly be seen in the section at the western edge of excavation, and therefore are later than that structure. However the oven F.1611 which protrudes from the south of Space 229 was probably built after some midden material had built up against the south wall: after its construction the midden continued to build up around it.

The midden contained significant quantities of animal bone, clay ball fragments, some obsidian and occasional fragments of pottery. Some lenses of deposit are particularly rich in plant remains.

Figure 25: End of Season Space 242 Looking West

Space 242

The wall phasing in this area is complicated, and includes at least six phases of construction, most of which cannot be associated with any whole surviving structure or floor related deposits. Walls F.1754 (east-west), F.1605 (north-south) (same as F.1755, F.1752), F.1607 (east-west) have been recorded and removed. Remaining is wall F.1612 which abuts the midden (Space 241) in a north-south alignment, has an east-west return at its north end and appears also to have part of an east-west return preserved at its south end. The east end of the north return has been truncated. F.1612 cannot strictly be referred to as a wall in the same sense as the others in the area; it is not composed of mudbrick, but instead consists of fragments of building rubble which have been pressed into shape. The ‘wall' has an inconsistent thickness and an irregular shape, the most interesting feature of which is the very rounded corners, the north corner appears to have been originally constructed as a curve whereas the southern corner started off as a right angle and has been filled in to form a curve (Fig 25). The whole of the east/south face of the structure is plastered. At the current level that has been reached in the excavation a previous, even more uneven, version of this structure has become visible stratigraphically below F.1612.

The fills removed from within this area (10719) and (10722) are relatively compacted layers of mudbrick rubble with no sign of occupation or activity layers as yet, and the relationship of the whole to the adjacent midden remains unclear.

Space 244

The eastern limit of Space 242 clearly predated a structure lying to the east and it was therefore necessary to expand the excavation area in order to understand the development of these structures excavated thus far. Unfortunately this is the least understood space in the area excavated this season as it was only begun a few days before the end of the excavation season. Three walls have so far been exposed F.1609, F.1618, F.1619 which are plastered and there appears to be a post scar on the west wall F.1618. The deposits removed are heterogeneous in nature, varying from building rubble to very ashy burnt material. It is likely that the eastern part of the room has been badly truncated by a combination of later activity and erosion, walls F.1619 and F.1609 are both damaged/missing towards the eastern part of the space.

Space 230

This was also a late structure consisting of a set of four contemporary walls F.1602, pretty much over the outline of Space 242, which cut into walls F.1607, F.1605, F.1604). The deposits excavated from within these walls (10704) and (10707) were of relatively homogenous material and showed no traces of any floor layers. Once the depth of the walls had been established they were recorded and removed.

Discussion

Very few artefacts have so far been found in this area; of the spaces excavated the midden has proved the richest for this type of information, and Space 229 the poorest.

One of the original stated aims of this season of excavation was to try and expose contemporary buildings in this area of the east mound. The process of excavation in this area has proved that the remaining archaeological deposits are stratigraphically extremely complex. In order to continue with stratigraphic excavation Space 244 requires excavation before Space 242 can be fully exposed and the wall sequencing better understood. Space 242 requires further excavation to establish the nature/purpose of the unusual structure at its west side and its relationship to the adjacent midden Space 241. Further excavation of Space 241 would elucidate the relationship between the build-up of the midden deposits and the building of the oven F.1611 of Space 229. This season of excavation has shown that there are forms of building and uses of space that have not been seen in previous excavation, and hopefully further excavation of the 4040 Area will reveal even more of the varied and complex habitation at the site.