ÇATALHÖYÜK 2004 ARCHIVE REPORT

Excavations of the 4040 Area

Building 45, Space 228, 238

Lisa Yeomans

Catal Core Team
Site assistants: Dan Eddisford, Mehmet Yuruk

Abstract

Building 45 was partially excavated in 2004 revealing a large building that went out of use after a fire in the side storage room. A cattle bucrannium may have been specifically deposited in this room after being dismantled from its original installation. Two infant burials were interred in the side room close to its entrance; one had been buried in a mudbrick by the southern wall. Excavation in the main room of building 45 revealed platforms, an oven as well as clearly demarcated clean and dirty floor surfaces.

Özet

Bina 45'in 2004 yılında kazılması sonucunda, bu geniş binanın yan tarafındaki depo için kullanılan küçük odasının yangın geçirdikten sonra kullanım dışı kaldığı ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu odada bulunan bukraniumun asılı olduğu orijinal yerinden çıkarıldıktan sonra bu odaya yerleştirildiği ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu yan odadan iki tane bebek iskeleti çıkmış ve bunlar girişe yakın olarak gömülü bulunmuşlar ve biri de kerpiç tuğlanın içinden çıkmıştır. Bina 45'in ana odasından platformlar, bir ocak ve temiz ve kirli diye tanımlanan değişik tabanlar çıkmıştır.

 

Introduction

Excavation commenced on the July 27th reopening part of the 4040 Area cleared of topsoil in the previous season to record and plan the underlying archaeological deposits. This archive report discusses the progress made in the 2004 season in southern-most sector of the re-exposed area.

The area had been selected to incorporate a building probably destroyed by fire resulting in a concentration of ash and charcoal rich deposits visible under the topsoil in 2003. It was hoped that the burning process would aid preservation within the building and perhaps allow examination of the building's internal use before its occupants had begun the scrupulous task of preparing it for abandonment.

Late Roman/Byzantine burials

The Late Roman or Byzantine settlement used the mound of Çatalhöyük as a cemetery discriminately across the site. Whilst interments were present in the 4040 Area, the concentration or duration of these disturbances, and their impact on the underlying Neolithic stratigraphy, was relatively minor compared, for example, to the TP area. Within the area delineated by the north to south extent of Building 45 (see below) and the width of the excavation trench, six east-west burials were present. These formed three distinct rows with two graves at the western side of the trench inter-cutting. The rest of the burials were all spatially isolated from one another suggesting that the burials were interred within a relatively restricted time range.

The later of the inter-cutting burials (F.1421) contained a dorsally extended adult skeleton extensively damaged by animal burrows. This in turn had severely affected the underlying grave (F.1422) although the presence of some leg bones confirmed that the same burial position had been used for this earlier adult burial.
The middle row consisted of a single grave (F.1407) containing a well-preserved, dorsally extended, large male (10019). The body had been interred without any definite grave goods; a single fragment of pottery 10019.x1 recovered from underneath the left hand was probably residual rather than deliberately placed in the grave.
In the eastern row three graves were defined in addition to a single grave excavated in 2003. The northern-most grave, F.1404contained the dorsally extended skeleton (10006) interred in a coffin. Fourteen nails were retrieved from the fill (10005) but were evidently scattered by animal and root action and could not be used to provide a estimate of the coffin size or form.

An empty burial (F.1403) is of particular interest; the grave cut (10004) measured just 1.1m in length but was of a similar width 0.63m to the other adult Late Roman or Byzantine grave cuts in the area and no human bone was present in the fill (10002) suggesting that the grave had been backfilled without an interment. A large fragment of broken roof tile (10002.x1) had been set up on end in the position where the head of a body would usually have been placed at the western end of the grave and a smaller, possibly disturbed, broken fragment was found in the south-eastern corner. Poor preservation was not to blame for the absence of a skeleton and the grave may have been cut allowing a burial ceremony to take place for an individual whose corpse could not be interred.

The grave (F.1405) immediately to the south had suffered severely from the actions of burrowing rodents and few skeletal elements were found within the grave cut; those bones that did survive were not anatomically articulated.

It is worth mentioning that all of the Late Roman/Byzantine graves in this area of the site were adults buried in the dorsally extended position with the head at the western end of the grave and interred without grave goods. This standardisation in the burial customs maybe an indication of a spatial restriction in the burial practices or could provide further evidence of a limited chronological use of the area for burials.

Building 45

Survival, Form and Layout
The exposure of Building 45 revealed a familiar architectural layout formulated to a similar pattern as many of the buildings previously excavated at Çatalhöyük. The building was, however, amongst the upper size range of recorded buildings with internal measurements of 7.3m E-W and 7.4m N-S. The main room within the building (Space 228) basically comprised of a raised northern platform (F.1409), a long eastern platform (F.1408) and platforms at the southern side of the building associated with the food-preparation area (F.1410 & F.1411). An access point was provided from the platforms in the south to a long, narrow room Space 238 separated from the main area by a mudbrick wall (Fig 36).

The survival of archaeological deposits in the area of Building 45 is at a gradient sloping down west to east; this would have been partly caused by the original building levels and erosion. Even within individual buildings, survival of in situ deposits was not level. For this reason the eastern part of Building 45 had suffered more erosion. Where the more stable mudbrick walls offered some degree of protection to the deposits the survival of the archaeological evidence was better and this was particularly notable by the western wall of Space 228. The eastern platform (F.1408), on the other hand, barely remained, and in patches parts of an underling midden was visible where the platform had been completely eroded away. The southeastern area of the building had been substantially truncated by a late grave cut and a large ash-filled pit (10036). Few artefacts were found in the pit but the small amount of pot, which is probably residual, dated to substantially later than the building ruling, out the possibility that the pit was associated with the use or abandonment of Building 45.

Space 228

Unexcavated sequence
This main space of Building 45 underwent numerous modifications during the course of its use; the earlier floors and deposits associated with the original construction of the building were not excavated in the 2004 season but certain observations were made to indicate the progression in which the platforms and other features were built. These have not been confirmed by stratigraphic relationships and remain tentative until the deposits can be excavated.

Oven F.1415
This feature represents the main cooking facility in Building 45 and was planned in the original construction of the building (Fig 37). Mudbrick-type material was used to form two thin protrusions extending from the southern external wall that were constructed at the same time that the wall was built. The western of these extended 1.02m into Space 228; the eastern one had been truncated through erosion and by the large ash-pit (10036). Despite this, the main part of the oven survived and these two projections demarcated the area of the oven. Multiple ovens were constructed and used within this; three eroded burnt bases were excavated. These layers were built directly on top of one another (10039), followed by (10038) and then (10037) and, although badly affected by erosion, seem to indicate a square oven base with rounded corners. The shape of the oven also suggests that the third of the ovens was larger, extending further southwards.

Platform F.1410
One of the earliest visible features installed in the building was the southwest platform (F.1410); the use of this feature continued through the occupancy of the building with various episodes of re-plastering. Although the platform was used for a long time it was evidently not present when the building was first constructed since layers of wall plaster are visible behind the platform lining the internal wall (F.1413). The final dimensions of the platform were 1.95m N-S and 1.62m E-W after the multiple plastering and additions, but the original size would probably have been notably smaller. Where the platform had suffered from erosion in the SE corner, the method of construction could be suggested by the presence of a course of mudbricks aligned N-S along the platform's eastern edge. Presumably the platform was fabricated by extending two lines of mudbricks at right-angles from walls F.1414 and F.1413 and infilling the resultant space with looser material. The northern margin of the platform was distinct, forming a higher, more compact rim measuring 0.18m in width. This appears to have been added on to extend to the platform northwards. The level of this additional block was 1012.02m AD compared to the level of the original platform at 1011.90m AD immediately to its south. It seems that the matrix used to construct the northern extension of the platform was more resilient to erosion causing this difference in level. There is also some evidence that the platform was extended to the east by a similar width, possibly at the same time that the northern extension to the platform was instigated. A second platform (F.1411) was added (see below) to the western side of platform but prior to this platform F. 1410 was extended changing its width from 1.44m to 1.62m in the same manner that the northern edge was expanded. The only evidence for this development is partially visible division underneath the eroded surface of platform F.1411 and it is possible that this related to the construction of the later platform.

Figure 36: Building 45 looking NW

Figure 37: Plan of Building 45

 

A patch of burning (10123), designated a temporary hearth on the surface of platform was not excavated because it represented scorching to a plaster surface stratigraphically sealed. Directly above was a concentration of burnt mudbrick (10053) and although it is possible that this was related to the destruction of the building, it probably represents the final burning of the hearth. Flotation samples revealed a high concentration of cereal grains and the discrete spatial extent of the deposit underneath the level of the added northern platform margin suggests that the final use of the hearth occurred before the platform was extended and re-plastered to form a larger, level surface that was subsequently affected by erosion.

In some areas of the platform the surface may have survived intact; this is indicated by the presence of finds presumably left on the platform as the building went out of use. Southeast of the hearth, a grinding stone 10028.x10 appears to be in situ; its presence helped limit the erosion of the floor directly underneath. Finds found on the platform and floor surfaces were given the unit number of the building fill (10028) directly above the platform from which they were recovered. Many of these finds were located directly above the underlying surfaces and are therefore discussed with the appropriate feature where they were presumably used.

Platform F.1411
Prior to the construction of this platform an open gap had existed between the oven and the raised area of platform F.1410; the occupants of the building must have decided to raise this area by the construction of F.1410. This appears to have been done in two separate phases; in the first instance the southern area was raised forming a level surface across from platform F.1410 to the oven and extending north of the oven by c.1.40m. The only trace of this stage is a vertical plaster lip visible under the erosion of later, larger platform surface. Its presence, however, does seem to suggest that the platform remained at this size for a while.

At some point it was decided to extend platform F.1411 northwards and although given a separate feature number to F.1410 for the purposes of excavation, would have, at the time of occupation, looked like a single large square platform measuring 2.44m E-W and 1.36m N-S abutting the oven but extending approximately 1.40m beyond its northern limit. This major spatial development in the building was undertaken still relatively early in the occupation of the building since numerous re-plastering episodes are visible along the northern and the north part of the western platform edge and the entire sequence in this southern part of Space 238 was sealed by the excavated floors in the central area of the room. The final plaster, and possibly earlier surfaces, on the sides of the platform had been painted red. No evidence for a similar treatment was found on the horizontal raised area of the platform but, if it were present, it would probably have been lost through erosion.

At some point a hearth had been in use in the northeastern corner of the platform; the actual burnt material that had generated the patch of scorching (10124) on the platform was not present. This may have been under truncated floor surfaces and therefore does not represent a hearth in use at the end of the buildings use. A number of finds recovered from above the platform may well have been left at the abandonment of the building. These were two obsidian tools (10028.x8 and 10028.x9), a ground stone (10028.x12) and a piece of worked bone (10028.x6).

Feature F.1433
The interpretation of this feature is unclear but comprises of a raised and plastered area extending from the corner formed by walls F.1433 and F.1413. The north and west sides have been plastered and one possible function could have been a bench sitting onto of the platform and extending out into the room as far the crawlhole linking Space 228 and Space 238.

Eastern platform F.1408 and wall F.1435
The eastern platform had a final width of 1.6m at its northern end compared to 1.34m at its southern end and, abutting the northern external wall F.1416 at one end, extended 4.44m terminating at mud brick wall (F.1435). Only the western edge of the platform survived although it would have originally extended to the eastern external wall; a slot cut through the surviving portion provided evidence of the multiple layers used in the platform's construction and added during use. The last plastering was given unit number (10027) and covered both the platform face and surface. No evidence of paint was found on this layer which underlay unexcavated floors in the centre of the room. After the final layer was added to the platform a mudbrick wall, 0.35m thick, was constructed at the platform southern edge

Platform F.1409
The building's northern platform had been affected by slumping into the centre if the building and the southern edge was poorly defined because of truncation and repairs along its margin. Much of the platform had been removed by a Late Roman/Byzantine grave cut (10020). The area of the platform spanned the width c.3.20m of the Space 228 between wall F.1413 and the eastern platform F.1408 and extended from the northern external wall approximately 2.14m where it abutted pillar F.1417 and the later surfaces lipped up against a possible robbed out feature F.1436. The floor layers that comprise the platform were unexcavated except one (10087) which extended from its northwestern corner to the platforms southern edge petering out to the west, perhaps because of wear.

F.1417 pillar
The pillar at the southern edge of platform F.1409 was constructed from a fine orange sandy clay matrix. The base was below the level revealed by the surfaces removed but the lower section exposed had a rectangular cross-section changing to the moulded round pillar at a higher level. Some packing and plaster additions (10100 & 10098) were added above the eastern side of the rectangular base. The purpose of the pillar and its original height remains unclear. A second feature (F.1435) at the southern end of the platform appeared to comprise of a robbed out matrix similar to that used in the construction of pillar F.1417 with a cut underneath. It is possible that this formed a second, destroyed pillar dividing the northern platform from the central area.

The remaining features identified in Space 228 are a robbed out feature (F.1436), possibly a post retrieval pit and F.1424 an engaged pilaster. This showed as a tall negative feature against wall F.1413 respected by the floor surfaces leaving a gap of 0.64m N-S and 50mm E-W suggesting the feature formed a flat addition against the internal wall

This discussion of the platforms and other features presents the sequence reconstructed from truncated sections and eroded surfaces and therefore provides a simplified series of the earlier modifications to the building. However, the general picture seems to suggest that much of the initial changes to the building made the platforms larger and more complicated as they gradually encroached on the central area within the space.

Excavated floor sequences

Floor surfaces in central area
As already mentioned, the central area of Space 228 was frequently modified towards the end of the occupation of Building 45 after the platforms and basic features had been constructed. A number units associated with this process were excavated in 2004. These can be summarised as a series of layers, patchy in nature, representing plaster repairs, occupational material and thin makeup layers covering the central area of Space 228. There was, however a clear division between the eastern and western sides of the area defining different activity zones. This boundary was reinforced by a lip (F.1428) in the plaster floors running north to south demarcating the western side 1.4m from the eastern side. The layers (10118), (10105), (10092), (10077) and (10070) next to the internal wall appear to have been used for dirty activities whilst the floors (10096), (10083), (1082), (10079), (10062) and (10056) east of this line were generally cleaner.

Figure 38: Building 45with bins in Space 238. Looking N

Final eroded floor and associated features

Close to the western wall dividing Space 228 from the side room (Space 238) a later floor surface (10032/10041), although badly affected by erosion, had once spanned the northern platform to the platforms at the southern end of the room. It appears that this surface had actually been a substantial transformation to the earlier floor surfaces; the surface of this floor was approximately 0.2m-0.35m above the next floor surface (10070) and the packing for the later floor (10042) was 35mm thick in places. This packing layer had been laid down in preparation and a new large surface constructed rather than the thin modifications made merely to renew floors as they became worn away or in need of a touch-up that typified of the previous changes in the buildings use. The packing layer for the floor contained a number of ‘special' finds which may have been deliberately added. A large flint tool (10042.x1) and a similar sized obsidian tool (10042.x2) were both deposited within this layer. Unfortunately, neither the floor nor its makeup survived in the eastern side of the room so it is impossible to indicate how far the floor extended or if it was only constructed in this western side of the room.

Along the eastern internal wall above the plaster floor (10041) a setting of orange sandy clay (10046) was used to raise a rim of plaster (10047) forming a sub-rectangular lipped setting against the wall. This may have been the base to a robbed-out installation. All of these features had suffered extensively from erosion.

A number of cuts truncated the floor surface (10041). Feature F.1418 was a pit (10045) measuring 0.28x 0.3m and 0.31m deep dug to house a complete pot. (Fig 39). The fact that the pot had been manufactured with a handle and had a soot like deposit coating its external surface suggests that it had not been specifically manufactured for its final placement in the pit. The fill of the pot did not indicate any particular use and only a single obsidian tool (10043.x1) warranted 3-dimensional recording. It is difficult to determine if the pot was installed at the abandonment of the building; it is unusual in that it was not placed directly adjacent to a hearth or an oven as was commonly the case. A second cut (10030) had been made in the vicinity of the pot with the fill (10029) containing the anklebones of one cow and elements of a second cattle ankle. Perhaps both of these procedures were related to the abandonment of the building.

The last feature associated with this floor layer was a badly preserved infant skeleton. No clear burial cut was visible for this disturbed skeleton but its level suggests that it cut through floor (10041).
East of the surviving floor surface (10041) a charred timber (10031) measuring 1.06m x 0.1m lay collapsed on earlier floor surface. Stratigrapically, however, this timber would have been above floor (10041) presumably falling into the room during the fire.

Space 238

Side rooms in general underwent less modification during the course of their use than the main rooms and this was evident in Building 45. This allowed fuller excavation of Space 238 because the intricacies of multiple flooring levels and modifications to internal features did not have to be dealt with. The two spaces were separated from one another by a stepped crawl-hole (see below); this meant that no stratigraphic relationship survived which would have allowed the two spaces to be phased with respect to one another. It is only possible to suggest that the earliest layers reached in Space 238 are earlier than the excavated sequence in Space 228.

The side room ran the length 7.4m of Building 45 but was relatively narrow measuring just c.1.6m E-W. There was a distinct division between the northern and southern parts of the room floor defined by a change in floor level. The northern end of Space 238 was higher than the southern end with a line of mudbricks (F.1423) used to form the step between two, this northern portion formed less than half of the space measuring 3.06m N-S. A severe fire had started just north of this division which had baked the surrounding mudbricks and destroyed much of the wall plaster.

Northern section
There was only one floor surface (10093/10094) in the northern part of the room and this was significantly damaged by fire. By the western wall this floor surface (10093) was better preserved and extended into a long narrow niche (F.1429) at floor level which had subsequently been blocked in with mudbrick and mortar. A large storage bin (see Fig. 38), comprised of two separate segments, concealed much of the opposite wall. After the abandonment of the building, the roof of this bin had collapsed; a complete equid scapula (10078.x1) was found in the top of the collapse and perhaps the scapula had been a scoop used to retrieve the contents of the storage bin and was kept above the bins when not in use and left at the time of the fire. Some of the burnt fill (10086/10101) below the floor surface was excavated producing a large fragment of worked serpentine, possibly a pounder (10086.x1). This fill, stratigraphically above the mudbrick (10122) and mortar (10127), was used to construct the partition step (F.1423) suggesting that it was used to raise the northern section of the room before the floor was laid. It is unsurprising that the fill was burnt in the fire given its intensity (see below) and much of the plaster floor surface appears to have been destroyed by the heat.

Southern section
The sequence was not fully excavated in the southern portion of the space where the floor had been replastered more frequently. Perhaps this was related to the how much different parts of the space were used; the northern part of the space would have been particularly dark being at the far end of a long narrow room and seems to have been used mainly for storage. A greater level of activity could have taken place in the southern area resulting in the need for floor replastering. The earliest deposit reached was a light brown layer of between floor makeup (10107) forming the basis for a plaster floor (10106). This plaster surface did not extend to the southern wall of the space but ended irregularly perhaps suggesting that parts of the surface had been damaged.

The floor did not extend to the very southern most part of the space where a mudbrick had been discarded. This mudbrick (10117) did not comprise of the typical material used for mudbricks in Building 45; instead of containing numerous inclusions added to provide flexible strength it was made from the orange sandy clay used in the more structural features within the building. The shape, size and the presence of plaster (10119) along one side suggests that it was originally used as an individual mudbrick elsewhere. This brick was not attached to the wall but deliberately placed very close to the middle of the southern wall in Space 238. The material used in its construction implies that it was not a brick that had collapsed into the space and this was confirmed by the presence of a neonatal baby interred in a small grave cut in the centre of the brick. The baby lay on its right side in a tightly crouched position (Fig 40).

The floor surface (10106) had been cut through close to allow the burial of another neonatal baby; this one was buried in a cut next to the western wall opposite the crawl-hole (Fig 41). Again the baby had been put in a tightly crouched position but on its left side. Neither of the two babies had been buried with any grave goods and no visible traces of phytoliths were present to indicate that they had been interred inside a basket although samples have been taken for confirmation.

The placement of these babies in a side room follows the pattern already identified at Çatalhöyük with the infants interred in the ‘dirty' areas within the building (Farid pers. comm.). Further potential grave cuts were visible at the end of the excavation season hinting at the possibility of additional neonatal babies or infants under the earlier, unexcavated floor surfaces in the southern portion of Space 238. It is worth noting that the single infant/young child skeleton found in Space 228 was also found in an area that had been clearly demarcated as ‘dirty' in the earlier floor levels although the survival of the floor surface through which the baby had been buried had not survived in sufficient condition to ascertain if the same area of division remained when the burial took place.

Returning to Space 238, it is interesting to note that the neonatal burial alongside the western wall was directly under the only later feature found in the southern portion of Space 238. Above the floor a dismantled cattle bucrannium had been discarded or, more probably, purposefully left (Fig 42). This bucrannium had been removed from its original installation position and put in Space 238 so that the front of the skull pointed northwards; the horncores had evidently been removed beforehand because the base of the left horncore was almost touching the western wall. The cattle bucrannium had been set in greenish grey clay forming a flat surface on the posterior side of the skull and roughly followed the contours of the skull around the frontal bone to a flat anterior side. The bone itself just comprised of the back of the skull and much of the structure of the installation was made from clay. Traces of plaster were visible on the left horncore but this did not extend to cover the clay around the head of the piece. At the same time that the bucrannium had been put in the space, the skull of a male wild boar was dumped/placed immediately to its north side, maybe reflecting a special event associated with the dismantlement of the bucrannium and its removal to space 238 (Fig 43).

Crawl-hole F.1432
Burning in Space 238 helped preserve a number of details surrounding the construction of the crawl-hole. The crawl-hole had been planned when the building had been originally constructed as a gap 1.49m was left towards the southern end of internal wall F.1432 except for the three lowest courses where were uninterrupted forming a step. A timber had been placed across the threshold on this step towards the eastern side with the plastered surfaces of platform F.1410 lapping up to its edge; perhaps this had been laid to protect the mudbrick step from wear as people passed through the crawl-hole. This timber burned during the fire scorching the mudbrick-step and preserving traces of its presence. Timber posts were also set upright onto the step at each end; the southern of these survived as a small charcoal patch. The presence of a similar post at the northern side was confirmed by wall plaster (10071) extending beyond internal walls extent on the eastern side and partly wrapping around a post that had since perished.

The abandonment of Building 45

There are a number of possible scenarios for the sequence of events that led to the abandonment of Building 45 and a number of questions that need answering:

1) Was the fire in Space 238 accidental or deliberate?
2) How long was the building in use before the fire?
3) What was the extent of the damage caused by the fire?
4) Was the bucrannium placed in Space 238 before or after the fire?

Firstly it is evident that the epicentre of the fire occurred in Space 238 just north of the step in floor level and resulted in the intensity of mudbrick burning radiating out from this point. There is no evidence to ascertain what caused the fire but the hearths and oven were located in Space 228 making an accidental fire less likely although not impossible. Some evidence suggests that the building was being prepared for abandonment and other evidence suggests that some artefacts were still in use in Space 238 when the fire occurred. The fills of the two segments of the bins (F.1426) contained low levels of botanical remains and, in comparison to the general burnt fill of the room, they were typical of assemblages found in other Space 238. deposits. The northern most bin fill (10088) did contain more grain and phytolith remains than the southern bin but overall the botanists suggested that the bins were empty at the time of the fire even if they had not been completely scoured clean. However, the presence of a possible bone scoop above the bins implies that some of the items associated with the use of the bins were left in the room before the fire. Additionally, a small assemblage of worked bone was found in a cluster (10080) which included two points made from caprine metapodials with different degrees of use wear and a complete metatarsal which could have been raw material collected ready to manufacture further tools. All of these bones had been completely charred by the fire in Space 238 and perhaps represent items in use at the time of the fire. No other finds or deposits were found in Space 238 that seem to have been in use at the time of the fire. Based on this evidence, the most likely interpretation would seem to be that the fire was deliberate after the storage bins had been emptied and any artefacts in use (except for the bone tools) were removed from the northern end of the room.

The evidence concerning the second alternative is also contradictory; a large number of floors were visible in truncated sections in Space 228 whilst the wall plaster was very thin. Space 238 had less modifications and floor layers but this may be related to its less intensive use than the main room. Numerous micromorphology samples were taken from the floor layers and wall plaster that may help explain this discrepancy.

The fire was intense enough to destroy the wall plaster in the northern part of Space 238, or at least make it fall from the walls, and bake the mudbricks on both the eastern and western sides. The fire also charred the wooden threshold and support posts in the crawl-hole but there was no evidence of scorching on the collapsed wall that fell into the open crawl-hole to implying that the collapse did not have happened immediately. The extent of the fire damage in the Space 228 was minimal since none of the platforms or floor surfaces were burnt; the only evidence to suggest fire damage to the structural soundness of the building was a charred timber lying in the middle of the building. This timber lay under the room fill but some of the concentrations of debris in the lower fill directly above the floor surfaces had been affected by the burning of the timber. Two concentrations of bone (10028.x2 and 10028.x7) were excavated separately but probably represent the same depositional event. The bone clustered around the edge of platform F.1411 in the central area of the room and extended spatially towards the burnt timber (10031). Fragments of bone adjacent to the timber had been charred indicating that the bone was present when the timber, presumably a roof timber, had caught fire, burnt and dropped to the floor where it continued to smoulder. This concentration of bone was presumably deliberately left in Space 228 when the fire was lit as were other finds including a fire-cracked stone (10028.x3), perhaps burnt during the fire, grouped with these bones. The fill (10028) directly above the floor surfaces and platforms contained a high concentration of unusual finds compared to higher levels of the infilling deposit; the finds located above the platforms have already been mentioned. Other finds within the central area of the room are a piece of antler (10028.x1), an obsidian point (10028.x4), a bone point (10028.x5) and a horncore (10028.x10). Perhaps these were all deliberately left when the fire was started.

The room fill (10028) in Space 228 was a mid-grey ashy silt deposit with fragments of collapsed mudbrick walling. Although the floor level of Space 228 was not severely affected by the fire, it seems that the upper level of the building was, together with the burnt remains, becoming incorporated into the fill.

There was no evidence of occupational stratigraphically above the boar skull and bucrannium; the space had filled in with a homogenous ashy, silt fill (10051) which overlapped and lay above the southern edge of the light reddish sand and burnt mudbrick fill (10061) in the northern end of Space 228. This proves that the infill in the southern part of the space occurred after the infill in the northern part, but it does not demonstrate if this process occurred immediately afterwards or if the southern portion remained open for a while and perhaps long enough to see the placement of the bucranium and the boar skull. The collapse of mudbrick into the opening of the crawl-hole may or may not have occurred immediately after the fire, allowing access from Space 228 and use of the southern part of the room. The placement of the bucrannium is difficult to interpret but perhaps it was placed in Space 228 with its plastered horns removed and facing, perhaps incidentally, northwards towards the location of the fire prior to its ignition. The wild boar skull was put alongside the bucrannium at the same time.

In conclusion, based on the evidence available at present, a fire could have been deliberately started in the northern end of Space 238. It interesting that such an act associated with the abandonment of the building was not instigated in several places including the main room of the building. It is not certain, however, that the burning reflected a conscious decision, with much of the evidence contradictory and an accident cannot be ruled out.

Dating

The preliminary results of finds analysis from the building suggests a Level V date; the flaring lugs on the complete pot (10044) is characteristic of this level and other characteristic pots have been attributed to Level V or IV (Yalman pers. comm.). Although the midden excavated to the north of Building 45 produced assemblages of the same level, no stratigraphic relationship between the two areas was established and it is not possible to indicate if they were contemporary.

Building 45 and its surrounding area

The western, northern and eastern sides of the building comprised of double walls; the southern wall may also have been a double wall but was not visible within the excavation trench. To the north of Building 45 the double mudbrick wall was separated from the midden area by an additional, single wall. From the plan produced after the removal of the topsoil in 2003, there appears to be buildings on both the eastern and western sides. The southern side of Building 45 extends beyond the limit of the 4040 Area cleared in the previous season.