Area A

Raphaela Heitmann, M.A.

«West-Palast»
During the earlier excavations, investigations at the backside of the «West-Palast» were carried out in a ca. 10 m wide sounding along the entire building. In it, a building (which is called building A 7 in the new excavations) was only partly excavated south of the southeastern bastion. In the 2008 season, it had already been recognized that this building (A 7) cuts an older structure (A 9). The walls of the latter were removed to the lowest courses in order to erect the new walls of A 7 upon them (Fig. 1-2).
Of both buildings, no floors with corresponding inventories have been revealed so far. In the season of 2009, the trenches were extended southwards to areas not excavated by M. von Oppenheim, in order to find out more about the function and especially the date of the buildings.
This year, younger Iron Age structures and pits were excavated here. Among them was a pit that is datable to the Hellenistic period by the pottery and objects found within (e.g. a bronze coin and the handle of an amphora with an inscription).

Lehmziegelmassiv
In the area of the mudbrick terrace investigations concentrated on the northern half of square 6807 and on square 6907. Apparently, especially the area of square 6907 is disturbed by a number of younger pits. Excavations confirmed last year’s assumptions that the Hellenistic building A 3 extends further northwards. Two more rooms with floors, partially still paved with pebbles, were found. A door connecting these two rooms (AC and AD) in the northern part is disturbed by a large pit. As in square 6806, the western boundary is lost because of the trench of the old excavation. The eastern limits of the building have not been detected yet.

On a small scale the level of the Assyrian house A 1 has been reached beneath the floor of the Hellenistic building A 3 (room AD). A part of a west-east bound wall and a connected floor north of it have been excavated. On the latter, a rich inventory of pottery was found. As for small objects, only a fragment of a fibula was recovered.

(Translation: A. Sollee / B. Sollee)