Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean (16.2004(2005))

TELL QARAMEL

SYRIA

SQUARES K-3 B, K-4 B,D, L-3 A, L-4 A,C

The exploration of Stratum IV was
completed,4 and work started on Stratum
V. Both were of PPNA date.
Further work on the 'grill-house' with
its special niche connected with both
human and animal (auroch) burials
confirmed its apparently public character,
perhaps as a meeting place for the local
community and the site of religious
ceremonies. Favoring this idea are the 14
human graves found around it.
Concentrations of flint points, including
many categories of El-Khiam points, as
well as Helwan points and sometimes
Jordan Valley points, were recorded inside
the structure. Indeed, knapping appears to
have been a major activity here. The special
function of the structure is to be admitted
also on the grounds of the objects
discovered in the stone-and-mud
foundation of the 'grill-house': a complete
human (female ?) figurine made of soft
chalk and a large retouched flint celt of the
Jericho type never encountered before on
our site.
STRATUM V
Earlier structures unearthed below the
remains of the public house (shrine) may
have belonged to the older phase of the
'grill-house'. The wall of the structure,
preserved to a height of 0.60 m, was made
of big stones bonded in mud. A white mud
floor proved to be c. 10 cm thick. A partly
destroyed oval house (loc. 15) to the south
had walls of red mud {Fig. 6]. No hearths
or any other sign of everyday activity were
unearthed inside the structure, but there
were two storage pits, approximately

1.00 m in diameter, to the north of it. The
pits were both 1.50 m deep and had been
lined with mud and pebbles. The fill
contained pebbles and gray ash mixed with
animal bones. A hearth found here, some
0.50 m in diameter, had a stone super-
structure around it. The filling consisted of
charcoal, ash and animal bones.
A shelter excavated in the southeastern
part of square L-4 c (loc. 17) was assigned
to level 2 in this stratum. Eight small
postholes, approximately 0.30-0.40 m in
diameter and 0.10-0.50 m deep were
found to be associated with this structure.
A kind of mud floor, c. 10 cm thick, was
observed inside the building. Connected
with the structure were five storage pits
(nos. 11-15), approximately 1.00-2.00 m
in diameter and 0.30-0.50 m deep {Fig. 7}.
A round mud-wall superstructure sur-
rounded each of the pits (approximately
0.20 m in diameter). Moreover, the biggest
one (no. 14) was covered with mud. The
fill of the pits contained gray ash and
a quantity of animal bones. More animal
bones were found below the pit. The place
was probably used as a garbage pit.
An older occupational level, consisting
of two buildings: loci 13 and 16, was
discovered in the next level, below the
remains from level 2 {Fig. 8], Locus 13 in
the northern part of the trench was of oval
shape, approximately 4.00 m long. Its wall,
c. 1.00 m thick and preserved to a height of
0.50 m, was made of mud and stones. The
construction appears very similar to the
wall of the younger tower in square K-7.
The occupational fill of the structure,
containing pebbles, gray ash, burned mud

4 For previous work in this area, cf. PAM XIII, op. cit., 301, 303; PAM XIV, Reports 2002 (2003), 323-325 and Fig. 10;
PAM XV, op. cit., 364-366.

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