DOI issue:
Syria
DOI article:Gawlikowski, Michał: Palmyra: excavations 1997
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.41242#0219
and decayed bricks. The walls had been erected on badly preserved
remains of an older structure which can be dated also to the
beginning of the second millennium BC. These remains, preserved
in slightly better condition in the central and western part of the
trench, are generally badly cut by later pits. Nonetheless, it was
possible to distinguish two consecutive architectural strata which
will require more careful exploration in the future.
In the western end of sq. 37/39, a small fragment of a huge
mudbrick wall was uncovered. It was originally at least 3 m wide
and followed the contour of the slope; hence, it could have been
part of a defense system. In such a case, however, we would be
dealing with a fortification from before the second millennium BC,
as the ceramic material collected from its vicinity is undoubtedly of
Early Dynastic date (Ninevite 5).
On the east side, two parallel walls set 2.4 m away from each
other join the above described wall at right angles. They are partly
built of similar bricks as the massive wall. At present, it is unclear
whether the perpendicular walls were added at a later date or all
three walls were erected concurrently. The space between the walls,
measuring about 4.4 x 2.4 m, forms a sort of a room closed from
the east by a less substantial wall consisting of merely one row of
mudbricks, superimposed on a small channel faced with stone and
leading eastwards. The room was paved with stones and potsherds
and during the third millennium BC it was used for economic
activities of some kind, as suggested by a variety of installations,
such as a fireplace, small tannur, small pits and a storage jar.
Further elements of the same supposed fortification system of
the third-millennium city were unearthed in the adjacent trench
37/32. Here, a mudbrick wall about 1.2 m wide formed part of a
large rectangular room, at least 4 m long and 2.2 m wide, located
on the „outside” of this wall. It seems quite possible that this room
formed a sort of casemate within the fortification wall.
In area S (step trench on the eastern slope of the main tell),
investigations also focused on establishing the stratigraphy and on
217
remains of an older structure which can be dated also to the
beginning of the second millennium BC. These remains, preserved
in slightly better condition in the central and western part of the
trench, are generally badly cut by later pits. Nonetheless, it was
possible to distinguish two consecutive architectural strata which
will require more careful exploration in the future.
In the western end of sq. 37/39, a small fragment of a huge
mudbrick wall was uncovered. It was originally at least 3 m wide
and followed the contour of the slope; hence, it could have been
part of a defense system. In such a case, however, we would be
dealing with a fortification from before the second millennium BC,
as the ceramic material collected from its vicinity is undoubtedly of
Early Dynastic date (Ninevite 5).
On the east side, two parallel walls set 2.4 m away from each
other join the above described wall at right angles. They are partly
built of similar bricks as the massive wall. At present, it is unclear
whether the perpendicular walls were added at a later date or all
three walls were erected concurrently. The space between the walls,
measuring about 4.4 x 2.4 m, forms a sort of a room closed from
the east by a less substantial wall consisting of merely one row of
mudbricks, superimposed on a small channel faced with stone and
leading eastwards. The room was paved with stones and potsherds
and during the third millennium BC it was used for economic
activities of some kind, as suggested by a variety of installations,
such as a fireplace, small tannur, small pits and a storage jar.
Further elements of the same supposed fortification system of
the third-millennium city were unearthed in the adjacent trench
37/32. Here, a mudbrick wall about 1.2 m wide formed part of a
large rectangular room, at least 4 m long and 2.2 m wide, located
on the „outside” of this wall. It seems quite possible that this room
formed a sort of casemate within the fortification wall.
In area S (step trench on the eastern slope of the main tell),
investigations also focused on establishing the stratigraphy and on
217