2019-08-15 Melissa Gryan
The semi-circular concrete surface at the West of room G-20 appears to be a preparation level for a now absent higher floor surface. The evidence comes from the appearance of the surface itself, the coloration of the semicircular wall SU 5866 to the West and the ashlar course to the Northeast SU 6242, and general considerations about features in the adjacent room to the East, G-1. The concrete of the floor itself is degraded, especially in the center, but in the southern end one can see large tile and pottery sherds that form a flat, even surface. The portions of degraded concrete that cover the edges of these tile pieces and a lip of concrete in the North end that ascends the wall SU 5866 hint that this surface was one higher. Furthermore, a medium-grey strip of coloration on wall SU 5866 extending East along the ashlar course SU 6242 provides potential evidence of a floor level several inches above the layer that survives. On the ashlars, the color of area below the grey strip is darker while the area above lighter, which may result from the former being below ground and the latter being above. This semi-circle's partner in the far East end of room G-1 has several noteworthy differences. Firstly, the floor level is higher in relation the semi-circular wall the shapes it, so that the surface level in G-1 is closer to the first course of tile in the wall. The elevation of G-1 is also higher, but this may in part be due to the East to West downward slope of this area. Additionally, the surface itself in G-1 is much smoother and less degraded, and it has more large stone inclusions and no large visible tile, which is notably different from SU 6095 in G-20. Finally, we assume that this surface is from some point in the Imperial period and is in phase with the wall to the West, SU 5866. SU 5866, petit appareil with two interspersed courses of tile, is later then the petit appareil wall SU 6243, evidenced by the lip of concrete over SU 6243 that joins SU 5866 to it. SU 6243 in turn covers the ashlars SU 6242. The surface in question, SU 6095, is built after the three aforementioned structures but in phase with the wall SU 5866 since the wall shapes the surface, and the floor has a small surviving concrete lip in the North that covers a small portion of the wall's face. Therefore, this surface is one of the later surviving architectural features in this room, but it is from a period when the space was still in use.