Given the downward slope and the fact that they terminate in a deep cut into the bedrock, these blocks certainly functioned as a drain. Their depth, the stratigraphy above, and the interface with slab floor 7067 - where the westernmost block has been carefully worked to fit flush against the floor - all suggest that they belong to the original ashlar phase of the Area H complex. The question of the organization and appearance of the rest of Room 1 in this phase - that is, the area east of the preserved slab floor 7067 - and especially the nature of the floor surface there is an important one. Unless it were covered with mortared tiles - which would be unlikely in this phase - it would seemingly have been impossible for this drain to function beneath any floor surface other than slabs. The evidence from cut 7173 and compact layer 7195 suggest that there may have been a slab floor constructed at this level that covered the drain (a continuation of floor 7067 that was later robbed). We hope to confirm this hypothesis through excavation in 2018.

Large tufo drain most likely covered by some sort of floor. Lead to another drain in the southeast corner of Room H1