J. H. Young, II Atmeidan 1939, 1947John Howard Young

87 Trench 2 South Wall - Construction

At the east end of the wall two courses of limestone end-blocks are preserved. The stone is fairly soft, very sharply cut on the outer edges; but the blocks are of irregular sizes. They are joined by a soft white mortar. The wall course extends N in a straight line from the outer (S) edge of the wall C 4.80. The first course evidently at the north end, consisting of two blocks bedded upon a thin bed of cement and stone, which rests on bedrock. This course does not extend N to the line of the north. foundation, but the corner stone has, probably, been removed.

Four blocks of the second course are preserved. They do not be The first one rests upon the second block (from the N) of the first course. The east face of this blocks is finely trimmed; it sets back 19 cm from the east face of the first course the remaining three blocks of the second course, in this line, have their foundations on the bedrock, which here rises; the second block from the south is very irregular and is filled in with stones & mortar.

The south edge of the main S wall continues W from the ^SE corner block. Only the first course is here preserved, with its top surface even to that of the corner block, though extending considerably deeper as the rock drops. The course is of great χαράκα blocks, as in Trench one,

Right page

Trench 2 88

covered on the outside, and joined, by white mortar; against the outside some remains of the mud coating (as 1, Δ') are preserved; the foundations, of clay and stones, rest on bedrock. On top of these blocks the cement shows clearly the base-outlines of the second course blocks which are preserved only at the W end (one out of place) Directly west of the trench the wall is preserved to a third course.

The rearing section is similar to that in Trench 1 — a stuffing of loose rocks and red earth, preserved to the height of the third wall course extending at the W edge of the E end blocks; the stuffing here, to the south, contains some large, irregular χαράκα blocks. The foundation of the north. course is preserved within the end wall, set in a bed of mortar and .72 cms beyond its preserved N edge; behind it comes ^lies a fill of hard packed fallen stones & stuffing; fr from which rises, about a a little over a meter from within the N edge of the north course, a rough wall of large havara stones, apparently corresponding to trench 7, T wall 4. From the top of this wall the stuffing slants upward to the top of the third course. A block lying behind the northernmost block of the end wall is yet to be examined; as is a rough block east of this same end.