Test Trenches

	TEST TRENCH 20 [ Aims and methods \| Results \| Phases \| Evidence for an upper storey \| Finds \| Function ] TT20 exposed the east side of a chamber partially excavated in TT15 in 1996 when a portion of an ivory plaque was found on the floor. AIMS AND METHODS Aims The aims were: 1. The recovery and preservation of further art objects possibly stored here. 2. To test assumptions concerning the order of building construction within Area B. 3. To solve particular architectural problems. 4. To determine, if possible, the function of the room. Methods TT20 trench edges were defined by walls of the room uncovered in the northern end of TT15 and visible on the surface. The room itself measures c. 4 x 5 m. Firstly, backfill was removed from the portion of TT15 between the back of the columned hall and the north wall of the room. An east-west section was left c.1 m south of the north wall. After drawing and photography the section was removed to reveal the remaining portion of the room. During excavation water was used to soften the very hard and dry granitic soils. Wetting the soil made excavation easier and greatly lessened the danger of mechanical damage to buried objects. RESULTS Excavation of this room has clarified construction phases within the urban block, and has added information on building techniques. A hemispherical bronze object and a pottery jug were the only finds.
	Phase 1 The north wall (Figs 1 & 2 ), which seems to be the northern wall of the urban block, appears to have been built entirely of stone in its original phase. There may have been mud-brick added to the stone in Phase 3.
	Phase 2 Terracing to the south of the Phase 1 wall, exposing the foundations and causing the wall to lean. The sloping ground was dug away at the north end and infilled at the south. A small buttress was built at the west end to support the north wall (just visible in the top left corner of the room in Fig. 1). The east wall was of stone with vertical timbers set in the face (Fig. 2 indicated by vertical breaks in the stone work, the upper courses of lichen covered stone are part of a recent shepherds construction). Phase 3 Construction of the western and southern walls, also of stone, to form a room; and the laying of a clay floor and clay plaster on the walls. There was a wooden door frame and large stone step leading into a stone paved passage (Figs 1 and 2).
	Evidence for an upper storey An upper storey built of mud-brick is suggested by the following factors: 1. Small amounts of mud brick collapse and burnt brick, concentrated along the northern wall. 2. The timber framed east wall could have supported the weight of a second storey. 3. Possible wooden planks, found charred above the floor level, might have been the remains of an upper floor rather than those of a roof. 4. The absence of burnt roof materials and scarcity of mud-brick suggest that the burnt second storey of the building eroded away before collapse the upper floor. 5. The paved street (TT 15) in front of the room suggests a structure of some significance. 6. The ivory found in 1996 indicated a room of some significance, and perhaps fell from an upper storey. 7. Absence of windows or openings beyond the single door (opening onto a narrow shaded passage) would have made the room very dark and dingy. 8. The amount of stone tumble. 9. An upper floor would have looked out over the roof of the columned hall in front.
	Finds The excavation of TT15 in 1996 unearthed a number of high-status objects. This led to an expectation of further finds in the remaining two-thirds of the room but only two objects were recovered: 1) a bowl-shaped recut bronze object (Figs 3-4) with drillings for five nails along the rim, one of which has survived, was recovered. Neither the original nor the secondary function of this object are known. 2) a burnished grey ware jug with trefoil spout, high handle and flat base (Figs 5-6).
	A single faceted bead, probably carnelian, was recovered from the fill. This, together with a polished bone "spatula" and the ivory inlay both found in 1996, make up the full inventory from the room. The bronze and the pottery jug seem both to have fallen from above since neither was in situ on the floor. Function Excavation of the room revealed little about its function. No domestic features, such as hearths of ovens, existed and no evidence for a work area, such as debris or raw materials, were found.
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