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Cultural feature-West section architectural remains (西區建築遺構)

 

Introduction
During this excavation, serious damage to the northeast corner and an area where trees had been removed was discovered. Most of the architectural remains had been destroyed. However, along the west side and in the southeast corner, there was better preservation of architectural remains.

The architectural remains in the west section are located on the west side of the pits destroyed during the removal of trees. The scope includes 18 pits: A1-A5, B1-B6, C1-C6 and D1. Architectural remains include stone structures F11, F10, F5 and F6, which were relatively well preserved. It is conjectured that these formed part of the layout of a dwelling. Only parts of stone structures F8 and F9, as well as erect slate structure F7, remain. In addition, a flat slate structure was found, the function of which is unclear.


Stone structures F10, F11

Stone structure F10
Stone structure F10 is located in the southwest corner of the excavation area. It crosses pits A1, B1, C1 and D1 and extends into the south wall of pit D1. The east end was not excavated. The section that was surveyed measures approximately 6 m in length and 40-70 cm in width. This feature was formed from rocks of different sizes arranged in single or double rows. Some parts retain two layers. However, along most of the structure there exists only one layer. The top layer of the structure may have been damaged. This feature is at a depth of about 60-100 cm below the surface and is oriented west by north 11°. Its west end and the south end of stone column structure F11 intersect at almost right angles. 

Stone structure F11
Stone structure F11 is located on the west side of the excavation area. It crosses excavation units A1, A2, A3, A4 and A5, etc., and measures 9 m in length and 40 cm in width. This feature was constructed using various sizes of boulders and cobble. Many of the rocks show evidence of striking. This structure is comprised of a single row with multiple layers. In some sections, there are 3 or 4 layers, while in other sections there are only 1 or 2 layers. On both sides there are accumulations of rocks. These may have rolled off or dropped down from the structure.

The east side and north end of stone structure F11 intersect with stone structure F5 at nearly right angles. The south end intersects with stone structure F10 at nearly right angles. The center and stone structure F6 intersect at nearly right angles.  On careful observation of the orientation, it appears that the connecting point of stone structure F11 and stone structure F6 can be used to differentiate the north and south sections of stone structure F11. Length is approximately 4.5 m. The south section is oriented north by east 8°. The north section is oriented north by east 17°. The turns at the connecting points are very obvious. The south section is at a depth of about 80-130 cm below the surface. The north section is at a depth of about 120-160 cm below the surface. The original topography gradually sloped upward from south to north. Stone structure F11 is located in the area of pit A4 on top of trash pit F30.


Stone structures F3, 7-9

Flat slate structure F3
Feature F3 is mainly located within pit C2. It is a flat structure made up of slate. On top of the slate are several sandstone rocks. The shape of the structure is irregular. Length is approximately 170 cm and width is approximately 100 cm. The major axis is oriented west by slightly north. This feature is at a depth of 150 cm below the surface. The west end is on top of trash pit F4. Thus, this structure is from a later time period than trash pit F4. At the time excavation was carried out, it appeared that this feature was very similar to a slate coffin lid in terms of appearance, size, orientation and depth. However, after the slate was removed, no side panels or burial vault were found. The color of the soil is the same as that of the surrounding raw soil layer. Therefore, it was determined that feature F3 could not be a burial. It is most likely the remains of an architectural structure.

Erect slate structure F7
Erect slate structure F7 is mainly located in pits C2, C3 and D2. The east end was damaged during the removal of trees. The west end was destroyed by trash pit F4. The remaining length is approximately 2.3 m with orientation west by north 17°. This feature is constructed of five erect pieces of slate arranged in a continuous line at 130-170 cm below the surface. The lower edge of erect slate structure F7 is located nearly 30 cm farther from the surface than stone structure F8. Perhaps this represents the earliest architectural remains in this area.
 
Stone structure F8
Stone structure F8 is mainly located in pit C1. The remaining length is approximately 2 m. Orientation is west by north 20°. This feature is constructed from gravel arranged in a single row. Only one layer of gravel was found. On both sides of this feature are accumulations of loose stones. This feature is at about 120-140 cm below the surface. Below this feature is raw soil layer.

The relationships between stone structure F8 and other features:
1. The west end of stone structure F8 was damaged by trash pit F4. Thus, stone structure F8 is from an earlier time period than trash pit F4.
2. The lower edge of stone structure F8 (-140 cm) is approximately 40 cm farther from the surface than the lower edge of adjacent stone structure F10 (-100 cm). Thus, stone structure F8 is from an earlier time period than stone structure F10.
3. The lower edge of stone structure F8 (-142 cm) is approximately 56 cm farther from the surface than the lid of burial M2 (-86 cm). Thus, stone structure F8 is from an earlier time period than burial M2.

Stone structure F9
Stone structure F9 is mainly located in pits A2, B2 and B1 with a length of approximately 1.3 m and an orientation of west by north 22°. It was constructed of a single row of gravel. Only one or two layers of gravel remain with collapse along the north side. This feature is at a depth of 80-110 cm below the surface. The depth below the surface of stone structure F9 is the same as that of stone structures F10 and F11. These were constructed at around the same time and may represent the remains of the same architectural structure.


Stone structures F5,6,27

Stone structure F5
Stone structure F5 is located in the northwest corner of the excavation area, mainly in pits B6 and C5. The east side was damaged during the removal of trees. The remaining length is 3.5 m. This feature was formed from rocks of different sizes. It is relatively disordered in its arrangement with varying widths. At the east end are mostly boulders. At the west end is mostly rubble. This feature is at a depth of 120-170 cm below the surface with orientation west by north 18°. Its west end and the north end of stone structure F11 intersect at nearly right angles. At the point of intersection is an area of flat stones.

Stone structure F6
Stone structure F6 crosses pits A3, B3, C3 and D3. The east end was damaged during the removal of trees. The remaining length is approximately 5 m. This feature was formed from stones of different sizes arranged in single or double rows and in multiple layers. In some parts, 3 or 4 layers of gravel remain and in other parts only one or two layers of gravel remain. There is a large amount of gravel on the north side that appears to have accumulated due to the rolling off from or the toppling of the structure. This feature is at a depth of 120-180 cm below the surface. It was built directly on top of trash pit F4 with an orientation west by north 18°. Its west end and the center of stone structure F11 intersect at nearly right angles.

Stone structure F27
Stone structure F27 is mainly located in pits C4 and C5. The remaining length is approximately 1.65 m with an orientation west by north 8°. This feature was constructed of rocks and flat pieces of slate in a single row. There is only one layer. This feature is at a depth of 100-120 cm below the surface. Stone structures F27 and F5 are related. However, stone structure F5 is located at a slightly lower depth than stone structure F27.

Summary

Summary of west section features
From description and analysis of the features in the west section, it is possible to conjecture about their nature and time relationships:

1. The lower edge of erect slate structure F7 is at 170 cm below the surface. This may represent the earliest architectural remains in the west section and an early type of wall foundation at the Tamalin site.

2. The lower edge of stone structure F8 is at 140 cm below the surface. This feature is from a later time period than erect slate structure F7. Perhaps this is a wall foundation. The materials and form had changed, but the orientation remained the same.

3. Trash pit F4 is from a later time period than erect slate structure F7 and stone structure F8. Excavation of this trash pit caused damage to the west end of both of these architectural structures. Trash pits F30, F31 and F4 were built one after the other but are most likely from the same time period.

4. Flat slate structure F3 is from a later time period than trash pit F4. However, the function of this feature is not well understood.

5. Stone structures F11, F10, F5 and F6 were constructed on top of trash pits F4, F30 and F31. These are the latest architectural remains in this section. Perhaps these were wall foundations. The level of preservation is relatively good. However, it is unfortunate that the east end was damaged during the removal of trees. From the overall layout, it appears that there are two connecting units. Each unit may represent a dwelling. On the south side this is denoted “dwelling 1”and on the north side this is denoted “dwelling 2”. The shape of the two dwellings is rectangular. The longer sides are oriented west by north 10°-20°. The shorter sides measure approximately 4.5 m in length and the longer sides measure at least 6 m in length. 

6. Burial M2 is a child burial. The lid was found at a depth of 86 cm below the surface. Stone structure F10 is located approximately 1 m from the south side of burial M2 at a depth of 80-100 cm below the surface. The major axes of these two features are nearly parallel. Therefore, burial M2 and stone structure F10 are from the same time period. The burial was found within dwelling 1. The interior of dwelling 1 is approximately 80 cm below the surface.

7. Stone structure F27 is perhaps the foundation of a partitioning wall of dwelling 2. Its north side connects with stone structure F5 at nearly right angles. Its south side and stone structure F6 are approximately 2 m apart. Perhaps this was a passageway. Based on depth calculations of stone structure F27, the interior of dwelling 2 was most likely at a depth of around 100 cm below the surface.
 

 

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