The further down we go, the more I find I am ruined by dirt. Everywhere I go I am looking at the dirt. I am thinking of the different colors, how to level it by removing rocks, wondering if that was ceramic or just schist. I close my eyes and I see our unit. On a much more positive note, I have learned so much. I have a much more analytical eye and understand what I am seeing. The more we dig, the more excited I get because we will be able to uncover more. (Yes that was a terrible attempt at a pun). We are finding more ceramic and seeing the construction of the walls.
Our biggest running theory is that our unit along with unit 8B was a day room or an audience hall. Audience halls tend to be near a court yard and a vestibule room, have doorways and a curved wall. 8A and 8B have all of these. We also think that after its use as a audience hall, it was turned into smaller rooms (apartments) and received a new flooring. The plaster floor found in our unit also matched elevation with the threshold in 7D, suggesting this was the original floor. My biggest questions revolve around the plaster floor and timing of the walls. Though the plaster matches with the threshold, 8B hasn’t found any plaster. This would suggest 8A and B were not apart of the same room at the time of the plaster floor. The walls are a combination of joined and butted, which until we uncover more of the walls, won’t make sense yet. I am also curious about when we will hit bedrock. 6D has bedrock close to our current elevation near the south west wall. Does that mean we are close to bedrock? Or are we still a ways off, comparing ourselves to the opposite adjoining unit? One aspect of archaeology I have found interest in is walls. Our unit experienced a lot of wall fall and we have seen many different kinds of rocks used for said walls. There is also evidence of doorways that once were and walls rebuilt. I have been very curious about the timing of when the walls were built, how they fell, and what that tells us. We know there has been a few earthquakes and some walls show evidence of that, how can one tell? And what else do the walls tell us?
Our units wildest theory, thanks to Grace and Henry, is that our unit was a brothel. We have found four coins, which naturally means that is how the patrons paid. There are many rooms, for more people, and many walls, for more privacy. There was more than one level, each with a different theme. The higher up you were signifies your higher status as there was a better view with a nice sea breeze. Underneath our plaster surface we will find a raunchy mosaic and graffiti on the walls to prove our theory true.