When we first uncovered the red-brown clay context, I was convinced it was the melted remains of the pisé superstructure of wall 22008. We have encountered hard clay concentrated along the walls like this before. There deposit concentrated along wall 22008 and extended ca. 2m to the east where the deposit shifted somewhat abruptly to a brown silty-clay deposit that was compact but more friable with more frequent materials (22011 over 22015). It was difficult to determine the relationship between 22009 and 22011 and 22015. There was no convincing cut into 22009, and so at one point we suspected that the dump (?) deposits abutted the pisé collapse 22009. I am not convinced by this anymore since underneath 22009, we found a red-clay natural soil that we have not yet encountered on site. This same red natural clay appeared in Area 21000 Trench 2, where there is another abrupt transition between the red clay and brown clay soils with some mingling between deposits. I know suspect that 22009 was the surface level over natural geology into which the foundation cut (not detectable) for wall 22008 was cut.

This reddish-brown, hard clay is part of the natural, geologic soil in the western part of the site, especially TR_22_23_1, and TR-_21_23_2a in Area 21000. This clay mixes with the dark brown clay most often seen and recognuzed as the natural clay on site in TR_22_23_1, and was used as the foundation and bonding material for 22008. -EAV