On Thursday we discovered evidence that the curious clay layer may have served as floors for dwellings. A careful examination of the clay floor exposed in unit 498N 512E revealed an arc of post molds running along the edge of the floor. These posts measure about 5 to 7 cm (1.5 to 2.5 inches) in diameter and penetrate through the floor. The white dots in the image below mark these post molds. The red areas are heat-oxidized areas of the floor; most likely places where fires were made. The dark soil area on the left (west) represent where shallow pit features were dug, parts of which cut out small sections of the floor. We are not sure what these pits were used for, but they contain significant amounts of animal bone and some fire-cracked rock.
One final feature of note was found in the southeast corner of the excavation unit (lower right). This small, dark, shallow pit cut through a burned area of the floor, which tells us that it definitely post-dates the creation--and maybe occupation--of the dwelling that was built here four millennium ago.
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