Summit Of Mound Research Articles

Soil moisture regime and mound position effects on soil profile properties in a native tallgrass prairie in northwest Arkansas, USA

Prairie, or mima, mound topography often exists in once-abundant, native tallgrass prairie ecosystems throughout North America west of the Mississippi River. However, the abundance of undisturbed prairie mounds is decreasing in many areas due to urbanization and agricultural disturbance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the variations in soil physical, chemical, and estimated hydraulic properties among mound positions (mound summit, backslope, toeslope, inter-mound), soil depths (10-cm intervals from 0 to 90 cm), and soil moisture regimes (udic and aquic) in a native tallgrass prairie in the Ozark Highlands region of northwest Arkansas. Soil samples were collected in mid-April 2017. Soil clay concentrations increased with depth (P < 0.01) at each site position in both soil moisture regimes. The clay concentrations in the mound summits roughly doubled from 0 to 90 cm, while the clay concentrations in the backslope, toeslope, and inter-mound increased by three to six times from 0 to 90 cm. Soil organic matter contents decreased (P < 0.01) with depth at all site positions within both soil moisture regimes and were generally at least numerically largest at respective depth intervals at the inter-mound within the udic soil and at the mound summit within the aquic soil. Estimated saturated hydraulic conductivity decreased (P < 0.05) with depth at each site position and was largest in the inter-mound from 0 to 10 cm (63.4 mm h−1) and numerically smallest at the inter-mound from 70 to 80 cm (4.6 mm h−1). Results clearly indicated that prairie restoration and management practices should consider mounded and inter-mound landscape positions separately to best restore and/or preserve the ecological functioning of the unique mound features in the sparsely remaining tallgrass prairies.

Mound building and summit architecture at the Carson site, a Mississippian mound center in the southeastern United States

Significant scholarly attention has been paid to monument construction, craft production, and leadership strategies in the Mississippian world (A.D. 1000 to A.D. 1540) of the Southeastern and Midcontinental United States. As new sites are discovered and new data brought into consideration, greater consideration can be made linking the building of large earthen mounds to social and political relationships. This article presents an archaeological and ethnohistoric consideration of mound building and mound summit use at Mound D at the Carson site, located in northwest Mississippi. Data from earthen mound excavation, mound summit architecture, material culture, and optically stimulated luminescence and radiocarbon (accelerator mass spectrometry) dating are used to discuss the formation of the monumental landscape beginning in the early 13th century. Several postulates are offered for the interpretation of mound construction and mound summit use.

Mississippian monumentality in the Yazoo Basin: recent investigations at the Carson site (22CO505), northwestern Mississippi

ABSTRACTInvestigations at the Carson site (22CO505), located in Coahoma County, Mississippi, have uncovered data on the development of a large Mississippian mound center dating to the period from A.D. 1200 through European contact. Recent sediment coring, excavation, artifact analyses, and radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating shed light on earthworks and household structures at Carson, and on Mississippian culture in the Yazoo Basin more generally. Sediment coring demonstrates a laterally transgressing Mississippi River system deposited coarse sandy ridges and clay-filled swales underneath a surface horizon comprised of variously coarse to medium-fine sediment originating from generalized overbank flooding. In some instances, flood-borne sediments were found on mound flanks, indicating that at times river-based flooding may have interrupted mound construction. Sediment coring and trench excavation also demonstrate that Carson’s Mound D was built in four stages, with Stages II and III comprising the major stages of earth moving. Excavations on the mound summit reveal evidence of several superimposed structures that were burned in place and likely used for the production of stone, shell, and wooden craft items, perhaps related to Mississippi Ideational Interaction Sphere (MIIS) paraphernalia. Here we describe recent investigations at Carson and present preliminary findings; forthcoming publications will emphasize strategies of power, monumentality, craft production, and Mississippian exchange systems.

Mississippian craft production in the Yazoo Basin: Thin-section analysis of a Mississippian structure floor on the summit of Mound D at the Carson site

In the Mississippian Southeast, little is known about the economy of how craft goods were produced. Archeologists do understand to a certain degree the organization of production of certain microlithic tools, saltpans, and stone palettes and pipes, but few craft production areas have been identified. Evidence from the floor of a structure on the summit of Mound D at the Carson site, in Coahoma County, Mississippi, suggests for the production of items made of wood and shell. Recovered lithic tools may potentially have been used to craft items like shell beads and gorgets and perhaps wooden and stone statuary. This study contributes significantly to the study of craft production and suggests elites at Carson may have played a strong role in controlling valued prestige items. In addition to standard analyses of artifacts, thin-section analysis and micromorphology are techniques with great potential for identifying activities that took place on surfaces uncovered through structure excavations. With continued research, it is possible that our study will play a significant role in elucidating the role of elites in the political economy of craft production.

Investigating Construction History, Labour Investment and Social Change at Ocmulgee National Monument's Mound A, Georgia, USA, Using Ground‐penetrating Radar

ABSTRACTPrehistoric societies from around the world constructed monumental mounded architecture (earthen pyramids) for a variety of functions, including the foundation for temples or a leader's residence, community stages and cemeteries. Flat‐topped earthen mounds often have complicated histories where the function, size, orientation and summit architecture varied throughout time. This paper presents the results from a ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) survey conducted on the summit of Mound A, the largest prehistoric Native American mound at Ocmulgee National Monument located in central Georgia, USA. Our study indicates that performing depth‐slice analyses of flat‐topped mounds can effectively map successive construction stages over distinct periods of archaeological prehistory. The GPR data show distinctive low‐amplitude, discontinuous stratigraphic variations that we interpret to be related to mound fill, which are interrupted by high‐amplitude coherent summit reflections. We also maintain sufficient vertical and horizontal resolution to identify summit architecture on earlier mound‐use episodes, which is imaged by distinct reflection geometry as patterned linear, square and circular high‐amplitude events in GPR depth‐slices. The authors recorded four possible mound summits, the western expansion of the mound, and the shifting location and shape of summit architecture; in addition to resolving a discrepancy regarding the location of early excavation units from the 1930s. Shallow geophysical data indicate a decline in the volume of material used over the course of mound construction, and by inference, a decline in the size of the labour force used to construct each stage. We conclude that the power and influence of Ocmulgee's early leadership subsided over the course of Mound A's use, and may have been contested by an emerging faction. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Between Surface and Summit: the Process of Mound Construction at Feltus

ABSTRACTGeophysical methods that explore depths more than 1 m below the surface were employed at Feltus (22Je500), a Coles Creek period (ad 700–1200) mound‐and‐plaza group in southwestern Mississippi, USA. It is difficult to assess the internal structure of large platform mounds such as those at Feltus using excavation and traditional geophysical techniques alone. As a result, such investigations often focus only on activities that took place during and after the final stage(s) of construction. Our 2012 research at Feltus utilized electrical resistivity tomography and downhole magnetic susceptibility to examine the internal structure of two platform mounds at depths beyond those commonly targeted by shallow techniques. These methods revealed mound stages, prepared floors, midden and pit features, and construction attributes within the fill episodes. By refocusing our attention on the process of mound building rather than the final use of the mound summits, this research broadened our view of the role of monuments in creating and strengthening community ties. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Environmental boundary conditions of cold-water coral mound growth over the last 3 million years in the Porcupine Seabight, Northeast Atlantic

IODP Expedition 307 made it for the first time possible to investigate the entire body of a cold-water coral carbonate mound. Here we provide new insights into the long-term history of Challenger Mound on the European continental margin off Ireland. This study is based on age determinations (230Th/U, 87Sr/86Sr) and geochemical signals (Mg/Li and Ba/Ca) measured in the scleractinian cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa from IODP Site 1317 in the Porcupine Seabight. The paleoceanographic reconstructions reveal that coral growth in the Porcupine Seabight was restricted to specific oceanographic conditions such as enhanced export of primary production and Bottom-Water Temperatures (BWT) between ∼8 and 10°C, related to the water mass stratification of the Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) and Eastern North Atlantic Water (ENAW). The geochemical signals from the coral skeletons can be explained by the close interaction between cold-water coral growth, sea-surface productivity and the surrounding water masses – the boundary layer between MOW and ENAW. Enhanced sea-surface productivity and the build-up of a stable water mass stratification between ENAW and MOW caused enhanced nutrient supply at intermediate water depths and facilitated a steady mound growth between ∼3.0 and 2.1Ma. With the decrease in sea-surface productivity and related reduced export productivity the food supply was insufficient for rapid coral mound growth between ∼1.7 and 1Ma. During the late Pleistocene (over the last ∼0.5Myr) mound growth was restricted to interglacial periods. During glacials the water mass boundary between ENAW/MOW probably was below the mound summit and hence food supply was not sufficient for corals to grow.

Deep-water coral reefs from the Uruguayan outer shelf and slope

We report the finding of monospecific scleractinian (i.e. Lophelia pertusa) reefs from the Uruguayan outer shelf and slope during an exploratory joint research cruise onboard the R/V 'Miguel Oliver' during January-February 2010. Acoustic mapping of the seafloor allowed the detailed analysis of 8,944 km(2), where some 17 structures identified as mounds were detected. Isolated cusps or groups of small mounds were the two main morphologies observed. Mound summit depths ranged from 167 to 326 m. The average height of the mounds was 35 m, reaching a maximum of 67 m. In all sampled mounds, the presence of live coral and/or coral rubble was detected, while absent from surrounding soft sediment bottoms. Some mounds were associated with fluid seepages. This is the first report of deep-sea coral reefs on the Uruguayan continental shelf and slope, and represents the southernmost Western Atlantic shelf and slope record of L. pertusa to date.

Remote Sensing Data from Etowah's Mound A: Architecture and the Re-Creation of Mississippian Tradition

This paper presents the results of a gradiometer survey conducted on the summit of Etowah's largest mound, Mound A, which stands some 19 m tall. Those results are compared to limited excavation data from the summit of Mound A as well as information from the wider region on mound summit architecture. The gradiometer results reveal the presence of as many as four buildings and an open-ended portico that are arranged around an open space and obscured from view below in the plaza. We argue that decisions about the kinds of buildings constructed and their arrangement reveal the interplay between agency and structure at a point of ambiguity in the history of Etowah. The buildings located on the summit of Mound A were built after the site had been abandoned and reoccupied. With that reoccupation, agents and their followers both connected to local traditions and attempted to reformulate them.

Fluid seepage and mound formation offshore Costa Rica revealed by deep-towed sidescan sonar and sub-bottom profiler data

Our analysis of geoacoustic data from the Middle American margin provides an insight into the formation and evolution mechanisms of mound structures observed on the continental slope offshore Costa Rica. Based on high-resolution deep-towed sidescan sonar and sub-bottom profiler (SBP) data six different mound and fluid seepage structures at the Hongo mound field are characterized in detail. The Hongo mound field is located on the lower continental slope offshore Nicoya peninsula in the prolongation of the subducting Nicoya fracture zone. The mounds have oval to circular shapes with diameters of 500–1600 m and relief heights of 60–100 m. High backscatter anomalies near the mound summits indicate carbonate precipitation and focused fluid seepage activity within the last 10 ka. The data do not show evidence for mud extrusions and the structures were probably formed by a combination of carbonate precipitation and mud diapirism. Based on seismic stratigraphy analysis, mud diapirism is at least active since 42.5–57 ka and average vertical growth rates vary between 6–24 cm/ka. However, if diapirism represents the dominant mound evolution mechanism, mound heights of 80 m point to much older mound ages of 330–1330 ka.

The origin of conical mounds at the mouth of Chasma Boreale

One‐hundred and six isolated conical mound landforms were identified proximal to the north polar cap of Mars at the mouth of Chasma Boreale. Five unique morphologies were identified including moderately sloped (4°–6°) cratered mound forms including two mounds of Abalos Colles, flat‐topped moderately sloped (4°–6°) polygonal mound forms, steeper (6–13°) conical mound forms, subdued mound forms with low‐angle slopes (0.5–3°), and small (&lt;2 km diameter) clustered conical forms with low‐ to moderate‐angle (1–5°) flank slopes. From first‐order relationships between flank slope and the volcano productivity index (volume/diameter ratio), 16 mounds were found to be morphologically similar to terrestrial low‐angle basaltic shield volcanoes. Thirteen mounds exhibit summit craters that range in depth (d) to diameter (D) ratio from 1:9 to 1:320. The circularity and d/D ratios of mound summit craters are consistent with highly modified northern plains impact craters. Image analysis of shield‐like mounds reveals morphologic characteristics inconsistent with pristine volcanic landforms for most features. Horizontal flank layering (10–100 m thick), polygonal map‐view morphology, topographic relationships, and spatial association with retreating polar scarps suggest that mound forms at the mouth of Chasma Boreale represent remnants of a once thicker, more continuous sequence of near‐polar layered material. Evidence for northward scarp retreat is visible along Rupes Tenuis, a sinuous scarp located west of Chasma Boreale. Along this scarp, a single ∼100‐m‐thick resistant cap unit (part of the Early Amazonian age Rupes Tenuis unit) is being undermined by aeolian erosion, solar ablation, and mass wasting. Remnants of the cap unit rest along the scarp margin and in places form small conical mound clusters at the base of the scarp. Fracture controlled retreat of the scarp is visible along the eastern portion of Rupes Tenuis and along the Escorial crater remnant mesa where small tongue‐like promontories have been sculpted into the cap unit. Isolation of these irregularities by scarp retreat has formed several volcanic‐like scarp and mesa proximal mounds. Mound forms located closest to the retreating Rupes Tenuis scarp above 78°N were found to be the steepest and tallest mound landforms in the region. Mounds located distal to Rupes Tenuis were found to be broad and subdued. This observation is consistent with long‐term retreat of a once more extensive Rupes Tenuis scarp and long‐term modification of isolated conical remnants.

Hydrodynamic controls on cold-water coral growth and carbonate-mound development at the SW and SE Rockall Trough Margin, NE Atlantic Ocean

Long-term (⩽1-year) records obtained by seabed observatories (BOBO) and repeated (24-h) CTD casts show the presence of a highly energetic environment in and around two cold-water carbonate-mound provinces, on the Southwest and Southeast Rockall Trough (SW and SE RT) margin. Carbonate mounds, covered with a thriving coral cover, are embedded mainly in the Eastern North Atlantic Water (ENAW) and are observed in a confined bathymetric zone between 600 and 1000 m water depth. Cold-water corals seem to be restricted in their growth by temperature and food availability. The presence of living corals on top of the carbonate mounds appears linked to the presence of internal waves and tidal currents in the water column, and consequently carbonate mound structures are shaped by the local hydrodynamic regime. Mound clusters have an elongated shape perpendicular to the regional contours and corresponding to the direction of the highest current speeds. On the SW RT margin temperature, salinity and current speed reflect a diurnal tidal pattern, causing maximum temperature variations at 900 m depth of more than 3 °C. Current speeds up to 45 cm s −1 occur, and a residual current of 10 cm s −1 is directed along the slope to the southwest. At the SE RT margin the temperature of the bottom water fluctuates more than 1 °C with a semi-diurnal tidal cyclicity. Amplitudes of average and peak current speeds here are comparable with those measured on the southwest margin, but the residual current in this area is directed to the northeast. Tidal currents and internal waves at both margins force the formation of intermediate and bottom nepheloid layers and bring fresh food particles with increased velocity to the mounds. The distribution of corals in both mound areas is considered directly related to the presence of enhanced turbidity. An increase in temperature can be directly related to an increase in the amount of particles in the water column. Current velocity increases when a transition occurs from cold to warm waters. High current velocities prevent local sedimentation but provide sufficient food particles to the corals, so that the corals thrive at the mound summits.

Late Maastrichtian chalk mounds, Stevns Klint, Denmark — Combined physical and biogenic structures

Upper Maastrichtian chalk exposed at the Sigerslev quarry, Stevns Klint, Denmark is characterized by wavy and mound-like bedding geometries outlined by bands of black flint nodules. Four morphological elements are recognized, although bedding geometries are highly variable: southward migrating mounds, eastward migrating mounds, chalk waves and evenly bedded chalk. The mounds are interpreted as having been formed by currents carrying fine-grained suspended sediment which was primarily deposited on the up-current mound flanks. Bryozoans were prolific on the up-current flanks and mound summits, which stabilized the mounds, increased bed roughness and the overall accumulation rate. However, accumulation thicknesses do not correlate consistently with bryozoan density. The bryozoans were therefore important for the formation of the mounds, but the distribution of bryozoans did not solely determine depositional thickness across a mound and thus mound growth pattern. Relatively long wavelength wavy-bedded chalk show gentle convex-up geometries and would probably be described as sediment waves if recognized in seismic sections. The chalk waves were deposited under weaker current velocities than those active during mound formation. The exposed succession is topped by more evenly bedded chalk which was deposited by quiet pelagic fall-out of fine-grained material. The whole succession was deposited on the upper part of the northern flank of a large WNW–ESE trending 3 km wide depositional ridge with an amplitude of 35−40 m formed by contour-parallel WNW-ward flowing bottom currents. The mounds may have been deposited by regional bottom currents, or by spill-over currents from the valley south of the large ridge. The succession was deposited during varying bottom current intensities and the depositional architecture indicates a complex and dynamic environment. The depositional style seems to be controlled by the interplay and relative importance of two end-member processes; those that were purely physical and related to the interaction between available grain sizes and hydrodynamics, and those that were largely biological and associated with benthic growth and sediment trapping of mainly bryozoans. Examples of end-member conditions are known from Haute Normandy, France and the lower Danian of Stevns Klint. The structures described here adds to the considerable complexity of depositional styles in chalk.

Sponge diversity and community composition in Irish bathyal coral reefs

Sponge diversity and community composition in bathyal cold water coral reefs (CWRs) were examined at 500-900 m depth on the southeastern slopes of Rockall Bank and the northwestern slope of Porcupine Bank, to the west of Ireland in 2004 and 2005 with boxcores. A total of 104 boxcore samples, supplemented with 10 trawl/dredge attempts, were analyzed for the presence and abundance of sponges, using microscopical examination of (sub)samples of collected coral branches, and semi-quantitative macroscopic examination. Approximate minimum size of identified and counted sponge individuals was 1 mm. Literature data were added to the Porcupine Bank results to compensate for a less intensive sampling program in that location. Species richness and abundance were determined at local (sample diversity, pooled-sample diversity, local reef diversity), between-reef (diversity of two reef areas at 15 km distance), and regional scales (diversity of three reef areas over a distance of 200 km). Abiotic and biotic parameters including depth, the presence and cover of live coral, dead coral and sand, local reef, and orientation towards the nearest reef mound summit, were included in a constrained ordination technique (RDA); a Monte Carlo forward selection procedure was used to obtain significant predictors of variation in composition. The results of this analysis were compared with unconstrained ordination (PCA) and cluster analysis. The presence of live coral, depth and the local reefs C1 and C3 proved to be significant predictors of variation in sponge composition. The PCA and cluster analysis confirmed these results. Sample species richness was consistently heterogeneous from zero species and individuals up to 57 species and 90 individuals per (boxcore) sample. Species richness of local reefs determined from pooled samples showed the three localities studied to have similar species richness, namely 105-122 species in each location. Species richness was highest in samples with relatively low live coral cover. As in the RDA, live coral presence and depth appeared to be responsible for most of the variation observed in the cluster results. Cluster analysis of Bray-Curtis dissimilarity values of the pooled samples of all three reef localities using presence/absence data of all available samples indicated that distance appeared to structure the composition of the sponge assemblages of the three reef mound areas, but much less so within and among local reefs. Bathyal reefs of the regions to the west of Ireland were found to have a combined sponge species richness of 191 species, exceeding the richness of individual reef mound areas by c. 38-45%. Sponge presence in CWRs is clearly structured and controlled by biotic and abiotic factors. In particular, live coral presence appears a significant predictor of CWR sponge composition and diversity.

Early Bronze Age Chamber Tomb Complexes at Gre Virike (Period IIA) on the Middle Euphrates

Gre Virike is on a pebble terrace on the Euphrates, some 10 km to the north of the Turkish-Syrian border. In the second half of the third millennium B.C., limestone structures attached to subterranean chamber tombs were built on the mound summit. The structures consist of three rows of chambers, one of which is attached to an undisturbed chamber tomb. The other two rows probably also belong to two chamber tombs, which were heavily disturbed. Plastered pits on the floors of these chambers contain ceramic vessels and ash. In the tomb chambers, skeletons of the deceased, ceramic vessels, and animal bones were collected. The plastered pits seem to have been used as libation places and censers, and one of the chambers was used as a kitchen. Ancient Near Eastern cuneiform texts record rituals carried out during funerary rituals, such as libation, sacrificing, commemorative banquets, and incense burning. The monumental structure and rich inventory of these tombs show that they belonged to the elite. Its position apart from a settlement or an ordinary cemetery makes this site an extraordinary place. Thus, the chamber tomb complexes at Gre Virike seem to have been used for making offerings during funerary ceremonies.

Characterizing Elite Midden Deposits at Moundville

Insufficient attention has been paid to differences among elite archaeological contexts in middle-range or chiefdom societies. At Moundville, a major Mississippian center in Alabama, midden and feature-fill deposits attributed to elite behavior have been excavated in several areas. Deposits on Mounds Q and G dating to the Moundville II and III phases (ca. A.D. 1260–1450) are similar in that they incorporate abundant domestic debris associated with structures on mound summits. On both mounds, food remains show evidence of provisioning and the consumption of small-scale meals rather than feasting. However, the two contexts differ in the occurrence of evidence for skilled crafting and the display of human skeletal remains. At Mound Q, skilled crafting is abundantly attested, employing local and nonlocal raw materials. Display goods were routinely handled, and pigment processing and use were important. Burials were rarely made, but fragmentary human bone is scattered throughout, emphasizing portions of the skeleton consistent with display. In contrast, elite contexts on Mound G show little or no evidence of crafting, pigment use, and bone handling.

Vacuum chambers for use in resin impregnation of core samples

The University of Alabama, Office of Archeological Services (OAS), through funding provided by a private corporation, began a research project aimed at a relatively noninvasive investigation of Mound R at Moundville Archaeological Park, Moundville, Alabama (Site 1Tu500). Plans for the project began in June 1997 with field investigations set for the following fall. In cooperation with Energen Corporation of Alabama, funding was developed for a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey of the mound, as well as the recovery of 60 core samples from 12 coring locations on the summit of Mound R. Several of the core samples were selected by OAS for resin impregnation and microanalysis. With this goal in mind, OAS found it necessary to construct a vacuum chamber large enough to incorporate the samples. Its construction may be beneficial to others requiring larger chambers for similar analysis. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Vacuum chambers for use in resin impregnation of core samples

The University of Alabama, Office of Archeological Services (OAS), through funding provided by a private corporation, began a research project aimed at a relatively noninvasive investigation of Mound R at Moundville Archaeological Park, Moundville, Alabama (Site 1Tu500). Plans for the project began in June 1997 with field investigations set for the following fall. In cooperation with Energen Corporation of Alabama, funding was developed for a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey of the mound, as well as the recovery of 60 core samples from 12 coring locations on the summit of Mound R. Several of the core samples were selected by OAS for resin impregnation and microanalysis. With this goal in mind, OAS found it necessary to construct a vacuum chamber large enough to incorporate the samples. Its construction may be beneficial to others requiring larger chambers for similar analysis. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Small Ungulate Butchery in the Islamic Period (A. D. 632-1260) at Tell Tuneinir, Syria

THE site of Tell Tuneinir, Syria, is situated on the east bank of the Khabur River in an area that will be directly affected by the construction of a hydroelectric dam below the town of Hasake.' Tuneinir is one of the largest tells in the area and at its highest point rises 20 meters above the surrounding plain.2 The ruins are spread over an area of 46 hectares (113 acres) and can be divided into three zones: the mound summit and the lower town, which are both located on the tell proper, and the suburban settlements, which are located on the plain surrounding the tell.3 Excavation began at Tuneinir in 1987 with the main objective of determining the social, economic, political, and religious institutions of an Islamic period community.4 Towards this objective, eight areas have been excavated, both on and off the tell. Area 1 consists of a step trench extending from the summit down the eastern edge of the tell. Extensions of that trench uncovered the remains of a group of Ayyubid houses as well as the remnants of the first occupation. The earliest remains at Tuneinir date to the Early Bronze Age and consist of a combination kitchen midden and agricultural processing waste site.6 Area 2, near the summit of the tell, encompasses the remains of Ayyubid and Mamluk houses that belonged to the elite.' Also on the tell, but in the lower town, is the greatest bulk of the excavated Islamic period architecture. Area 4 is the south khan, or caravansaray, which includes a small mosque. Area 5 is a bath complex, Area 6 is the market area, and Area 7 is the north khan, which is much smaller than the southern khan.8 Recent excavations have explored Area 8, which appears to consist of houses that belonged to the workers of the tell. Area 3 is a low mound situated on the eastern edge of the suburban