The description of an archaeological feature can be a very complex process. For this reason a great deal of specific information is requested in the description section of each feature sheet, and you should fill this section out as completely as possible; however, some parts of the description section may not apply to a particular feature and should be left blank. For example, most of the walls you find will not contain bricks and you will not need to fill in the part of the architectural feature sheet which discusses bricks. Additionally, there are problems inherent in describing survey, or non-excavated features because much of the structure may be hidden below the surface and therefore unavailable for description. This being the case, record only what is visible and, if necessary, explain in the "Remarks" portion of the Description section why you were unable to record certain data.
Architectural features consist of constructed walls. Because there are several materials for wall construction, and each one needs to be described in its own terms, the description section of the Architectural Feature Sheet is one of the most detailed. Take your time when recording architectural features and carefully fill in the appropriate spaces.
Because the survey usually examines substantially complete floor-plans of structures, rather than limited portions of walls as is common in balk-debris excavation, it is important to list the number of visible walls upon which the description of the feature is based. Place the number of "Visible Exterior Walls" and "Visible Interior Walls" in the appropriate spaces. If there are no interior walls, place a "0" in the appropriate space. This might be a good place to remind everybody that the Survey is not allowed to do any excavation without specific permission from the Department of Antiquities; therefore, a visible wall is a wall which is visible on the surface, not one which is visible after removal of the soil covering it. For this reason, you may find yourself recording a rectilinear structure (a description which presupposes four exterior walls) which has only three visible walls. In the space following "Remarks:" include any conditions or ambiguities regarding the walls which might affect the interpretation or understanding of the feature.
Give a rough idea of
the general shape of the feature by marking the appropriate entries on the
left with the qualifiers in the column to the right. A "Linear"
feature is one that forms a straight line (e.g. a single wall). It need
not be perfectly straight, but should be very close to it. However, if the
basic linear plan is curved, mark "Curvilinear." If the feature
is basically "Rectilinear," mark the third space. If the feature
is round, mark "Circular." A "semi-circular" feature
is shaped like a crescent, but not linear. An "Oval" feature can
be elliptical or egg-shaped, as well as oval. An "Apsidal" feature
has three linear walls connected in a "U" shape and one semi circular
wall which forms an apse at the open end of the "U." "Irregular"
indicates amorphous shapes which cannot be grouped. When you use no qualifiers,
an "a" is placed in the entry blank and you imply that the feature's
plan is very close to the ideal.
Architectural features
are constructed of several materials, most often stone and mudbrick. Moreover,
any one feature, or even any one wall, may have different types of materials.
Thus, the "MATERIAL" section asks for varieties of information.
The most common stone in the Madaba Plain, and thus in architectural features
constructed of stone, is "Limestone." "Chert", sometimes
called flint, is a very hard, fine grained silica rich rock. "Basalt"
is a very hard, heavy, volcanic rock, black in color. "Nari" is
a very soft limestone which can at times be broken with the bare hand; some
people describe it as decayed limestone. "Mudbrick," because of
its propensity to disintegrate when exposed to the weather, is rare in non-excavated
situations but is occasionally found. "Soil" is used at times
in wall construction. Mark this space only if the soil is an integral component
of the feature's construction; do not mark this space if it was used as
mortar or as facing. Architectural Fragments, such as capitals, pillar bases,
entablatures, etc., may be reused in later walls, but they are rare prior
to the Hellenistic period. If present, count them and enter the total in
the space labeled "Arch Frags." List the "Type" of fragment
in the following space (e.g. pillar base, capital, etc.).
Masonry is a description of the individual pieces in the feature (bricks or stones), made by giving the percentages of stone or brick sizes in the mass of the feature.
"WALL STONES:" describe only the main structural stones in the walls of the feature. Determine the percentages based on total mass, not on a count of the stones. For example, a wall composed of one very large boulder and four cobbles should not be listed as 80% cobbles and 20% VLg Boulder. Instead, 20% cobble and 80% VLg Boulder would probably be closer to the truth. Finally, be sure to include the percentage of the wall that is "Bedrock" in those instances where it has been utilized in the construction. For example, many kilns were built against the naturally occurring bedrock outcrops of the region and more than 1/2 of the wall forming the structure may consist of bedrock.
"CHINKSTONES" are used in most stone walls to secure the main structural stones. Describe them by giving the percentages based on total mass. Note that this is the percentage of chinkstones only, not the percentage of all the stones which form the feature.
"FILLSTONES" are the stones that fill the interior of rubble filled walls. These stones can be different from the stones in the outer rows. Give the sizes of the fillstones by entering the percentages. If there are no fillstones, leave this column blank.
Because "BRICKS" in a wall can vary in size, give a range of all three dimensions.
Most of the walls
you will find when recording survey sites were "Dry-laid," i.e.
mortar was not used in their construction. Mortar can be "clay"
if it has a clay texture; "mud" if it has a silt texture; "Lime"
if it is finely crushed limestone not hardened into plaster; "Plaster"
if it is hardened lime or chalk, sometimes combined with mud; and "Cement."
If possible determine an average thickness.
This section is for
stone walls only and describes the way stones were worked. Because a wall
may include stones with a variety of dressing styles, give the percentage
of the total number of stones in each dressing style. "Unhewn"
stones are field stones with no discernible signs of dressing; "Semi-hewn"
stones exhibit some dressing, so the stones fit securely with a minimum
of chinkstones; "Dressed" stones show definite squaring into blocks;
"Ashlar" stones are tooled into nicely shaped blocks; "Bossed"
stones are ashlars with a marginal dressing around the edges of the block,
leaving a more crudely dressed boss in the center.
On all dressed stones,
look for signs of "Tooling." Enter the width of the tool mark
in cm. Generally speaking, ancient masons hammered their tools at an oblique
angle to the stone making cuts of varying "Lengths." If you can
see them, give a range. Make a quick sketch of tool marks, checking the
space labeled "Sketch" and file it with the Feature Sheet. Make
sure photos are taken of all types of stone cutting in each feature, then
check the "Photo" entry.
In this section, mark
the entry "Unfaced" if the wall shows no signs of an exterior
or interior lining. If there are any signs of plaster, check the space next
to "Plaster." If mud, check the space next to "Mud."
Very rarely you may find traces of paint on plastered walls. If the paint
is in the form of a design, make sure the architect draws it, and whether
or not there is a design be sure to enter the Munsell color.
This section
records the manner in which the walls of the architectural feature were
constructed.
"STYLE:" The most common stone construction is composed of dressed, semi-hewn, or unhewn boulders with cobble chinkstones wedged between them, i.e. "Boulder and Chink." A wall with "Ashlar Fit" is made entirely of ashlar, dressed, or bossed stones so nicely cut that no chinkstones are necessary. "Header-stretcher" refers to rectangular ashlar or dressed stones laid with long and short sides alternating. Many thick walls are "Rubble-filled," that is, the space between two rows of boulders is filled with rubble. "Rubble" walls have no courses or rows. "Quoin-and-pier" construction, (also called a-telaio) is typified by ashlar or dressed stones laid in columns at intervals of two to four meters with the intervening spaces filled with unhewn or semi-hewn stones. "Orthostat" construction uses very large ashlar stones which are relatively thin, set on edge. Never mark more than one entry in this column, even though some features use a combination of styles. If the evidence seems to demand it, record a composite style in the blank line.
"SUPPORT:" Walls receive support in a variety of ways. If the wall was "Free-standing," with no visible means of support except its own construction, mark the appropriate space. If short subsidiary walls seem to support it, mark "Buttressed." If the wall was "Battered" against soil deposits, mark the third line. Most walls have "Foundations" that help to support them. If so, check this entry. Most often the support for the walls of architectural features recorded by the survey are buried beneath the surface and thus "Unknown" will be the most frequent mark in this section.
"Tendencies:" This entry is concerned with the aims of the builders as they built the feature and as the later occupants used it. Is there a pattern in the way the stones are laid relative to their size, dressing, or shape? Is the wall heavy and bulky, monumental, light and flimsy, or ephemeral, etc. Try to verbalize the mood the builders were trying to project in their construction.
Under "Remarks" put clarifying information about construction only.
Walls are often built
vertically by means of horizontal lines of coursing. In the space labeled
"Number," enter the range from fewest to greatest of visible courses
in the feature's walls. If you see no coursing, mark "Random."
A row is a single line
of stones in a course. In the space labeled "Number," enter the
range, from fewest to greatest, of rows visible in the feature's walls.
With rubble-filled walls, mark "Two w/rubble." The blank line
allows you to enter other forms, such as "1 row with rubble."
If you see no rows, mark "Random."
Remember that these
dimensions are for the entire feature, not for individual walls. In the
space marked "Length," put the greatest length of the feature.
In the space marked "Width" give the width. If the feature is a single wall leave this space blank.
The "Thickness of Walls" is measured as a range from narrowest to thickest for both "Ext[erior]" walls and "Int[erior] walls. If there are no interior walls, leave this space blank.
"Height" is the height of the walls of the structure and should be marked in the appropriate spaces as a range from least to greatest.
Enter a compass reading in degrees, between 0 and 180, of the direction of the greatest length of the feature in the space marked "Orient[ation]." If the structure is circular, leave this space blank.
Some structures you will encounter will have openings through their walls. In these cases record the appropriate width and height of the opening in the spaces following the label "Opening." In most cases, no opening will be apparent in the feature and the space following "U.D." should be marked.
"Remarks" is reserved for comments on the dimensions of the feature.
The description section of the Architectural Feature Sheet continues on the reverse side of the sheet with preservation. This portion of the description section describes the state of the feature as found. If the feature is preserved from foundation to roof, or, in case of a field wall, from foundation to capstones, mark the entry labeled "Complete." This is almost never the case. When only part of the superstructure has been preserved, mark one of three entries: "Most" (2/3-complete), "Half" (1/3-2/3), and "Little" (0-1/3). If no superstructure is preserved, mark the entry labeled "Foundation Only" and one of the two entries, "Complete" or "Partial." If the wall is completely gone and only a ghost wall (robber trench) remains, mark "Robbed." Describe other observations on preservation in the "Remarks" entry.
The "Remarks" section belongs to the overall description of the feature. You may want to record subtleties which are not included in the specific entries above. If so, please give a thoughtful, concise, and specific description.
