POSTER. The Euphrate City Gate (1998 Ist International Congress of Ancient Near East, Rome).

ABSTRACT. The excavation area is situated on the North-East slope of the earthenwork. The first stage of field work involved the eastern part of the excavation area and then proceeded in an East-West direction. In the second stage of the excavation the central western and southern sectors were excavated. The excavation ended on 23/10/1997 with the discovery of an area of 23 squares for a total of almost 575 sq. m.. During the first stage of the excavation, facing the northern part, a classical three-piered gate was found with the central axis oriented NE-SW. The North side rests directly on the main part of the rampart, to which is connected by stratified layers of compacted red soil containing heavy deposit of limestone, arranged in horizontal strips almost intentionally, like a hinge between the two, uniting them (door and rampart) architecturally. The structure is constructed entirely of stone, but each part has distinctive technical and constructive features. The eastern end of the area consists of a long wall oriented in an East-West direction which establishes the boundaries of a hypothetical outer forecourt, which is situated in front of the entrance to the gate. In the central eastern area of the North front, the discovery of a probable substructure has been found of a more or less square, angular, defensive tower (M.7030), measuring 4 x 4 m., which is raised by using rows of medium and large stones arranged in three horizontal rows. These stones in the eastern façade form a stepped wall which could possibly have been, originally, used as access stairs to the fortification. The upper part of the substructure features a surface drawing, consisting of well arranged small stones, possibly the base for the collapsed mudbrick wall which was removed during the excavation. The wall defining in the North the passage of the gate M.7010 features a structural body built of medium large stones arranged in superimposed rows, sloping towards the surface of the inner passage. The low revetment of the façade is composed of large, attractive, well-hewn squared stones arranged in a way to draw the three-piered plan, that is a classical architectural and structural element of Middle Bronze city gates. The eastern part of the façade was badly damaged and shows the superimposition of constructions work done at a later date (taken down and removed). These last structures also covered the southern façade of the so-called M. 7030 tower. The West part of the exterior perimeter of the gate, presumed to be the third pier delimiting the room L. 7015, has been completely removed, but its existence is well documented by a mark, where the low revetment of the gate and the stone-paved road L. 7015, were in contact. The inner gate access consisted of an impressive stone-paved road (L. 7015), under which was located a well built drain (L. 7007), that allowed the lower city’s sewage to be transported outside of the rampart. The road is seriously damaged in its eastern half, because of continued usage for remover up until recent times. Plundering of these stones are also a reason for the disappearance of the entire southern section of the gate. In the western area of the excavation a small, rectangular room with an entrance on the south side and an axial niche obtained from the northern part of the wall, was identified. The foundations of the North and West sides abutted the rampart. Only after the removal of an Iron Age small installation that had a similar orientation, which concealed the original southern structure of the Middle Bronze room, while reusing the North and West walls, was it possible to reach the building. The southern area of the excavation is also seriously damaged, nevertheless it was possible to find traces of a large wall oriented NW-SE (M. 7031), delimited on the West by a row of regular, square, hewn stones. This structure was reached after the removal of collapsed boulder sized stones, which were positioned in a North-South line. The body of the wall was constructed, like M. 7010, of a bed of large stones positioned horizontally to form a stepped western side. The upper part was a surface made up of stones of varying dimensions, probably the base for the mudbrick structure. A well made floor of small pebbles and mortar (4 cm. thick) abuts the West side of M. 7031, so that it is difficult to value the stratigraphic relation between the two architectural elements (the floor L. 7021 and the wall M. 7031). The short wall M. 7049 is the South-West border between the zone behind the gate and the lower city; the beaten floor found outside the wall is similar to the one that originally was connected to the paved road. On the North side of M. 7031 a limestone orthostat has been found, perfectly cut, that probably was part of the low outer revetment of the gate’s South-West limit. A small door socket, immediately on the East, if in situ, should indicate, along with the orthostat, the South limit of the gate’s inner road.