Archaeological Material (part 2)

Raw Materials

As we explained earlier, pottery is by far the best-represented raw material (96.1%) found in and around monument B3. Hard crystalline stone is present with 2 fragments (1.1%) and two small pieces of rusted iron were found (1.1%). In 1999, we reported the early finding of a recent bronze coin in a superficial soil covering the monument. A second bronze object was found on the chamber floor.

At many spots near the chamber floor, we observed tiny fragments of a puzzling material. It took mostly the shape of a bright colored pigment applied on a support that was as soft and fragile than badly preserved paper. Most of the fragments observed were millimeter sized and sampling was generally impossible, excepting for a limited number of them (Fig. 46). We observed tiny curvilinear patterns of gray-greenish color on some of the small fragments. At this stage, it is not clear whether this material is indeed paper with some kind of pigmentation and applied design drawn or painted on it, or if it was the result of a peculiar local and natural chemical reaction at the interface of two particular sediment types. Laboratory observation of the dry sample, measuring about 20 x 5 mm, let us state that the support could be paper and that the dry pigment applied on it is bright rose-red. The sample is less than a millimeter thick.