Structural
Description
At the
end of the campaign 1999, we reported that the structure B3 was an
individual monument with the shape of a stone platform. We estimated
possible that the platform was covered with an artificial sediment
mound. A small test cut added in front of the southern platform edge
revealed that in this area, the earthen mound also contained large
stones lying in unstructured positions. We thought that those stone had
been accumulated on front of the highest platform edge to gain time and
material during the accumulation of the mound. Chronologically, we
estimated that the earthen mound was contemporary with the construction
of the platform, meaning that it had been accumulated soon after
completion of the stone platform. In our opinion, the monument consisted
not only in the stone platform, but also in the earthen mound covering
it. We published a sketch cut of the hypothetical reconstruction of the
mound, based on data available in 1999 (Blumer and Vial 1999: 242, fig.
34).
Today,
the overall picture of monument B3 has considerably changed. We had to
integrate lots of new data gained during the excavation done in 2000,
and we can now reasonably admit the newly inferred reconstruction as
final.
General Shape
Monument
B3 consists mainly in dry stone masonry superstructure and packed
sediment masses. A central platform (
Fig. 11
, squares C-H/2-6) with marked trapezoid shape has
following dimensions: long edge located south: 5.5 m, short edge located
north: 4.0 m, trapeze height: 4.5 cm.
As
we already mentioned in 1999, the platform surface shows a clear but
shallow depression in its center. We supposed this to indicate a
collapsed chamber, which revealed true in 2000. Excepting this, there
absolutely no sign indicating an access to the inner volume.
The
platform is located within a peripheral stonewall (Fig.
11),
but not in centered position; the platform is rather located toward the
large southern edge of the trapezoid peripheral structure. The
peripheral wall is built as a retaining wall, with straight aligned
outer face and irregular inner face. On the inner side, between the
peripheral wall stones and the platform, the sedimentary
record shows that the sediment deposits were accumulated artificially
shortly after construction of the stone platform, and that the
peripheral outer wall served also to retain those deposits from flowing
outwards. This indicates that the peripheral wall has been constructed
at the same time as the sediment accumulation between outer wall and the
platform. Thus, the monument consists at least of those three structural
elements: (1) chambered platform, (2) sediment accumulation, and (3)
peripheral wall. Secondary structures linked directly to the monument B3
were observed near the western part of the peripheral wall.
