Stratum L2 Destruction - Early Bronze II
Excavation reports by Tubb (1988),
Tubb (1990),
Tubb and Dorrell (1991),
Tubb and Dorrell (1993),
Tubb and Dorrell (1994),
Tubb, Dorrell, and Cobbing (1996),
Tubb, Dorrell, and Cobbing (1997),
and apparently Pritchard (1965a)
describe widespread collapse, burning, and
possible localized faulting in Stratum L2 on
the Lower Tell of Tell Saidiyeh. L2 was dated,
on ceramic grounds, to Early Bronze II
(about 2900–2650 BCE according to
Tubb 1998:41).
Although the destruction layers in Areas BB
and DD were later disturbed by erosion and
intrusive activity such as grave cutting,
substantial evidence for widespread collapse
and fire remained. Debris included ash, burnt
mud-brick rubble,
charred timbers, and
crushed or fallen pottery. Fault displacement of about
25 cm and in places up to 50 cm was reported,
together with folding of several mud-brick
walls. While excavators considered whether
some deformation might reflect settlement,
the Lower Tell lies less than 150 m from the
active
Jordan Valley Fault
(
Ferry et al. 2011: Fig. 8a–b).
This proximity suggests the site may have
lain within the
epicentral region of a
seismic event.
In several areas of the Lower Tell, two burnt
destruction layers were identified. These were
interpreted not as separate events, but as the
result of two-storey collapse. In the room
designated the
scullery in Area DD,
Tubb, Dorrell, and Cobbing (1997:62)
found what they described as a “table setting”
of eleven stacked bowls, some retaining
food residue, together with eleven
Abydos
mugs, eleven flint blades, and eleven long,
narrow bone points, possibly toothpicks.
This
assemblage was interpreted as tableware
from a meal awaiting cleaning when the
earthquake struck.
