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CHHÎMEXPLORATIONS, 2002

Tomasz Waliszewski

1) We are deeply indebted to Mr. Frédéric Husseini, Director General of the Direction Générale des Antiquités, for hisinterest and support which have made the research possible; for the proper day-to-day functioning of the expedition we aregrateful to Mrs. Renata Ortali-Tarazi, who has been involved in preparing the ground for the team's work since the verybeginning. The Mission was directed by Dr. Tomasz Waliszewski, assisted by Mrs. Renata Ortali-Tarazi representing theDirection Générale des Antiquités. The team included: Dr. Mahmoud el Tayeb, Mr. Kazimierz Kotlewski, Ms Ingrid Périssé(Université de Bordeaux), Ms Urszula Wicenciak, archaeologists, Mr. Marek Puszkarski, documentalist; Mr. KrzysztofChmielewski, conservator; Ms Karolina Cichocka, Mr. Karol Juchniewicz, Mr. Jakub Prager, Mr. Adam Ryszkowski,

Mr. Dariusz Smoczyñski, Ms Anna Sk³odowska, Mr. Pawe³ Tchorek, Ms Anna Zakrzewska, students of archaeology from

Warsaw University and the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyñski University in Warsaw, as well as Ms Diana Abbany and Mr. YahyaBalhawan, students of archaeology from the Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut.

The seventh season of excavations at Chhîm was carried out jointly by the Direction Généraledes Antiquités and the Polish Center of Archaeology of Warsaw University, and lasted fromSeptember 1 to October 11, 2002.1) The archaeological investigations this season were focusedin three different sectors: temenos A (earlier courtyard separating the ruins of the Romantemple from the Byzantine basilica), village E (the part situated between the Roman templeand oil-press E.I) and oil-press E.II and the structures in its immediate neighborhood spreadover the terraces above the church. The overall objective was to clarify the appropriation andchronology of particular features of the Roman settlement.

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Fig. 1. Plan of the features uncovered in temenos A in 2002(Drawing M. Puszkarski)

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ROMAN-PHASE FLOOR (Fig. 1) A lime-mortar surface, preserved in goodcondition and showing evidence of wear,covered the entire length of the temenosfrom the temple steps to the northwesternchurch. A further section (much of it hadalready been uncovered in the previousseason) was now discovered in the central-eastern part of the temenos. The presentlyexplored part was 3.00 m long and 4.70 mwide. Earlier observations of a clearlydelineated road linking the Roman templewith tower D to the east were confirmed.A colonnade (bases in situ) delimited it onthe north. A parallel row of columns can beobserved on the south, despite this sectionof the floor having been destroyed, presum-ably during conservation and restorationactivities in the 1970s and 1980s. Thesouth colonnade should be seen as part ofthe original temenos layout. The colonnadepassageway had been shut off at the easternend with a wall (surviving a mere fewcentimeters above floor level). It, too,belonged to the Roman phase. Despite noceramic dating evidence being available forthe floor, which survived practically on thesurface, its connection with the building ofthe Roman temple in the middle of the 2ndcentury AD and the functioning of thetemenos as such until the end of theexistence of the church in the 7th or 8thcenturies AD seems to be confirmed.

LATE ANTIQUE FLOORAn area immediately to the east of theabove described sector, 11.50 by 3.50 m insize, is limited on the north by the basilicaand on the east by tower D. Its surface ismade up of a 10-cm thick layer of limemortar that lies some 10-13 cm above thelevel of the Roman-period floor. It issmooth and much less worn than the

previously described surface. To judge bythe stratigraphy, it was connected with thefunctioning of the basilica, that is, theperiod from at least the 5th to the 8thcentury. In the middle of this area a singlerectangular stone block was found sunkinto the floor (cf. Fig. 1); evidence ofanother such block (now lost) 2.50 m awayfrom the first one suggests that both hadsupported pillars, on which a Late Antiqueroof attached to the southern wall of thechurch had rested. A test pit north of thesurviving block revealed the fairly simplestratigraphy in this area. The bedrock herewas covered with an irregular clayey layer,on top of which came the Roman-phasefloor consisting, as in the central section ofthe temenos, of a thin layer of lime mortarlaid on a bedding of small stones. Thehighest layer here is the Late-Antiquesurface connected with the basilica. Thepiers were sunk even into the Roman layerand were originally a continuation of thenorthern colonnade that has now beentraced in the central part of the temenos.

RECTANGULAR FEATURENEXT TO TOWER D

Under the Late-Antique floor in the areaadjoining the west wall of tower D excava-tions brought to light a rectangular feature,2.40 by 1.40 m, consisting of a singlecourse of long flat stone blocks (Fig. 2).Mortar on the western block testifies to thepresence of yet another course of stones,receded in relation to the first in a step-likearrangement. Architecturally, the feature isone with tower D. Its function, however,poses some difficulty. It has been inter-preted provisionally as a set of steps leadingup to the tower D interior. In view of thefact that it is aligned with the axis joiningthe tower and the temple, it would suggest,

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should the hypothesis as to its function beconfirmed, that tower D was some kind ofstill indeterminate, but obviously cult-related structure.

SEWERAGE IN THE TEMENOSA few new branches have been added to theplan of the sewerage system known to havebeen introduced in the temenos area in the2nd-3rd centuries AD (Fig. 3). A set of fourchannels built into the lime surface in thenorthwestern part of the temenos, next tothe passage leading to the village, revealstwo principal directions taken by thesystem. Some channels led to a great cisternsituated in the middle of the temenos,while others discharged rainfall collectedfrom the courtyard surface to the south,beyond its limits. Late Antique potsherdsfound in the fill of these channels confirmthe functioning of this system throughout

the existence of the settlement, well intothe Early Arab period.

ENTRANCE TO VILLAGE E Stone steps leading from the temenos to thevillage had been uncovered during the2000 campaign. This structure from LateAntique times was now dismantledrevealing underneath an earlier surface andsteps (cf. Fig. 3), most likely connectedwith the Roman phase of the temenosdating from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.

PRONAOS OF TEMPLE C (fig. 4)Work inside the Roman temple concen-trated on uncovering the pronaos andstudying the stratigraphy in this spot. Notraces survive of the temple floor level,which appears to have been dismantledalready in Antiquity. Inside the pronaos,however, under a layer of rubble fill,

Fig. 2. Rectangular structure adjoining tower D in the temenos area(Photo T. Waliszewski)

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Fig. 4. Remains of a 1st-century AD floor under the pronaos of the Roman temple. On the right, anearlier wall, used as a foundation for the temple façade (Photo T. Waliszewski)

excavations brought to light a lime floor(Fig. 4) that is obviously a continuation ofthe surface dating from the 1st century ADalready recorded elsewhere under the templeand in the area north of it. The southernsection of this floor, which occupies theentire area of the pronaos measuring 7.33 by2.75 m, was found virtually completelydestroyed. The foundation trenches of thetemple (0.30-0.40 m wide) had similarlydestroyed the northern, eastern and westernextremities of this earlier surface.

A test pit in the center of the pronaosrevealed an earlier layer containing mixedHellenistic and Roman sherds, linkeddirectly with a wall of big, regularlydressed limestone blocks, which was usedas a foundation for the temple façade. Inchronological terms, the wall must be tiedin with other walls excavated below thetemple and under its north wall. Thefunction of the building these walls formedstill remains difficult to ascertain.

Fig. 3. Entrance to village E from temenos A;remains of Roman-phase sewerage inthe foreground (Photo T. Waliszewski)

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Fig. 5. Plan of structures excavated in village E in 2002(Drawing M. Puszkarski)

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VILLAGE E

Investigations of the Roman settlement inthe area between the Roman temple and oilpress E.1 focused on the study of thechronology of already uncovered rooms andthe clearing of new ones (Fig. 5). All wereused for habitation purposes, obviously ina period from the 1st century AD thoughthe 6th-8th centuries. All were constructedin the same technique: two outer faces ofdressed limestone blocks with a core ofearth and stone debris, forming a wallabout 80 cm thick.

STRUCTURES E.XI, E.XII, E.XIIIA trial pit dug in the middle of room E.XIcleared the previous year uncovered bed-rock already 0.25 m below the Roman-phase floor. The bedrock sloped westwards.No evidence of earlier habitations wasbrought to light.

Another trial pit in E.XII, which alsouncovered westward-sloping bedrock,yielded evidence of earlier occupation(Fig. 6) in the form of a Late Hellenistic orEarly Roman jar base found on the bedrock.There is no other evidence, unfortunately,for the chronology of this phase.

Room E.XIII, which was originally partof E.XII, was separated out at some point bya transversal wall with a narrow entrance init. The wall was built on top of a clay-and-lime floor of the Roman phase, the originaloccupational surface in this unit. The latermodifications of the interior organization,which have been provisionally dated to the5th-6th century, consisted of blocking themain entrance to E.XII-E.III and installinga set of four steps in the southwesterncorner. One of these steps was reused fromthe Roman temple located just a few meters

Fig. 6. Room E.XII, view showing the bedrock in a trial pit dug in the floor of the room. At the top,late partition wall separating out room E.XIII (Photo T. Waliszewski)

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Fig. 7. General view of the sector of village E explored in 2002. Street E.XXII runs down the middlewith structures E.XVI and E.XVII visible on the right. The Roman temple seen in the rightbackground (Photo T. Waliszewski)

Fig. 8. Tannour in room E.XVII(Photo T. Waliszewski)

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away from this spot. The steps presumablyled up to a secondary entrance that hadbeen made in the corner of the room.

STRUCTURES E.XVI AND E.XVII At the time of their founding, E.XVI andE.XVII, which occupy the area betweenE.VII and oil press E.I (Fig. 7), were inde-pendent structures, albeit E.XVI (a square,4.10 by 4.10 m) constituted an annex tohouse E.VII and was connected to it bya doorway in the southern wall. Thestratigraphy recorded in the course ofexploring this unit did not depart overallfrom the stratigraphy observed in virtuallyall of the structures excavated so far in thissector. The surface layer was a tumble ofstone blocks from the structure's walls,fallen onto a gray-brown earth that is inter-preted as evidence of a clay roof coveringa wooden frame. The deposits below thisinclude two tamped-clay floors, one fromLate Antiquity, the other, some 0.20 mlower down, from Roman times. Below thelower floor a trial pit revealed light brownsoil containing Hellenistic potsherds.

In the late occupation phase, structuresE.XVI and E.XVII appear to have been con-nected through a passage that was piercedin the wall separating them. A set of pro-visional steps installed in E.XVI facilitatedthe communication between them.

Structure E.XVII (4.00 by 4.10 m)adjoins the walls of oil-press E.I and appearsto have been built at a slightly later datethan the press. Two niches in the wall of thepress siding E.XVII (each measuring 0.70by 0.65 m) may have been used as closets.

Inside E.XVII there were features notfound in E.XVI. A stone flagging of irreg-ularly dressed slabs appeared in the north-western corner in the late occupationalphase. It bore evidence of subdivision in theform of low walls of smaller stones. Insimilarity to house E.VII, there was

a regular block in the very center of theroom, presumably used to mount the beamholding up the roof. A typical Near-Easterntannour or round bread oven, measuring0.90 m across, was found in the south-eastern corner (Fig. 8). The walls were madeof clay 3 cm thick and the outside peri-meter at the base was fitted with sherds ofRoman pottery. It collapsed in on itself,burying a thick layer of ashes inside.

As in E.XVI, a trial pit dug into theRoman-phase floor revealed evidence of anearlier occupational layer containing Hel-lenistic and Early Roman material.

STREETS E.XXII AND E.XXIIIThe paving of two small streets was un-covered in the course of the 2002 season offieldwork. Street E.XXII ran a N-S course

Fig. 9. Alley E.XXIII seen from the east(Photo T. Waliszewski)

Fig. 10. Plan of oil press E.II following excavations in 2002(Drawing M. Puszkarski)

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and was joined at right angles from thewest by a transversal alley E.XXIII(cf. Fig. 5). The entire length of the latterwas cleared and as much of the former as iscurrently accessible for excavation.

The paving, which appeared under a thinlayer of earth, consisted of big limestoneblocks running down the middle of thestreet in a regular line that resembles thecovering of a channel, even though noneexists. The surface on either side of theseblocks is paved less regularly. The potterymaterial from under the paving providesa Late Antique date for this surface.

Testing under the paving, which formsa layer some 0.50-0.60 m thick, revealed anolder street surface made of tamped claymixed with small stones and two rows ofregularly laid blocks one on either side ofthe passage. These acted as pavements ofsorts, facilitating walking during heavyrains.

A long rectangular stone substructurewas aligned with the east part of streetE.XXII. The steps that had presumably ledto the roofs of structures in this sector of thevillage must have started from this elevatedbase.

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OIL PRESS E.II

Removal of a late partition wall dividingthe lower part of the oil press into two areasrevealed all the missing elements of theinstallation uncovered last year, that is,a monolithic basin, four weights and thesubstructure for the beam runner. The greatquerns with the orbes still in place were nowcleared completely in the northwestern partof the room and a system for oil purification,consisting of two basins situated on dif-ferent levels, was also uncovered.

The last stage of research in thisinstallation was the clearing of a thirdpress standing on a higher terrace of thebuilding (Fig. 10). This part is in muchworse condition than other parts of theinstallation, simply because it had beenvisible on the surface prior to theexcavations. Consequently, the lack ofceramic dating evidence of any substancedid not come as a surprise. Even so, thehigher terrace with just one typical oil-pressing installation should be consideredas the oldest element of this establishment,which was developed at a later date toinclude the lower level with two morepresses (Fig. 11).

STREET E.XXVStreet E.XXV began at the main entranceof the oil press E.II (cf. Fig. 10). Itdescended gradually toward the temenosand basilica, a narrow passage of just1.30 m running between walls preservedto over 2 m in height. The paving was ofirregular cobbles that actually formeda narrow channel down the middle,draining rainfall water from neighboring

roofs. Three surviving doorways giveevidence for at least three rooms openingoff the alley. Just 7.50 m away from thefacade of E.II, the street was blocked witha wall that had a doorway in it. It seemsjustified at this point to consider the oilpress and the rooms lining the alley asforming one functional complex that mayhave belonged to a single big family.

Fig. 11. Oil press E.II: the upper and lowerlevels of the installation seen from thenorth (Photo T. Waliszewski)

Lack of time excluded testing for anypotentially earlier phases of use under thetransversal street E.XXIII. A haphazardpaving of large blocks was noted to slope

westwards, toward the corner of the Romantemple, where a gateway had been recordedpreviously (Fig. 9). This gateway gave pas-sage outside the inhabited area of the village.