Cistern
Description
Henrik Boman & Monika Nilsson
Cistern:
The remains of a filled-in cistern was found in the NW corner of room a.
The cistern extended from the threshold of the exterior door to under the counter and continued most likely under the northern bench of the counter. It was not possible to estimate the size of the cistern. It was filled-in during antiquity, though no material was found that could date neither the cistern nor the filling.
The western wall of the cistern is located c. 0.1m from the inner face of the threshold. Though caved in, we could establish a height of approximately 0.89m below the top of the counter of plaster that could belong to the covering. This plaster was lying face down on the earth filling, with fine earth found both under and on top of the plaster. The situation could be interpreted as a filled-in cistern, presumably before the counter was built, though not necessarily so.
The inside was covered with grey plaster with black intrusions. A very thin, pink plaster was noticeable at lower levels. The depth is unknown, though we unearthed the plastered walls to a depth of 0.73m. The curve of the covering was fairly shallow.
No in- or outlets were found. There is a slight possibility that the cistern is connected to the basin Mau described in the NW corner, the area of the counter now reconstructed as a bench.
A layer of stones was found above the cistern in its caved in state, originally belonging to the vaulted upper structure of the cistern. The miscellaneous stones, including tile/bricks and terracotta, served as a bedding for the floor in front of the counter.
