Structure 249
This well-planned structure was built to the south of the earlier Structure 209. Its southwestern wall (W29) was built on the slope after it had partly been cut away, thus creating a leveled surface, c. 1 m lower than the floors of Structure 209. The walls (width 0.54–0.70 m), built of pebbles and fieldstones of various sizes, were preserved 1.0–1.6 m high.
The rooms and courtyards were arranged in an L-shaped manner: the main courtyard in the west, the storeroom in the south, separated from the courtyard by a short wall and the Sanctuary adjacent to the storeroom in the east. A second courtyard with a paved area was in the north and northeast of the main courtyard. Both the Sanctuary and the storeroom were accessed via doorways in the southern end of the main courtyard; however, entering the Sanctuary required a perpendicular turn to the left.
The main courtyard was a rather small enclosure (L249; 4.0 × 4.5 m) with a stone bench built along the eastern wall (W6) and another short mud-brick and stone bench against the southern wall (W23). A sacrificial, nearly square altar (1.1 × 1.2, height 0.2 m) built of three undressed large stones and supported by small stones was situated in the center. A pit (L260; diam. 0.8 m, depth 0.9 m) that functioned as a drain was to the south of the altar. A thick ash layer covered most of the earthen floor. A small rounded hearth (L266; diam. 0.45 m, depth. 0.3 m) was cut into the natural loess soil east of the altar. Three small favissa pits (L352, L353, L364; diam. 0.4 m, depth 0.2–0.3 m) were cut into the courtyard floor, containing bones, pottery and stone vessels. Collapsed mud bricks topped with stone rubble covered the ash layer.
The finds in the courtyard included many grinding and pounding stone vessels; several storage jars smashed by collapsed rubble were found along the walls and a group of cylindrical loom weights was found near the northern wall (W15). A figurative cultic stand, possibly originating from a higher shelf, was found within the collapsed mud bricks.
The north-eastern courtyard (L326), situated east of W6 near the entrance to Courtyard 249, was found partly paved with stones. It extended as far as W7 and W13 and included a stone bench (W4).
The storeroom (L261; 2.0 × 2.8 m)was entered from Courtyard 249. A stone bench (0.9 × 1.1 m, height 0.4 m) and a bin of stone and clay (L311; 0.9 × 1.0 m, height 0.68 m) were built along its southern wall (W30). Part of the floor was paved with large stones (L328) and this paving preceded the construction of the walls, filling up an existing depression and leveling the surface in preparation for the construction of Structure 249.
The finds in the storeroom included various pottery vessels, stone vessels and an Egyptian amphora, as well as a single fragment of a figurative cultic stand, which was found in Courtyard 249. The finds inside Installation 311 included parts of a restorable cooking pot, a bowl, some bones and a fragment of a bronze object. It may have served as a favissa, since it was intentionally filled up with earth and stones.
The sanctuary was an elongated room(L211; 2.0 × 5.2 m), accessed from the courtyard, in which two phases were discerned. The eastern wall (W18) had probably been built of mud bricks, as its collapse on the floor consisted of brick material. The earthen floor was plastered with clay and presumably white-washed, extending as far as the benches that were built along most of the walls.
A stepped platform was found in the eastern end. The lower step consisted of packed earth and the higher one was then added, cutting into the lower step and comprising three courses of single bricks. A standing stone was inserted into the platform, next to the higher step.
In addition to the cultic stands mentioned above, the finds also included a strainer jug, chalices, storage jars, a bronze knife, an earring, a bead and two small peaces of a gold-leaf. All these lay buried under a thick layer of rubble and mud-brick material that had been leveled and another floor was placed above (L251 of Phase I). The cause for the sudden destruction is not clear. It may have been the outcome of an earthquake, as demonstrated by north–south oriented cracks in the walls and in the floor of the Sanctuary.