Endnote 12 – The Battleground

Contrary to recent assertions by Finkelstein and others, the Chicago Expedition field records indicate that the excavators were well aware of what they were uncovering, and were careful to separate Stratum VI from earlier and later cultural strata. They were also astute enough to observe that the life of the Stratum VI settlement was long enough to accomodate renovations in some areas of the site. When sub-phasing occurred, therefore, it was recognized as such, and delineated accordingly. In Areas AA and DD, for example, Loud detected an intermediate construction phase and labeled it Stratum VIB to distinguish it from the remains preserved by the final destruction, which he assigned to Stratum VIA.