The etymology of *Avals*

Avals is the human approximation of the Tyrian word for the trench at which the Tyrian Court keeps its principal seat. It is also, the survey now believes, the Tyrian word for the Court itself when in session, and for the duration of any treaty signed there. It may also refer to a wall.

The four readings

1. Geographical: the trench. This is the easiest reading, the one the survey adopted first, and the one that will continue to appear in the bathymetric record.
2. Institutional: the Court. The Court has, in occasional documents, signed Avals where the survey would expect a body's name.
3. Temporal: a duration during which a treaty is held to be alive — a usage analogous to the human practice of dating a treaty by its signing.
4. Architectural: a wall, possibly the eastern wall of the trench, possibly the wall of the Court's principal chamber. This reading is the least confident.

Why no preferred translation

Because, in the documents the survey has been allowed to inspect, the four readings have not always been distinguishable. The Court has been asked to clarify, by the Conservancy's translator, on three occasions. On each occasion the Court has answered. The author is not sure which reading the Court was answering for.