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Chroniques des travaux archéologiques en Turquie 2018

Preliminary Report on the Sixth Season of the Konya Ereğli, Karapınar, Halkapınar and Emirgazi Survey Project (Keyar) 2018

Çiğdem Maner
p. 161-167

Texte intégral

1The sixth field season of the Konya Ereğli Survey Project (henceforth KEYAR) took place from 17.9-29.9.2018. This survey project started in 2013 with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey. The representative of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey was Timuçin Çolak from the Aksaray Museum. The survey team members were Muhip Çarkı (Koç University, PhD candidate, Department of Archaeology and History of Art), Francesco Tessa (Koç University, PhD candidate, Department of Archaeology and History of Art), Zeynep Kuşdil (Koç University, M.A. candidate, Department of Archaeology and History of Art), Nurbahar Kurtlu (Koç University, undergraduate student, Department of Archaeology and History of Art) and Onur Alp Ulucay (M.A. candidate at METU, Settlement Archaeology). The survey was generously supported by Koç University, AVIS Turkey, Özkoçlar Otel and Derya Lokantası. I am grateful to our representative for his endless support, my team, our sponsors and the Ereğli Museum.

2The aim of the KEYAR survey project is to systematically survey the Bronze and Iron Age settlements of the southeastern districts of the Konya plain and to understand the settlement pattern as well as the socio-economic, environmental and political structures. Furthermore, the road networks in conjunction with the paleoenvironment are analyzed to reconstruct possible trade and military routes. As large areas were marshy until the İvriz Dam was built in the 1980s, the location of the ancient settlements is important to investigate because most of the time they were on the edges of the marshes and connected to road networks that led through or along the marshes and lakes.

3The area of the KEYAR survey project comprises the southeastern districts of Konya - Ereğli, Halkapınar, Emirgazi and Karapınar. These are located to the north of the Bolkar Mountain, west of Niğde, south of Çumra and east of Karaman. Since 2016 the focus of the survey has been on the district of Karapınar (Maner 2017, 2018a, b). Karapınar had been partially surveyed also by James Mellaart (Mellaart 1963), Semih Güneri (Güneri 1990) and Hasan Bahar (Bahar 2002). However, the whole district had never been systematically surveyed. In the past years the Konya Protection Board (Konya Kültür Varlıklarını Koruma Bölge Müdürlüğü) has registered some of the major sites in the Karapınar region; however, most of them have not been surveyed.

4The 2018 field season investigated the region east of Karacadağ. The region includes the eastern shore of the so-called Karapınar Lake (also known as Sultaniye Gölü or Sultaniye Sazlığı), now dried out, and the plateau. The villages of Yağmapınar, Reşadiye Mahallesi, Bursal Yaylası, Seyithacı Yaylası, Bağdaylı Köyü, Nasuhpınar, Kayalı, Yazamca, Kepez, Kazım Üner Yaylası, Yeni Yayla (Nazım Akdoğan Yaylası), Büyük Körin, Küçük Körin, Küçük Yaylası, Merdivenli and Beşağıl Köyü, Yellikuyu Yaylası and Hacı Hasip Yaylası were investigated. Five new sites were systematically surveyed (Table 1, Fig. 1); these are discussed in detail below. The methodology of the survey has been discussed in previous articles published in Anatolia Antiqua and will not be repeated here.

Table 1: Surveyed sites in 2018

Settlement Number

Settlement Name

Province and District

Altitude (m)

71

Kızık Höyük

Karapınar, Reşadiye

1008

72

Bursal Höyük

Karapınar, Reşadiye

1079

73

Yağmapınar Prehistorik Yerleşimi

Karapınar, Yeşilyurt

1050

74

Göynük Höyük

Karapınar, Yeşilyurt

1018

75

Sırçalı Ağıl Höyük

Karapınar, Kayalı, Kokar Kuyu Köyü

1050

Fig 1: Map showing the surveyed sites in Karapınar (2018 field season)

Fig 1: Map showing the surveyed sites in Karapınar (2018 field season)

No. 71 Kızık Höyük

5The mound is located 14 km north of Karapınar on the eastern shore of the Karapınar Lake, and is registered as Kızık Höyük by the Konya Protection Board. The site is ca. 180 m (N-S) by 90 m (E-W) large and around 14 m high (Fig. 2). Pottery is spread over a 300 m radius around the mound. A few meters to the south of the mound is a cemetery, which contains Ottoman and recent graves. Most of the gravestones must have been removed from the mound. The eastern side of the settlement faces the plateau, whereas the western side faces the shore of the lake. The site was divided into five sample areas, where the pottery was systematically collected. The pottery dates to the Chalcolithic, Early Bronze Age (Fig. 1, 3, 4-8), Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age (Fig. 3, 2-3), Iron Age and Roman periods. James Mellaart mentions in his list of Early Bronze Age settlements, a site called Kızak. It is listed between Karapınar Höyük I, II and Tilkili Höyük (Mellaart 1963: 209). I assume that he actually meant Kızık Höyük because the höyük is located between Karapınar and Tilkili Höyük. He notes that burnished, metallic and coarse wares were found on the mound. The same groups were also observed during our 2018 field season. Hasan Bahar’s Kızıl Höyük is probably Kızık Höyük (Bahar 2002: 258). He collected pottery from the Chalcolithic, Early Bronze Age, 2nd Millennium, Iron Age, Roman and Byzantine periods.

Fig 2: Kızık Höyük (drone image)

Fig 2: Kızık Höyük (drone image)

Fig 3: Pottery examples from Kızık Höyük

Fig 3: Pottery examples from Kızık Höyük

Fig 4: Bursal Höyük (drone image)

Fig 4: Bursal Höyük (drone image)

Fig 5: Iron Age pottery examples from Bursal Höyük

Fig 5: Iron Age pottery examples from Bursal Höyük

Fig 6: Yağmapınar (drone image) .The area excavated by Boğtaş is located to the left of the mosque

Fig 6: Yağmapınar (drone image) .The area excavated by Boğtaş is located to the left of the mosque

Fig 7: View of the excavated area and Yağmapınar Höyük from the north

Fig 7: View of the excavated area and Yağmapınar Höyük from the north

Fig 8: Early Bronze Age pottery from the surface of Yağmapınar Prehistorik Yerleşimi

Fig 8: Early Bronze Age pottery from the surface of Yağmapınar Prehistorik Yerleşimi

No. 72 Bursal Höyük

6Bursal Höyük is located on the main road from Karapınar to Aksaray (this road is also known as Eski Karapınar Yolu), 2.7 km southwest of Yazmaca. The settlement is located on a hill 1079 m high, and is registered by the Konya Protection Board. Bursal Höyük was surveyed also by Bahar who refers to it as Bursal Kale (Bahar 2002: 258). At the peak of the hill, foundations of walls made of large, roughly shaped stone boulders were discovered (Fig. 4). These form a rectangular structure with probably two towers. These foundations probably belong to a small fort or watchtower (ca. 12 m by 14 m). Some of the boulders are lying on the slopes of the hill. The pottery is spread mostly on the southern slope and dates mainly to the Iron Age (Fig. 5). This fort or watchtower is located at a very strategic point. It overlooks several roads: a) the main road from Aksaray to Karapınar along the shore of the Karapınar Lake, b) the road from Emirgazi to Karapınar, and c) the Karapınar Lake, Karacadağ and the plateau to the west. The evidence of a fort indicates that during the Iron Age the need for observing and protecting primary roads was necessary.

No. 73 Yağmapınar Prehistorik Yerleşimi (Yağmapınar Prehistoric Settlement)

  • 1 ) A detailed publication is in preparation.

7An unexpected and important discovery was made 850 m north of Yağmapınar Höyük (Fig. 6).1 Yağmapınar Höyük is a major Iron Age settlement surveyed in 2016. It is located 26 km northeast of Karapınar and 4 km south of the Kıçıkışla village (Maner 2017). It is one of the largest mounds in the Karapınar region, an important centre during the Iron Age. On September 20th bulldozers were observed close to Yağmapınar Höyük, so a visit was paid to the site. It turned out that a trench approximately 2 m deep and 1.5 m wide was excavated to install a gas pipeline to Karapınar. This trench was located around 850 m north of Yağmapınar Höyük (Fig. 7). The trench came from the north along the slopes of the Karacadağ and led southwards. It made a curve to the southwest in front of the höyük and continued in a southwest direction. Upon investigation, bones, plaster fragments and stone walls were observed in the trench. A two-day emergency survey was initiated in this area. Time was tight, since the trench was going to be closed within 2 days after the pipe was placed in the trench.

  • 2 ) I would like to thank Dr. Kayacan for her study and willingness to share the results.

8The area with the archaeological remains is located around 70 m northeast of Yağmapınar Cami and on the slopes of Karacadağ and on the eastern shore of the Karapınar Lake, now dried out. Yağmapınar Cami was built by Sultan Süleyman. An inscription mentions that the mosque was built in 1558-1559 (Gündüz 1980: 276). A small, old cemetery is located just to the north-northwest of the mosque outside of the walls. The survey area was divided into three sample areas (henceforth SA): below the pipeline trench (SA 1), above the pipeline trench (SA 2), and inside the trench (SA 3). The pipeline trench further to the south and to the west of Yağmapınar Höyük did not contain any archaeological material. SA 2 revealed pottery dating to the Early Bronze Age (burnished ware; Fig. 8) and Iron Age. In SA 1 pieces of Early Bronze Age coarse ware and a fragment of a green glazed handle (probably Byzantine, Seljuk or Ottoman) was found. The rocky ground of the two sample areas was covered with hundreds of pieces of small obsidian tools, flakes and cores. Samples were collected from both sample areas (Fig. 9). In SA 2 and 3 fragments of pestles and grinding stones were found (Fig. 10). In SA 3 in around 1.5 - 2 m depth large mortars, pestles, grinding stones, stone wall foundations, obsidian fragments and plaster fragments with more than 30 layers were discovered. SA 3 did not contain any pottery. The obsidian fragments were examined by Dr. Nurcan Kayacan from Istanbul University, Faculty of Prehistory.2 Macroscopic analyses show that the obsidian came from the Cappadocia region, namely Göllüdağ and Acıgöl, and was made with techniques known from the Aceramic Neolithic.

Fig 9: Examples of obsidian tools and flakes

Fig 9: Examples of obsidian tools and flakes

Fig 10: Fragments of pestles and grinding stones

Fig 10: Fragments of pestles and grinding stones

9These important results point to the oldest discovered settlement known so far from Karapınar and the southern Konya Plain. In southern Central Anatolia, Aceramic Neolithic is already known from a few sites (Fig. 11). However, evidence for Aceramic Neolithic settlements in the southern Konya Plain was unknown. The remains of architecture inside SA 3 must be those of the Aceramic settlement. Excavations need to be conducted in Yağmapınar Prehistoric Settlement to understand the Aceramic Neolithic in this region and how it correlated with the Aceramic Neolithic in south-central Anatolia.

Fig 11: Map showing Aceramic Neolithic sites in South Central Anatolia

Fig 11: Map showing Aceramic Neolithic sites in South Central Anatolia

No. 74 Göynük Höyük

10Göynük Höyük is located 6.8 km south of Kayalı and 16 km northeast of Karapınar. It is a registered höyük. The site is situated east of Karacadağ and not far from the shore of Karapınar Lake (Fig. 12). The mound is ca. 190 (N-S) by 137 m (E-W) large and around 17 m high. In the holes left by illicit excavations, fragments of a human skull, animal bones, and burnt mudbrick fragments were observed. The pottery dates to the Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Late Bronze Age and Iron Age (Fig. 13).

Fig 12: Göynük Höyük

Fig 12: Göynük Höyük

Fig 13: Early Bronze Age pottery from Göynük Höyük

Fig 13: Early Bronze Age pottery from Göynük Höyük

No. 75 Sırçalı Ağıl Höyük

11At Kokar Kuyu, northwest of Kayalı there are the shallow remains of a mound, damaged by agriculture (Fig. 14). The size of the settlement was not possible to determine because of ploughing. The investigated pottery dates to the Iron Age and Roman periods.

Fig 14: Sırçalı Ağıl Höyük

Fig 14: Sırçalı Ağıl Höyük

Conclusion

12The survey in the Karapınar district has shown so far that starting from the Aceramic Neolithic onwards people settled around Karapınar Lake. Kızık Höyük, Tilkili Höyük, Yağmapınar Höyük, Yağmapınar Prehistoric Settlement, and Göynük Höyük are all located around Karapınar Lake or close to the marshes of this lake. The earliest evidence of a settlement is found in Yağmapınar Prehistoric Settlement discovered by chance during the 2018 field season. The obsidian tools as well as the remains of plaster and stone walls all point to an Aceramic Neolithic settlement. The pottery on the surface shows that it was still used as a place of habitation during the Early Bronze Age and probably also later periods. During the Iron Age people moved to the spot where the large mound of Yağmapınar is located. Probably more space was needed. As a general result of the KEYAR survey project, it can be surely stated that during the Iron Age the settlement number increases. One of the reasons for this might be a practical one, namely that Iron Age pottery is abundant on sites and also easy to recognize. A second reason might be that people migrated to the southern Konya Plain during the Iron Age: after the collapse of the Hittite Empire, the Hittites also migrated south to Central Anatolia and to the southeast of Turkey. Their remains can be seen in the Neo-Hittite culture well attested in the Karaman-Konya-Niğde-Aksaray region. Because of these migrations, the land for agriculture and habitation was probably even more valuable. Hence there was a need to control the roads, to secure them for military use, and also for trade. This could be one of the reasons why a fort/watchtower like Bursal Höyük was located at a very strategic spot.

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Bibliographie

Bahar, H., 2002: “Konya Karaman İlleri Yüzey Araştırmaları 2000”, AST, XXI: 257-270.

Güneri, S., 1990: “Orta Anadolu Höyükleri, Karapınar, Cihanbeyli, Sarayönü, Kulu Araştırmaları”, AST 7: 323-340.

Maner, Ç., 2017: “Preliminary Report on the Fourth Season of the Konya-Ereğli Survey”, Anatolia Antiqua 25: 95-114.

Maner, Ç., 2018a: “Konya ili Ereğli, Halkapınar, Karapınar ve Emirgazi 2016 Yılı Yüzey Araştırmaları (KEYAR), AST 35-1: 303-317.

Maner, Ç., 2018b: “Preliminary Report on the Fifth Season of the Konya Ereğli, Karapınar, Halkapınar and Emirgazi Survey Project (KEYAR) 2017”, Anatolia Antiqua 26: 155-164.

Mellaart, J., 1963: “Early Cultures of the South Anatolian Plateau, II: The Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Ages in the Konya Plain”, Anatolian Studies 13: 199-236.

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Notes

1 ) A detailed publication is in preparation.

2 ) I would like to thank Dr. Kayacan for her study and willingness to share the results.

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Table des illustrations

Titre Fig 1: Map showing the surveyed sites in Karapınar (2018 field season)
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anatoliaantiqua/docannexe/image/1072/img-1.png
Fichier image/png, 1,4M
Titre Fig 2: Kızık Höyük (drone image)
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anatoliaantiqua/docannexe/image/1072/img-2.png
Fichier image/png, 1,0M
Titre Fig 3: Pottery examples from Kızık Höyük
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anatoliaantiqua/docannexe/image/1072/img-3.png
Fichier image/png, 301k
Titre Fig 4: Bursal Höyük (drone image)
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anatoliaantiqua/docannexe/image/1072/img-4.png
Fichier image/png, 1,2M
Titre Fig 5: Iron Age pottery examples from Bursal Höyük
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anatoliaantiqua/docannexe/image/1072/img-5.png
Fichier image/png, 99k
Titre Fig 6: Yağmapınar (drone image) .The area excavated by Boğtaş is located to the left of the mosque
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anatoliaantiqua/docannexe/image/1072/img-6.png
Fichier image/png, 1,1M
Titre Fig 7: View of the excavated area and Yağmapınar Höyük from the north
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anatoliaantiqua/docannexe/image/1072/img-7.png
Fichier image/png, 1,2M
Titre Fig 8: Early Bronze Age pottery from the surface of Yağmapınar Prehistorik Yerleşimi
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anatoliaantiqua/docannexe/image/1072/img-8.png
Fichier image/png, 175k
Titre Fig 9: Examples of obsidian tools and flakes
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anatoliaantiqua/docannexe/image/1072/img-9.png
Fichier image/png, 875k
Titre Fig 10: Fragments of pestles and grinding stones
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anatoliaantiqua/docannexe/image/1072/img-10.png
Fichier image/png, 1,1M
Titre Fig 11: Map showing Aceramic Neolithic sites in South Central Anatolia
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anatoliaantiqua/docannexe/image/1072/img-11.png
Fichier image/png, 520k
Titre Fig 12: Göynük Höyük
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anatoliaantiqua/docannexe/image/1072/img-12.png
Fichier image/png, 1,1M
Titre Fig 13: Early Bronze Age pottery from Göynük Höyük
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anatoliaantiqua/docannexe/image/1072/img-13.png
Fichier image/png, 416k
Titre Fig 14: Sırçalı Ağıl Höyük
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anatoliaantiqua/docannexe/image/1072/img-14.png
Fichier image/png, 1,0M
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Çiğdem Maner, « Preliminary Report on the Sixth Season of the Konya Ereğli, Karapınar, Halkapınar and Emirgazi Survey Project (Keyar) 2018 »Anatolia Antiqua, XXVII | 2019, 161-167.

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Çiğdem Maner, « Preliminary Report on the Sixth Season of the Konya Ereğli, Karapınar, Halkapınar and Emirgazi Survey Project (Keyar) 2018 »Anatolia Antiqua [En ligne], XXVII | 2019, mis en ligne le 31 janvier 2022, consulté le 28 mai 2023. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/anatoliaantiqua/1072 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/anatoliaantiqua.1072

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