| Description |
This site is a höyük in the southern part of the Central Anatolian plateau, on the south-western edge of Cappadocia, in the Melendiz Plain. In this region, there were volcanic activities (--> therefore volcanic domes, calderas and craters). There used to be a paleolake that maybe was still present in the Neolithic. It was filled up by sedimentation (volcanic ash, pumice, tephra). The soil was suitable for farming, well irrigated by perennial waters from the surrounding mountains that merge with the Melendiz River.
There used to be a wild fauna, basaltic and andesitic stones for construction, and obsidian was available in the immediate vicinity.
The mound is about 300 x 170 m big and named after the nearby village. The excavations of the oval höyük, an area of ca. 33 300 m², began in 2000. The topography was that of a semi-cone with a steep north-western slope. The area had been flattened due to agricultural activities from the Neolithic up to the present.
The prehistoric settlement is estimated to have been the size of 6 ha.
Five occupational phases were discovered:
I: Late Roman/Byzantine, level 1, badly destroyed, graves were found;
II: Middle Chalcolithic, level 2, mainly in the north-western part of the excavated area;
III: Early Chalcolithic, level 3;
IV: Pottery Neolithic Upper Phase, levels 4-5, about 400 m²;
V: Pottery Neolithic, levels 6-9; |