Site Salat Cami Yani
Main Information
| Site ID | 77 |
| Name of the site | Salat Cami Yani |
| Alias name | |
| Alternative name | |
| District | Diyarbakir |
| Region | Southeastern Anatolia |
| Country | Turkey |
| Period | Anatolia Pre-Pottery Neolithic B Anatolia Middle Neolithic Anatolia Late Neolithic |
| Description | Salat Cami Yani, a Pottery Neolithic site in the Tigris Valley, was first discovered in 1989 during the course of the Tigris-Euphrates Archaeological Reconnaissance Project 1. Additional surface collections made by the Salat Tepe excavations team in 2002 also provided more concrete information about the site. Following the detailed surface survey canied out in 2003, a rescue excavation was begun in 2004 as a joint project between the Diyarbakn Museum and Tokyo Kaseigakuin University. The site of Salat Cami Yani is situated about 20 km east of the modern city of Bismil in Diyarbakir Province and is located on the left bank of the Salat Stream, about 3 km upstream from its confluence with the Tigris. An early topographic map clearly demonstrates that Salat Cami Yani was originally a low and oval shaped mound, extending approximately 200 x 100m. However, when we visited the site in 2003, the extent of the nearby village had expanded significantly towards the riverbank, and consequently this Neolithic settlement was included within the modern village, and eventually the mound was almost completely levelled. Based on the surface distribution of the archaeological materials and the results of the soundings in 2005, the approximate extent of the site can be estimated to be araund 2ha at the largest. This is a common size for Pottery Neolithic settlements, and accordingly it can be regarded that Salat Cami Yani was one of the standard farming communities of this period in Southeast Anatolia. Partly due to serious site destruction, Neolithic deposits have been exposed directly beneath the surface soil, while a number of storage pits dating to the lron Age and the lslamic period have been found. ln a total depth of ca. 4,5 m above the virgin soil, 12 layers of the Pottery Neolithic period are recognized, and for the time being these layers can be grouped into at least three phases, mainly based on the preliminary studies of the architectural features and pottery: Phase 1 (Layers 12-8), Phase 2 (Layers 7-3) and Phase 3 (Layers 2-1) from the earliest to the latest. Unfortunately, no evidence for the Pre-Pottery Neolithic occupation was obtained, at least in the area of the site that was investigated. Therefore, it seems likely that initial occupation of Salat Cami Yam occurred from the Pottery Neolithic period onwards. |
| Topography | hill |
| Geographical Coordinate Reference System | None |
| Latitude | None |
| Longitude | None |
| Elevation | None |
| Exact location | no |
| Coordinate source | None |
| Number of activity periods | 5 |
| Comment |
Bibliography
Areas in this Site
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