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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Hanay Tepe |
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For site maps and drawings please click on the picture...  |
For photographs please click on the photo...  |
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Type:
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Mound |
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Altitude:
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92 m |
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Region:
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Marmara |
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Province:
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Çanakkale |
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District:
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Merkez |
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Village:
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Investigation Method:
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Excavation |
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Period:
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EBA II |
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| Location: It lies north of the Kemerdere stream; a branch of the Kara Menderes on the eastern side of the Çanakkale- Ezine motorway; about 20 km north of Ezine; southeast of the Çanakkale Province. |
| Geography and Environment: It is located at the end of a ridge where the valley of Kermerdere opens into the Menderes Plain. The prehistoric finds are located on the southern slope of the settlement which was suggested to be the ancient city of Thymbra. Kemer stream flows to the south-southeast of the site. The road to Alexandreia Troas and Geyikli passes between the stream and the mound. On the northeastern section of the ridge that the settlement lies on are the facilities of TIGEM. The damage; even partly; still continues. |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: It was excavated in 1857 and 1878-79 by F. Clavert and the finds were published by W. Lamb. The mound was re-investigated by C. Blegen and A. Akarca. It takes place in the registered archaeological sites list prepared by Ministry of Culture and Tourism. It was visited during the survey conducted by Aslan-Polat in 2011 [Rüstem-Aslan 2013:6]. |
| Stratigraphy: Three layers were identified and named as letters B; C and A from bottom to top. Layer B is dated to EBA and evaluated in two building levels as B1 and B2. Layer C is dated to Troy VI-VII and layer A to the Classical Period. On the top; Byzantine graves were uncovered. M. Korfmann proposes that below the EBA levels; there might be levels belonging to Besiktepe-Kumtepe Ia. |
| Small Finds: Architecture: Remains of buildings on stone foundations and store pits were uncovered. The EBA settlement is ringed by a thick fortification wall built on stone foundation. Pottery: They are handmade; burnished usually in grayish black; yellowish brown and reddish brown shades. Forms of bowls with unrolled rim; thickened lip or interiorly thickened rim are common. Sometimes; they have pierced lugs attached horizontally around or near the rim [Schliemann 1885:no.1691]. Also found are three footed cups and loop handled bowls of gray coarse ware. Some forms and zoomorphic vessels recovered from the layer B of Hanaytepe are typical of the fourth millennium BC rather than EBA. Chipped Stone: Chisels and scrapers in flint and obsidian were recovered. Ground Stone: Polished stone axes; a flat axe in nephritis and a marble idol were found. The idol has a body only; of the Cilian type. The head is broken [Schliemann 1885:no.1702]. In 2011, a basalt / stone axe was recovered [Rüstem-Aslan 2013:6]. Bone: Pins and piercing tools were found. Human Remains: The excavated area yielded plenty of simple pit burials and two cist graves in mudbrick; housing the skeletons of an infant and a child inside or between the houses. No grave goods were found. The dead were buried in hocker position; head oriented toward the west. The skeletons were examined by Virchow and identified as brachisephal. It is an intramural cemetery. |
| Remains: |
| Interpretation and Dating: Vast majority of the EBA finds of Hanaytepe is contemporary with Troy II (EBA II) and Thermi II-III. A few pottery recovered from the layer B brings in the possibility of a settlement belonging to Besiktepe-Kumtepe Ia beneath the EBA levels. The Cilia type of idol can be a find belonging to the Late Chalcolithic Age-EBA I. |
