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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Kayapinar |
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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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1320 m |
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Region:
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Black Sea |
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Province:
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Tokat |
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District:
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Artova |
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Village:
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Yenice |
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Investigation Method:
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Excavation |
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Period:
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| Location: It lies 5 km west of the Yenice Village; 17 km north of Artova; some 25 km southwest of the Tokat Province. It is located 3 km north of the railway running from Artova to Ulus. |
| Geography and Environment: It is a small oval mound; 45 m wide and 70 m long; with a cultural deposit of 2.5 m thick. It is 60 m higher than the stream under passing. To the 70 m north; lies a spring and Kurtini Cave on a rocky block over this spring. It is informed that the interior of the cave; not surveyed yet; is full of earth. The mound is located on the ridge of a stream originating from the Akdag range and reaching to the Bebek Stream. The underlying valley has a very fertile land. The mound has been almost demolished by the treasure hunters. |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: Permission obtained for a treasure dig in 1949 and archaeological finds inevitably recovered during that dig attracted the attention to this mound. In 1952; R. Temizer started a salvage excavation on the northern top hill of the mound as well as examining the damaged section in the north in detail. It takes place in the registered archaeological sites list prepared by Ministry of Culture and Tourism. |
| Stratigraphy: Four occupation sites were discovered during the excavation and examination of the northern section; Level I is dated to the Phrygian Period; Level II to the Hittite Period; Level III to Alisar I a-b; and Level IV to the Late Chalcolithic Age by the excavator. It has been concluded that the Hittite Period settlement is small since it was only found in the middle part of the hill. Level IV is located right on top of the bedrock. Color of its cultural deposit is dark while the earth color of Level III is lighter and in some places it has red traces. Level III is reported to have several building levels [Temizer 1954:318]. |
| Small Finds: Architecture: Excavations of R. Temizer were largely concerned with the upper levels. No architectural remains were uncovered in Level IV; dated to the Chalcolithic Age by the excavator and Level III dated to the Copper Age. Northern section yielded building walls of which its foundations go down till Level IV and remains of a hearth. Floors are observed in Level IV. Pottery: Level III in the upper layer yielded pottery similar to the ones seen in the Ia-b levels of Alisar. This ware usually big-grit tempered and exterior-interior surfaces washed in brown are reported to be seen all through this layer [Temizer 1954:324]. Body of an intact vessel recovered is decorated with deep and uneven excisions. Also found is a limited number of ware washed in light brown and burnished. Sherds of red; brown; gray; black washed and burnished ware were collected from the northern section of Level IV. Forms of fruit stands; deep bowls with slightly inverted; some out-rolled rims; necked and knob handles are common in parallel to the forms of Central Anatolia. Metal: Particularly copper/bronze vessels of the metallic finds recovered from the EBA levels of Kayapinar Höyügü by the treasure hunters are interesting. Three metallic vessels were found; the most interesting one is a spouted teapot. Having a round floor; a round body and two grooved rims; it has movable attachment places for handles on both sides. Rods inserted to these places function as bucket handles and allow to carrying it easily. Those attachment places were housed by soldering; and they are suggested to be cast as well as the body [Temizer 1954:326]. Among the finds recovered; a vase misses the lower part. Its rim is out-rolled. Another metallic find is a jug lacking its rim. The body is decorated with zigzag grooves; and the bottom is slightly depressed. The dagger with a triangular tang and a thin; long blade has a single riveted pierce. An axe; the upper and lower parts of the shaft-hole being thickened typical of Northern Anatolia-Causasia; was found. Three of the five pins recovered have lentil heads. Their long bodies were thickened through the head. Another pin recovered; as its tip became a head after being hammered and curved; is a production of the third millennium BC. |
| Remains: |
| Interpretation and Dating: The spring near the rocky block where Kayapinar Höyügü is located probably played an important role in choosing this site for settling by the first inhabitants. Settlement identified as Copper Age by the excavator is probably a settlement dated to the midst and end of the third millennium BC; contemporary with the king tombs of Alacahöyük and Level Ib of Alisar [Temizer 1954:330]. Excavation reports do not refer to any architectural finds and do not provide any plans. The excavator thinks that metallic vessels and other metallic finds recovered by the treasure hunters came from the grave or graves uncovered in the mound. No information was provided by the treasure hunters about this subject. J. Yakar identifies copper/bronze finds as works of miners from the Pontic Region [Yakar 1985a:206]. |
