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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Kussaray |
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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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1095 m |
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Region:
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Black Sea |
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Province:
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Çorum |
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District:
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Merkez |
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Village:
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Kussaray |
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Investigation Method:
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Excavation |
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Period:
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Late |
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| Location: It is located in the Düvenci Plain; southwest of the Çorum-Samsun highway; between the village and the motorway; 400 m northwest of the Kussaray or Kizsaray Village; some 15 km northeast of Çorum Province. |
| Geography and Environment: It looks like a flat hill; 20-25 m high; covered by limestones. Excavation yielded a cultural deposit of ca. 4 m thick. It is suggested that a 150x100 m sized part of the hill was ringed by fortification walls. |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: It is excavated by H.Z. Kosay in 1966 for the appeal of Milli Egitim Bakanligi (Ministry of Education) when it was heard that a few tablet pieces were found on the surface of the mound. The location of the three trenches is not reported in detail by the excavator. The excavation could not continue for long since no tablets were recovered in Hittite levels and because of the troubles in nationalization of the site (for details; please see: Harmankaya et al. 1998:Kussaray). |
| Stratigraphy: Kosay reports the existance of three levels with numerous phases: Level 1: Hittite Period (MBA-LBA) Level 2: Early Bronze Age Level 3: Chalcolithic Age. Probably recovered at a depth of 2.7-4 m. It is not reported whether the main rock is hit or not. |
| Small Finds: Architecture: Nothing about the existence of Chalcolithic Age architectural remains is mentioned. Pottery: The finds are sherds with white paint decoration on black slip from especially Trench B between 2.7 and 4.0 m; sherds with geometrical decoration on black slip in burnished ware and handles in the shape of animal heads from Trench A. Bone/Antler: Three pierced pig fangs are the recovered objects of ornament. |
| Remains: |
| Interpretation and Dating: The Chalcolithic level of the site is dated probably to the Late Chalcolithic Age. Kosay reports parallel finds of white paint decorated ware from Yumuktepe Level XII; Kusura Level A; Büyük Güllücek; Beycesultan; and of geometrical decorated (hatched triangles; pointille) ware and the animal head handles from Büyük Güllücek. Such parallelism for the handles is possible with Ikiztepe (Samsun); as well. As a general remark; the finds suggest the existence of a level or levels contemporary with Büyük Güllücek. |
