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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Zeytinlibahçe Höyük |
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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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490 m |
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Region:
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Southeastern Anatolia |
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Province:
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Sanliurfa |
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District:
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Birecik |
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Village:
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Mezraa |
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Investigation Method:
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Excavation |
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Period:
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| Location: The mound lies west of Sanliurfa; 3 km south of Birecik; 1.4 km north of Mezraa village. |
| Geography and Environment: It is a conical and ovoid mound with an approximate height of 31 m [Deveci-Mergen 1999b:fig.2]. It measures 190 m in north-south; 140 m in east-west directions. The site covers an area of about 2.6 hectares and it is about 340 m above sea level. The site is located in the middle of fields and to the north of it there is a road running parallel to Euphrates. The foots of the settlement were cut for agriculture. |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: The site was discovered by G. Algaze. In 1998; it was researched by A. Deveci and Y. Mergen [Mergen-Deveci 1999b:113]. In 1999 and 2000; during the Salvage Project of the Archaeological Heritage of the Ilisu and Carchemish Dam Reservoirs coordinated by METU TAÇDAM; the site was excavated by a team under the direction of M. Frangipane. It takes place in the registered archaeological sites list prepared by Ministry of Culture and Tourism. |
| Stratigraphy: Finds indicating a settlement beginning from the Late Chalcolithic and continuing until the Medieval periods were encountered and it was suggested that the mound was settled from 3500 BC to the 13th century AD. It contained a long sequence from the 4th to the 2nd millennium BC, with three major periods: Late Chalcolithic (with Middle Uruk arrivals), late Early Bronze and an early Middle Bronze fortified citadel. There were also Roman/Byzantine remains and surveys of the site revealed Halaf and Iron Age occupation [http://cat.une.edu.au/page/zeytinli%20bahce%20hoyuk, 10.11.2009, 15:14]. |
| Small Finds: Architecture: In soundings B 8 and C 6-7; 12 settlement levels belonging to the EBA I were determined. While the latest level is represented by a single room and destructed floor; two rooms with mudbrick walls and a large mudbrick platform belonging to the second level were found. In the underlying layers; buildings with similar features but more monumental constructions were encountered. The walls; which are 1.3 m thick; were sometimes further widened by brick cladding. Mud bricks of a fairly large size and more solid stone foundations than those used for the walls in the early phase were found and the structures were terraced following the slope. A huge mud brick platform or basement was built under the buildings of Level 3; in order to form the base and to buttress the new structures. Under this platform; two square rooms; separated by a narrow corridor or path; with white plastered floors and walls were found. In the center of the room; there is a fireplace sunk into the floor with a raised edge and two small and slight depressions connected with the use of hearth were also encountered. Under these structures; there are three rooms which do not show any separation between them. In Level 6; a room which seems to have been a kitchen with a circular oven; benches and small basins takes place. During the 2000 season excavations; C 6 has yielded two powerful walls belonging to two different phases; probably built for protection. Domestic buildings with rather thin mud brick walls and irregular stone foundations were recovered [Frangipane-Bucak 2001:111-116] [Frangipane et al. 2002:84-89]. Pottery: Plain simple wares; high-stemmed bowls or fruit-stands; necked jars decorated with complex reserved slip; necked jars on a pedestal; low and wide necked jars; hemispheric bowls with convex walls and broader rims decorated with reserved slip; high stemmed bowls with wider bands on the cups; a small number of cyma recta bowls; fragments of three-legged jars; grooved rimmed jars and corrugated bowls were found [Frangipane et al. 2002:87-88]. Human Remains: In the northwest corner of the room that was probably used as a kitchen; a burial of a small infant was found on a bench; in a pot covered with a fruit stand turned upside down [Frangipane-Bucak 2001:115]. Fauna: As a result of the bone analysis the most common species are domestic animals such as horses; cows; goats; sheep; pigs and dogs. There are also a few remains of deer; boars; tortoises and gazelles [Frangipane et al. 2002:96-98]. |
| Remains: |
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