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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Büyüktepe |
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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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1770 m |
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Region:
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Black Sea |
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Province:
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Bayburt |
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District:
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Demirözü |
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Village:
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Çiftetas |
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Investigation Method:
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Excavation |
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Period:
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EBA I |
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| Location: It is situated 1 km north of the Çiftetas Village; 35 km southwest of the Bayburt Province. It can be reached through a pathway to the village of Çayiryolu; north of the Çiftetas Village. The path lies on the east of the mound [Sagona 1992:fig.1]. The mound is 6 km far from the Çayiryolu Village. |
| Geography and Environment: Büyüktepe consists of two natural hills located in the valley of Bespinar which has very rich water resources. The two hills have a saddle-like connection in between. The one on the south is bigger; 20 m high from the valley and 25x180 m in dimensions. The erosion probably swept the cultural deposit accumulated on the hills; even tough not that thick; for thousands of years and caused the bedrock surfacing in some places [Sagona 1992:305]. |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: It was documented during the Bayburt Survey conducted under A. Sagona in 1988 [Sagona 1990:426]. The excavation was started by him in 1990; however discontinued in 1992. |
| Stratigraphy: The excavation suggested that these rocky hills served as temporary camp sites during the first quarter of the second millennium BC; the Iron Age and the Late Hellenistic/Roman Periods [Sagona 1994:229]. The southern hill later became a cemetery. |
| Small Finds: Architecture: Traces of the camp site were revealed on the bedrock between the rocks and terraces. Depending on the position of stone rows; it can be commented that there were tents or hut-like structures in the area. The shallow pits might have been the floors of that type of structures. Traces of simple hearths indicate the daily life spots. Pottery: Intact vessels and sherds of EBA were collected from the garbage pits in the bedrock inside grey colored ashy earth on the western slope. It is stated that this handmade ware has the characteristics of the Early Transcaucasian/Kura-Aras industry. There are five groups of ware [Sagona et al. 1995:161]. The first group is the interiorly black washed and exteriorly red-brown washed wiped ware. A black band is observed on the rim of these vessels; as in inner part; which is probably caused by the firing process. The second group is the light burnished ware with a black washed exterior surface and reddish brown interior surface. Colors of some bowls and vessels were applied in reverse. The third group consists of the black burnished ware identified at jugs with a straight neck. Some are decorated. Disk-shaped lids of the gray-black mottled ware and limited number of the black washed; burnished and incision decorated ware represent the other groups. The vessel with twin bowls is interesting [Sagona 1992b:fig.4/12]. |
| Remains: |
| Interpretation and Dating: A. Sagona suggests that Büyüktepe was a temporary camp site for the nomadic tribes during the EBA [Sagona et al.1992:29]. The 14C examples provide a dating range from 3300 to 2625/ 2863/ 2330 BC [Sagona 1994:229]. |
