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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Dilkaya |
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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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1660 m |
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Region:
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Eastern Anatolia |
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Province:
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Van |
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District:
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Edremit |
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Village:
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Dilkaya |
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Investigation Method:
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Excavation |
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Period:
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Middle Iron Age Early Iron Age |
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| Location: It lies immediate west of Dilkaya Village of the Edremit Sub-District; 24 km southwest of the Van Province [Çilingiroglu 1985:159]. The mound is reached through the Dilkaya (Horkum) exit on the west of the motorway running from the district to Van [See Çilingiroglu 1986:map at plan1]. |
| Geography and Environment: It stands on a natural sand dune on the northern bank of the Hosap Suyu where it spills to the Lake Van [Çilingiroglu-Derin 1992:topographical plan at pic.1]. The mound has been destroyed by the waters of the Lake and the local villagers. The thickness of the cultural deposit is 7 m since the virgin soil; sand in fact; was reached at 7 m [Çilingiroglu 1990:247]. |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: The excavation initiated in 1984, following a systematic survey in 1983 was carried out for a total of seven campaigns until 1991 under the direction of A. Cilingiroglu within the content of the Survey Project in Van. Surface finds dating both to the 3rd millennium BC and the Urartu Period played a significant role in selecting this mound as an excavation site. Çilingiroglu was expecting to excavate a civilian settlement from the Urartu Period, in such a region where mainly fortress settlements had been excavated until that period. The excavations revealed that there is a heavy destruction on the mound as the neighbour villagers preferred to benefit from the mound for construction of the foundations of their houses. It takes place in the registered archaeological sites list prepared by Ministry of Culture and Tourism. |
| Stratigraphy: It was found out that the site had been inhabited intermittently from the 3rd millennium BC until the Middle Age. The levels are as follows from bottom to top [Çilingiroglu 1993]: Level Va and Vb: Early Bronze Age phase II (the excavator refers to this period as Early Transcausasia II, dating it to 2600-2300 BC) Level IV: Early Bronze Age phase III - early Middle Bronze Age (2300-1750 BC) Level III: Early Iron Age (Urartu Confederations Period) (1100-800 BC) Level II: Middle Iron Age (Urartu Kingdom Period) (800-600 BC) Level I: Middle Age 200 m north of the mound, on the beach, lies a cemetery belonging to the inhabitants who selected Dilkaya for settlement during the Early-Middle Iron Age and Middle Age [Çilingiroglu 1986:153]. Furthermore, presence of EBA sherds has been reported in this cemetery area. |
| Small Finds: Cemetery: The excavations at the burial site of the Dilkaya Mound were initiated together with the excavations in the mound. These excavations were started 200 m north of the mound in an area of 1x4 m in the north-south direction stretching for 500 m on a low sandy hill. It was found out that the cemetery included two kinds of burial traditions, cremation or inhumation. Based on these traditions, there were 4 types of graves; sarchophagi, sand sarchophagi, chamber graves and urns. Majority of the burials in this cemetery area is represented by "sand graves". They were chiefly buried in pits opened into the sand in a northwest-southeast direction. Some were buried in cist graves. They have been destructed by the villagers. Burials in hocker position are observed in sand graves. The graves do not have the same direction. The bronze ornaments on the skeletons (ring, hairpin, bracelet) are dated to the Middle Iron Age (Urartu Period). So far only two chamber graves were found in the cemetery area at Dilkaya. One of them has a dromos, measuring 2.40x4.60 m in dimensions. The entrance is from the northwest. The chamber included remains of 11 individuals. Unfortunately, it was looted. This grave is dated to the late Early Iron Age. The second chamber grave, which was uncovered in 1986, is smaller than the other one with no dromos. Remains of 30 individuals were found interred in this grave. Finds such as bronze bracelets, an iron sceptre end, stone beads and sherds indicate that the chamber grave had been used from the early Iron Age until the Middle Iron Age. Unfortunately, this chamber was also looted. The coffins uncovered again at Dilkaya represent two distinct type of burial traditions; burial with and without cremation. The graves for cremated burials yielded trefoil juglets including ashes or small pots. Based on the bone remains, it was found out that they are infant cremations, dating to the Urartu Period. Most of them had been destructed. The fourth groups of burials at Dilkaya are represented by urn graves from the Urartu Period. The excavations yielded 24 urn graves. The mouth of the vessel was closed by a plate or a pot after placeing the burnt fragments of bones into the urn. The jewellery of deads were left inside or next to the vessel as smashed and broken. The urns usually have one or more than one holes, and they included ornaments such as beads, bronze pins, earrings, bracelets and belts. Pottery: The Dilkaya mound and cemetery yielded plenty of sherds from the Iron Age during the 1984-91 campaings although only a restricted number of architectural remains was unearthed. The Iron Age finds uncovered both in the mound and cemetery reflect characteristics of two distinct periods. One of them is the pottery of late Early Iron Age while the other is the pottery of Middle Iron Age. The pottery of Dilkaya is significant in documenting the culture of the 2nd millennium BC in the Eastern Anatolia. Among the finds are bowls, cups, jugs and jars with grooves on the rims, inverted rims, carinated bowls. The pottery of Dilkaya is mainly grit-tempered, and slipped in red-brown, brown and buff colors. They are well-burnished and well-baked, mainly handmade. They are carinated. The non-tempered or gritty or grit-tempered paste is in red color, again well-baked and -burnished. They are mainly wheel-made. Unqualified, carinated coarse ware is also available. |
| Remains: |
| Interpretation and Dating: The burial finds at the Dilkaya cemetery area yielded very significant outcomes in terms of burial traditions in Anatolia during the Iron Age. It is also significant in revealing new data about the development of Urartian burial traditions in the region as the graves represent a specific phase of the Early Iron Age. |
