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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Etiyokusu |
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Type:
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Mound |
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Altitude:
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900 m |
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Region:
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Central Anatolia |
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Province:
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Ankara |
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District:
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Merkez |
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Village:
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Merkez |
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Investigation Method:
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Excavation |
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Period:
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EBA III |
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| Location: It lies on both sides of the motorway running from Ankara to the northeast between the Kalaba and Solfasol villages; about 5 km north-northeast of the Ankara Province. The name "Etiyokusu" was probably given by the excavation team. It was renown not by the EBA finds; but by the finds of Palaeolithic Age recovered from the sections of Çubuksuyu next to it (For details see Harmankaya-Tanindi 1997:Etiyokusu). The findspot is almost obscured by the modern settlement. |
| Geography and Environment: It is a very flat; oval mound. It is 1.5 m high; 86 m long in the north-south direction and 22.5 m long in the east-west direction [Kansu 1940:6]. The settlement is reported to measure ca. 6110 square meters. The mound stands on a deposit of pebbles-sand (gravel) formed by the Çubuk Suyu thousand years ago where the river bends. It was divided into two by the asphalt road; and severely destroyed before the excavation for removal of pebbles and sand to be used at constructions. The inhabitants probably supplied their water from the Çubuk Suyu. Presence of a fresh water spring is not reported. |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: Removal of sand in big quantities made a salvage excavation necessary in 1937. It was excavated by a team of K. Kökten; M. Atasayan; R.O. Arik under S.A. Kansu. The excavation was carried out in three points on both sides of the motorway. |
| Stratigraphy: As a result of the excavation; three layers dating from the EBA were identified based on the outcomes of trench A. The layer III stands on the bedrock. It was found in the midst of the mound. The first layer extends to a larger area; up to the slopes. The layer III of trench A is reported to be contemporary with the layer II of trench B while trench C yielded remains of a distinctive architecture than these three layers. The excavator reports that this building level is similar to the upper level of trench A particularly depending on the rates of the stone sizes used for the foundations. The links were not established between the trenches. Trench A and B are nearer; however trench C is far from A and B as it is located on the eastern part of the motorway [Kansu 1940:19]. |
| Small Finds: Architecture: Layer I yielded the foundations of a four-cornered house with two rooms. There is a hearth in the larger room. Also; storage wells/pits were found in several places. The mouth of the wells are capped with piles of great and small stones. A square room built of big stones and fragments of wall belonging to same type of structure uncovered at trench C probably belong to the latest phase of the layer I. Layer II lies between 70 and 90 cm below the surface. Buildings with circular stone foundations were revealed. Their diameters vary between 3.40 and 2.75 m. The inner diameter of the Layer II buildings reaches to 1.90 m. Those dimensions expose that these can be remains of a hut. There are storage pits for cereals nearby. The first layer of trench B (the second layer of overall stratification) yielded a circular building. Layer III yielded again only the foundations of a house with a large and small room. The walls have sharp corners. Pottery: Layers I and II yielded vessels of the straw and grit tempered pasted; well fired; interiorly and exteriorly red or exteriorly red and interiorly black ware. No information is provided about the finds of layer III. Forms of bowl and pots are common. Clay: Terra cotta pear-like weights with a hole in the ends [Kansu 1940:fig.24]; spindle whorls; figurines; seals and idols were recovered from several levels. Ground Stone: Burnished flat axe; polishing stone were found. Bone/Antler: Other than finds like awls and pins; a deer horn brought to the settlement for some reason was recovered. Fauna: Bones of pig; sheep; ox and deer were found. Except the deer; they are all domesticated. Metal: Copper/bronze objects are limited in number. A pin can be used as a sample of this material. |
| Remains: |
| Interpretation and Dating: Although there are some other significant mounds to be excavated in the vicinity of Ankara; a salvage excavation became necessary for Etiyokusu since the sand-pebble strata beneath the mound was being removed. This is one of the first excavations carried out by the Turkish archaeologists. The site was occupied bearing the characteristics of a typical village only during EBA II-III. The villagers of layer III and II had mudbrick houses on stone foundations. The introduction of buildings with circular stone foundations is surprising. This might be related with the storage of cereals like the well/pits. The upper level of layer I houses monumental buildings ringed with a fortification wall (?) according to the excavator [Kansu 1940]; but the plan of the city walls is not included the excavation reports. The excavator proposes the dating of layer III as Late Chalcolithic Age-EBA I without any evidence. It is not possible to agree with this interpretation since the characteristics of the pottery belonging to this layer are not provided. The settlement of Etiyokusu is evaluated as one of the poor settlements of EBA III culture of Ahlatlibel in the vicinity. |
