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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Taslicabayir |
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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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Tumulus |
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Altitude:
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m |
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Region:
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Marmara |
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Province:
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Kirklareli |
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District:
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Merkez |
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Village:
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Asilbeyli |
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Investigation Method:
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Excavation |
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Period:
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Early Iron Age |
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| Location: Taslicabayir is situated near the Asilbeyli Village, 5 km south of the provincial center of Kirklareli. |
| Geography and Environment: The upper deposit of the destroyed hill has been almost leveled by a grader, only a portion of 30 cm of the hill being left. |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: It was discovered during the Thrace Survey in 1980. A short-term salvage excavation was carried out by the Edirne Museum. Another short-term excavation was conducted in 1982 under the direction of M. Özdogan. The excavations yielded "kurgan" type of graves, which, according to M. Özdogan, were seen for the first time in this geography, particularly specific to the steppe cultures of the North Black Sea Region in addition to 52 intact vessels [Özdogan-Parzinger 1995:45]. |
| Stratigraphy: |
| Small Finds: Pottery: Since the burial gifts found during the excavations were run over and crushed by the grader, the artifacts were reconstructed after a long period of hardening and restoration efforts, and then exhibited at the Edirne Museum in the way they were found. A total of 51 vessels were reconstructed [Özdogan 2000c: drw. 1]. All vessels are handmade, majority of them being single handled mugs and small jars. The vessels are usually in black, and rarely in red as decorated with grooves, incisions and string impressions. Among this group of vessels, there is a mug with two handles decorated with a string-impression specific to the northern steppes [Özdogan 2000c: fig. 2]. Among the finds are a two handled large jar different than others, made of mica-tempered grey paste, indicating the relation of the Thracian tribes with the south. The most interesting find of the grave is a large four spouted jug recovered from the mixed cultural deposit of the mound [Özdogan 2000c: drw. 3, 4; Özdogan 1999: drw. 3]. This jug has a wide and has a vertical neck and it is also decorated with grooves and string impressions. It is likely that this jug was a ceremonial vessel used for drinking beer with straws following the burial ceremony in honor of the buried person as described by the ancient historians during the Thracian burial traditions. It is the only specimen found in relation to a grave. Grave: A kurgan type of grave specific to the North Black Sea steppe culture was uncovered [Özdogan 1999:10]. |
| Remains: |
| Interpretation and Dating: According to Özdogan, the importance of the vessels uncovered here is not only because they represent the most beautiful specimens of their kind, but also they provide evidence to the disputable relation between the North Black Sea and Anatolia cultures, yielding a group of finds that suggest such a relation for the first time. |
