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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Baglararasi |
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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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City |
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Altitude:
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m |
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Region:
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Aegean |
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Province:
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Izmir |
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District:
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Çesme |
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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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| Location: This site is in Çesme Harbour of Çesme Suburb of Izmir City [Sahoğlu et al. 2011.463]. |
| Geography and Environment: |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: Recovery excavations in the name of Çesme Archaeology Museum are carried out with the aid of scientific constancy of Erkanal. After 2009 the studies are executed under the scope of A.Ü. Underwater Archaeological Research and Application Centre and in the frame of Izmir Region Excavation and Research Project [Sahoglu 2011:463]. |
| Stratigraphy: As a result of the studies two different settlement locations are identified, one dated as EBA II and the other dated as Late MBA - Early LBA [Sahoglu 2011:464]. |
| Small Finds: Architecture: During 2009, the area where EBA II settlement is located is excavated. Beneath the modern embankment layer 30-50 cm below the surface quite well preserved architectural remains are unearthed. The building is named as M 52 and it features a rectangular plan having a single room, erected in Northwest-Southeast direction. This building is made by adobe bricks above its foundation and is not inhabited after being destructed by an earthquake which effected the entire settlement and caused a big fire. Its walls are coated by a white plaster. The floor is also used after plastering layer after layer. Approximately in the centre of the house a trapezoid plastered platform and fireplace are unearthed. At least three different pillar holes are found around the platform. There are two storage areas side by side in the Northeast corner [Sahoglu 2011:464-465]. The storage room no 49 has a narrow rectangular structure. The South and West walls of the location are plastered with white plaster [Sahoglu et al. 2011:466]. The 2010 studies focused on Structure M 39. It has been discovered that the main entrance of the rectangular planned house with a length of 18 m is located on the narrow side on the northeast. The house is accessible through 2 steps from the street in this area. There is a large main room inside the house. The southwesternpart of the house was divided into small rooms by partition walls. In this area, a partition wall with a row of stone foundation and a mudbrick partition wall without stone foundation belonging to especially the early phase of EBA II of the house have been discovered. There is a hearth related to the plastered platform inside the main room of the house. In Structure M 52, neatly placed slab stones and an arrangement formed with a group of pebble stones were found under the plastered floor of the house, especially on the northwestern section. Two square shaped storage pits formed with mudbricks and coated by white plaster were discovered at the northeast corner of the house. Also, a silo was found on its southeast corner. In the trapezoid shaped area between the structures of M-39, M-38 and M-52, a floor of an oven was exposed. An area which contains hardened debris caused by a fire occurred in the early phases of EBA II was encountered after digging deeper [Sahoglu et al. 2012:490-493]. During the 2011 campaign, a platform and a hearth located on it which are the characteristic features of EBA in Çesma-Baglararasi were exposed in the middle of rectangular planned Structure M39 with a length of 18 m. It was found out that this platform and the hearth was continuously renewed and used for a long time at its original place. It was suggested that this situation might be related with the stable location of the ventilation hole of the flat roofed structure. The remains of flooring consisting of stone slabs and pebbles were encountered especially on the northeast of the structure. It was suggested that the black colored trace in circular shape discovered in the same area belongs to the posts that supported the roof. Door openings were discovered on the narrow sides of the structure as well. The door opening located on the east was opened to the street and the structure should have been entered through a ladder with two stairs. The various partition walls discovered in the structure were built by using a course of mudbrick with stone foundation or completely built with mudbrick blocks. The area called M-54 is the room of Structure M39. This area is located on the southern section of Structure M39 and separated from the main room by a partition wall. A street separates the houses exposed in the EBA settlement of Çesma-Baglararasi. The doors of the houses located on both sides of this street extending in zigzag shape which was discovered in 2005, open to the street as well. The floor of the street is higher than the floors of the houses. The reason for this, continuous plastering and renewing the floors of the houses and throwing the remains on these floors to the streets. Pottery: 5 roughly formed shallow plates in total are captured in situ in structure M 52 one over turned and the other four one inside the other [Sahoglu et al. 2011.465]. In the 2010 studies, two small pitchers were found in the section which was divided by partition wall in Structure M 54 [Sahoglu et al. 2012:491]. A great number of tile red and black colored, burnished potsherds were recovered from M 54 in 2011. Clay: Two rectangular weights and two conical spindle whorls are captured in structure M 52 [Sahoglu et al. 2011:465]. In 2011, a "Minoan Type Weight" and spindle whorls were recovered from the building numbered 39. Chipped Stone: Large flintstone pieces were recovered from the northeast corner of the building numbered 39 in 2011. Bone/Antler: A large deer horn was exposed in the area called M 54 in 2011. Fauna: In 2011, fish bones and tortoise shells were recovered from M 54. Other: High density of sea shells were recovered from the various corners of the building numbered 39 and M 54. |
| Remains: |
| Interpretation and Dating: The fact that the internal faces of the walls of the houses are plastered with white lime plaster completes a missing link for the plastering tradition aged at late EBA II. This plastering tradition continued during Early EBA in Liman Hill, and was known to exist in the region since Neolithic Period from the Ulucak Mound [Sahoglu et al. 2011:467-468]. |
