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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Karatas Kaya Siginagi |
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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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Rock Shelter |
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Altitude:
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1000 m |
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Region:
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Eastern Anatolia |
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Province:
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Elazig |
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District:
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Merkez |
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Village:
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Meseliköy |
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Investigation Method:
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Excavation |
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Period:
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ÜP |
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| Location: It is located next to the Elazig-Pertek motorway; some 15 km north-northeast of the Elazig Province. This rock shelter was lying on the side of a rocky block which stands like an island in the midst of the Keban Dam at present [Kökten 1974:pl.7/1-2]. |
| Geography and Environment: K. Kökten reports the presence of a small cave and a long and narrow rock shelter underlying this cave. The cave and shelter are open towards the south [Kökten 1971:15;pic.14/1]. No information was provided about the dimensions of the shelter. |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: Kiliç Kökten discovered both this rock-shelter and the adjacent cave north of the city of Elazig during one of his surveys of the regions expected to be flooded by the Keban Dam Lake. In 1969; he opened a 1.5 x 6 m test trench in the first terrace at the mouth of the shelter. In the following years; 1970; 1971 and 1972; this test trench was expanded to 2.5x10 m. The first level below the surface; which is 125 cm thick; dates to the Bronze Age. Between 125 and 350 cm below the surface is the second layer from which many Upper Palaeolithic tools were recovered. This layer is approximately 220 cm thick. The excavation continued to 400 cm below the surface and revealed that the underlying silt and sand layer was virgin soil and completely void of artifacts. Perhaps the most interesting find within the second layer was a hearth with a setting of three stones. The large stone slab; which may or may not have been intentionally placed in the front part of the oven; might have functioned as a fire-shield [Kökten 1972:fig. 4/2; 9. 10; Kökten 1974:fig. 7-9; Kökten 1971:fig. 6-7]. |
| Stratigraphy: |
| Small Finds: The flintstone tools assigned to the Late Upper Palaeolithic were made from flint and basalt. Among them are Aurignacien type scrapers; choppers; typical end scrapers; perforators and burins [Kökten 1974:fig.27]. A single pebble tool was also found. Kökten reports that the flintstone comes from the beds by Agin while the obsidian comes from the sources in the Bingöl-Soluhan district. |
| Remains: |
| Interpretation and Dating: |
