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Küçük Höyük ve Mezarligi

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Küçük Höyük ve Mezarlığı
Type:
Mound and Cemetery
Altitude:
750 m
Region:
Marmara
Province:
Bilecik
District:
Bozüyük
Village:
Merkez
Investigation Method:
Excavation
Period:
EBA II

     


Location: It is located in territory of factory of Toprak Ceramic; about 50 km north of Bursa-Eskisehir motorway; 5 km east of the Bozüyük District; some 50 km northwest of the Eskisehir Province. Cemetery suggested to be belonging to the inhabitants of this site lies on a ridge; 400 m southwest of the hill. Between the mound and the cemetery lies the ceramics factory of the Toprak Group. Cemetery is located on the northeastern border of the garden of the factory. Both the mound and the cemetery are easily accessible [Gürkan-Seeher 1991:pl.1].
Geography and Environment: The mound and the cemetery are located on the foot of a mountain range. The mound is near a fertile lowland where a stream passes through. It measures 4 m in height and 60 m in diameter; and has a round shape [Gürkan-Seeher 1991:pl.1] while the cemetery located on the southwestern slope of a ridge called Çakirmandira with an altitude of 807 m covers an area of 75x60 m [Gürkan-Seeher 1991:pl.2]. A Byzantine church rising on the northern part of the ceramics factory expose that the site had good water resources. Both the mound and the cemetery were partly damaged during the construction of the factory. Pits opened for the natural gas piping resulted in the damaging of a small part of the cemetery.
History:
Research and Excavation: A salvage excavation was planned in the name of the Museum of Eskisehir when the graves were uncovered inside the pit opened for the natural gas piping and the finds were informed to the Museum. The excavation was carried out in 1983-1984 in the cemetery under G. Gürkan; director of the museum in collaboration with J. Sheeher from the German Archaeology Institute. No excavation was carried out at Küçük Höyük except the surface collection (for surface finds; please see Burney 1956:181; French 1968:231). EBA sherds were collected from the surface of the mound.
Stratigraphy: Excavators report that the cemetery is a single phased burial. No excavation was conducted in the mound.
Small Finds: Human Remains: Küçükköy cemetery is certainly an extramural burial. Excavation yielded 204 graves; 127 pithos graves; 74 cist graves and 3 simple pit burials. The flat plate stones required for the cist graves had been brought from the rocky block located 100 m to the northeast. Both pithos and cist graves were uncovered 1-1.5 m deeper below the surface. There are distances; sometimes 1-3 m and sometimes 3-5 m between the graves. Burials are spread around. They were not interred in a specific manner. The damage observed in some of the graves might result from the new burial pits opened into the same place or the disturbance by the treasure hunters of that period. Available grave types and their common characteristics are as follows; 1. Pithos Graves: They were buried facing the northeast. For graves; pithoi with flat bottom; bell-shape or bulging body and short-neck were used (For pithoi types please see: Gürkan-Seeher 1991:fig.2-3). After bodies were interred into the pithos in hocker position; the mouth of the pithos was tightly capped with plate stones or another pithos or sherds. Sometimes; two big pithoi were placed facing each other. When the dead didn't fit into the grave; the mouth of the graves was intentionally broken [Gürkan-Seeher 1991:fig.5]. 2. Cist Graves: They all have the same direction. They were built in the southeast-northwest direction by using flat plate stones mixed with small quarry stones in between. Other than rectangular ones; there are also crooked types. It is observed that they were capped with flat plate stones while in some cases there are lines of walls built by small stones when the plate stones were not sufficient. Bodies were; again; interred in hocker position leaning on their right or left side. 3. Simple pit burials: They are represented with a few example. Grave Goods: Independent of the grave type; some of the graves houses richer grave goods than the others. Some of them were robbed during the same era. The most common vessel is the spouted pitcher or gutter spout. Handles are straight or twisted. Some bear chevron decorations applied by deep incisions. Samples of pouring lips are also seen. Short-necked vessels with button-like projections; bowls with ring handles above the rim were also left as grave goods. Quite narrow holes of some decorated spindle whorls in terra cotta expose that they were used for some other functions such as beads. As metallic finds; precious metals like gold; silver were found as well as finds in copper; bronze and lead. Sheets in flat gold; copper-bronze recovered near the foreheads of the dead are suggested to be used as diadem. Likes of those finds were found at Alacahöyük; Demirci-Sariket Cemetery; Karatas-Semayük and Kültepe. Holes on the sheets indicate that they might have been used for decorative purposes on their head-dress in cloth or leather. Vessels with wide lips; globular bodies and long necks in lead are rarely found in the settlements of Anatolia [Gürkan-Seeher 1991:fig.21]. Also found are various samples of shroud pins; pierced needles [Gürkan-Seeher 1991:fig.22]; earrings; bracelets; necklace beads and small blades classified as razor blades in the archaeological literature. Forms of the needles resemble to the ones found at Troy I-II and Kusura. Limited numbers of samples of shaft-holed axes in stone and maces (or baton-head) are recovered [Gürkan-Seeher 1991:fig.26]. The amazing thing is that weapons like spearheads; big daggers; etc. were not left as grave goods into the burials. It can be presumed that they were a peaceful society.
Remains:
Interpretation and Dating: Pithos and cist graves of Küçükhöyük Cemetery are representatives of the extramural burials of Western Anatolia same as the cemeteries of Karatas/Semayük; Babaköy; Yortan/Gelembe; Kusura; Demircihöyük-Sariket. It is one of the few cemeteries systematically investigated in Northwestern Anatolia together with Demircihöyük-Sariket and published in such a detailed way. It is included in the same culture with significant EBA centres like Troy and Yortan-Gelembe in the west and Demircihöyük and other EBA settlements in the vicinity of Ankara in the east based on the pottery finds. Dating of the necropolis can be easily done at least by the contribution of finds at Demircihöyük-Sariket Cemetery. Küçükhöyük Cemetery yielded an assemblage continuing from Phase L to Q of the Demircihöyük settlement. Excavators dated the cemetery to the EBA II depending on those similarities [Gürkan-Seeher 1991:96; fig.27]. It is also possible to relate it not only to the West; but to the settlements like Alacahöyük and Ikiztepe by taking the small finds into consideration. Skeletons recovered from the cemetery were examined by A. Acikkol at the Paleoanthropology Laboratory of Language; History and Geography Faculty; University of Ankara. It was noted that one of the skulls went through a trepanation operation on the back; and interpreted as either this operation was held out for ritual purposes after he died or the patient died right after the operation [Güleç-Açikkol 2001:73-74]. It was reported that he was 60 years old. Operation was carried out by channeling technique. Thickening noticed in the skull gives the impression of a treatment process. It is very fortunate to lay gas pipes at this site so that such a rich cemetery was brought to light and excavated. Full publishment of the excavation results contributed very much to our understanding of the cemetery culture and burial customs of EBA.


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