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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Ege Gübre / Kyme |
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Type:
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Flat Settlement |
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Altitude:
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5 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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Aliaga |
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Village:
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Çakmakli |
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Investigation Method:
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Excavation |
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Period:
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Ceramic |
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| The site lies to the north of Ege Gübre factory; 2 km northeast of the village of Çakmakli; 6 km southwest of Aliaga; about 60 km north of the province of Izmir. It is on the sea shore and a stream flows next to it. It is close to the ancient city of Kyme settled on or around the hills called Nemrut (Nimrud) or Namrud. The site is damaged due to the industrialization of the region. It is claimed that Kyme; one of the gorgeous cities in the Aiolis region; used to have a large port and lost its attraction as the port was filled in. Called as Kyme of Aiolis; it was excavated under S. Reinach (1881); A. Salac (1925); B. Ogün (1952); H.T. Uçankus (1979); V. Idil-S. Lagona (1982-1998). Prehistoric finds were recovered by a recent trench opened in the southern section of the ancient city by the Italian Archaeology Institute and the Izmir Archaeological Museum. Materials of the Neolithic Age and red colored ware of EBA were recovered. It is reported by S. Lagona that the reminiscent of the tubular lugs were found in the Neolithic and EBA settlements of Samos and Chios islands [Lagona 2000:219]. Bittel also reports that he found three stone idols here. No detailed information is given. The site has yielded finds similar to the other Neolithic settlements of the region. It has not been published yet. In 2004 two soundings had revealed Hellenistic and Chalcolithic material above two Neolithic levels (Early Neolithic and Late Neolithic). The houses are rectilinear in plan and have stone foundations. In one phase a straight enclosure wall has been found along the south side of settlement. This appears to be somehow connected to water runoff and so is a terracing or retaining wall rather than a fortification. In one Late Neolithic phase numbers of round silos are attached to the houses. In 2007 a rough, aniconic stone stele, 75 cm high, was found in an open area in front of housing. An intramural flexed burial in a pit is the only Neolithic grave found so far. The pottery is red burnished and features straight-sided bowls, upright spool handles and, occasionally, ring bases. Several vessels have relief decoration of Hacılar type, while a ware with red painted stripes on a white ground resembles pottery from Hoca Çeşme 3. The chipped stone is primarily flint from a nearby source, with a very small amount of obsidian. Rectangular stone vessels can be paralleled at Fikirtepe. Other finds include stamp seals of terracotta and one of stone, clay slingballs (a cache was found in the corner of a room), and figurines of Hacılar type (one has curly hair and another depicts a pregnant female). Radiocarbon dates suggest the settlement lasted for about 350 years around 6000 BC. Parallels can be drawn with Ilıpınar X and IX in northwestern Anatolia and with Kuruçay 13 and 12, and Hacılar VIII-VI in the southwest [Current Archaeology in Turkey; 16.11.2009, 14:05]. The ongoing excavations, which were initiated in 2004 by Izmir Museum under the scientific consultancy of H. Saglamtimur, show that the settlement was founded at the end of the 7th millennium BC. Four building levels were idetified so far. Ege Gübre I: Hellenistic Period (4th-2nd century BC) Ege Gübre II: (4500-4000 BC) Ege Gübre IIIa: (6000-5700 BC) Single roomed rectangular buildings, two roomed buldings, rounded buildings and 2nd enclosing wall Ege Gübre IIIb: (6000-5700 BC) Single roomed rectangular and rounded buildings, 1st enclosing wall Ege Gübre IV: (6200/6100-6000 BC) Rounded buildings [Ozan 2015]. It is named as Çakmakli Tepe in Tiné-Traverso's publication. A few flints, flakes and nodules were found in the field in the region during the survey conducted by Çinardali-Karaaslan and her team in 2014 [Çinardali-Karaaslan & Kolankaya-Bostancõ 2016:56-7]. There are flakes, blades, bladelets, crested blades, plunging pieces and core tablets, cores and waste materials among the chipped stone finds belonging to Level III that is dated to Neolithic. Level IV yielded sickle blades, retouched flakes, end scrapers and heavy-duty tools, borers and notched tools, retouched blades and bladelets, flake-blades with polished edge and arrowheads. Chalcedony and flint are used as raw materials. There are also a small number of Melos obsidian and basalt [Erbil 2017:45-9]. |
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