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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Okçu |
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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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Habitation Site / Workshop |
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Altitude:
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760 m |
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Region:
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Southeastern Anatolia |
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Province:
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Batman |
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District:
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Akça |
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Village:
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Okçu |
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Investigation Method:
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Survey |
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Period:
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AP OP |
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| Location: The site lies at the foothills of the Raman Mountains near the village of Okçu located east of the city of Batman. |
| Geography and Environment: Mount Raman is located in the eastern portion of the Raman Valley and Batman River watershed. The Tigris flows south of this mountain through a terraced canyon. Post-Pleistocene settlements are rarely seen in this region. A two week surface survey at this habitation/atelier site conducted in 1989 yielded widely scattered flintstone tools and debitage products. Okçu is the most important of these settlements. |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: The Okçu site was discovered in 1989 during a survey conducted by a team under the supervision of G. Algae and M. Rosenberg in the area expected to be flooded by the dam-lake. Chipped stone tools were found at a density of 50 tools per 100 square meters during the systematic survey of the central hillside near the village. East and west of this hillside the number of finds decreases by one half. The site extends 3 km east and west of the village of Okçu; where the density of finds drops to 5 tools per 100 square meters. |
| Stratigraphy: |
| Small Finds: The researchers have categorized the scattered flint artifacts on Mount Raman Dag together with those from the site of Okçu; as the same industry. The general traits of this chipped stone culture include: Levallois cores from which blades and flakes have been removed; Levallois flakes; discoid shaped cores; pyramidal flake cores; choppers; side scrapers and transverse scrapers. Biface handaxes; of which there are only a few; can also be considered a part of this chipped stone industry. The characteristic types among the tools have been assigned to the end of the Lower Palaeolithic or the beginning of the Middle Palaeolithic. |
| Remains: |
| Interpretation and Dating: |
