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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Orman Fidanligi |
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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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Flat Settlement |
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Altitude:
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820 m |
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Region:
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Central Anatolia |
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Province:
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Eskisehir |
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District:
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Merkez |
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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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Late Middle |
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| Location: The site is located 5-6 km southwest of Eskisehir; within the borders of Orman Fidanligi of Eskisehir Municipality. It is quite easy to get to the site since the Eskisehir-Kütahya highway passes between the site and the 140 m far Porsuk Stream. |
| Geography and Environment: The site lies at the western and southern skirts of a steep rocky elevation on the southern slope of the low hills named Karabayirlar. Karabayirlar are the northern borders of the valley of Yukari Porsuk Stream; therefore the site oversees the valley. The cultural deposit is locked by the eroded debris of the slopes and this sterile deposit is 8-10 m thick at the south of the site. It lies close to the point where the valley meets Eskisehir Plain and is surrounded by quite fertile plains. It is not reported whether or not are there any natural water springs around the site; but the stream should have flown very close to the site during the period it was settled. |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: The site; first discovered by T. Efe in 1988; has been subject to severe destruction due to the exercise of drawing away soil from the skirts. Since the destruction has continued in spite of several warnings; excavations were initiated by Eskisehir Archaeology Museum under the scientific consultance of T. Efe and were conducted for three years between 1992-1994. A total of 320 square meters have been excavated. |
| Stratigraphy: Seven levels are recovered and numbered from bottom to top. Level VI which was destructed is excavated in a limited area. It is claimed that the site has been deserted for a short while between Levels VI and V; especially the pottery characteristics change after Level VI. |
| Small Finds: Architecture: The first inhabitants of Orman Fidanligi Mevkii have founded the village on the natural terraces and not much has remained from their houses due to the use of indurable material. The following levels yield ill-preserved mud-brick structures; without stone foundations in Level II; but with stone foundations in Level III. A house with one apsidal wall is recovered with its stone foundation built in a shallow pit in Level IV. There is a terrace wall north of the house in the same level. A hearth; an oven; and an ill-preserved stone wall are the architectural remains of Level VII. Pottery: The analysis conclude that the assemblages of Levels I-V and of Levels VI-VII differ. Levels I-V: First of the two dominant ware groups is the dark faced ware with surface colors of brown; gray; and gray-brown. Some sherds in this fine; burnished ware are decorated with incision; grooving; impression; and instrument-impression. The instrument-impressed decoration bands are positioned vertically; diagonally or in chevrons on the surface of the vessels. The second ware group is the slipped; painted ware with two subgroups. Purplish red slipped and painted ware is found in lower levels. Linear decoration motifs are preferred. The second subgroup is red and black painted on crème slipped background and decorated with guillouche motifs. The second ware group decreases after Level IV. The most general vessel forms are plates; bowls; and closed forms with everted rims. Levels VI-VII: Rather chaff-tempered wares show up. There are white paint-decorated samples. The vessel forms change considerably. There are black-topped bowls with slightly inverted rims and globular jars with double horn-handles. Clay: Baked clay idols are recovered from Level I and Level IV. Those from Level I are headless woman figurines. The breasts are small and the arms are crossed over the breasts or the abdomen. Chipped Stone: there are flintstone flake tools; but blades are dominant. The silica sheen on the sides of these tools proves that they were used for reaping weeds or grains. Ground Stone: Pestles and grinding stones are signs of intensive agriculture. Metal: The two copper finds of the site are a double spiral headed pin and a perforator. |
| Remains: |
| Interpretation and Dating: The importance of this site originates from the links that can be established between Balkan Cultures and the Western Inland Anatolia depending on the finds from this very site together with other sites such as Ilipinar; Fikirtepe; and Toptepe. Orman Fidanligi excavations have filled in the prehistoric gap in the chronology of Eskisehir Plain. Efe points out that sites such as Asmainler; Asarkaya; Kanlitas; and Kes Kaya discovered during the surveys in Yukari Porsuk Valley yield similar finds as Orman Fidanligi Levels I-V; he names this homogenity as "Porsuk Culture" and claims that this very culture is the predecessor of Vinca Culture of the Balkans [Efe 1996a:100]. The site named Kes Kaya also yields pottery types that could not be recovered between Levels V and VII of Orman Fidanligi; thus filling in the hiatus in the typologycal chain. Some finds from Level VII have parallels in Beycesultan Late Chalcolithic Age Phase 1-2 and Yazir Höyük. |
