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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Asagi Nizip Yöresi |
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For site maps and drawings please click on the picture...  |
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Type:
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Single Findspot |
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Altitude:
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m |
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Region:
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Southeastern Anatolia |
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Province:
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Gaziantep |
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District:
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Nizip |
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Village:
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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: This site is located in the town of Nizip; a district of the province of Gaziantep; 37 km (as the crow flies) east of the main city. It lies on the lower terraces and flat plains along the Nizip Stream which flows by the villages of Tilmagara; Hancagiz; Mihrap; Gevence and Mercanli before it empties into the Euphrates. (Instead of including each village as a separate site; we have chosen; like the surveyor; Minzoni-Deroche; to collectively present the information under the heading Asagi Nizip Yöresi; or Lower Euphrates Region). |
| Geography and Environment: The Nizip Stream springs from Mount Kartal; which lies by the lower flanks of the 1;496 m high Büyüksaf. It then flows southeast through the town of Nizip; south of town of Birecik and joins the Euphrates at Kirgiz after a 110 km long journey. The small rivers and streamlets have given the region an undulating appearance. |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: One of the oldest finds from this area is a biface handaxe found by P. Passemard during his 1925 survey in the alluvial terraces of the Euphrates. Even though the records are not clear; this find is believed to have been found west of the Euphrates in the Gaziantep province [Passemard 1926:167-170]. The widest and most systematic survey conducted in the area was led by A. Minzoni-Deroche and a team consisting of P. Sanlaville; M. Senol and N. Güldali in 1986 and 1987. The survey concentrated both on the upper and lower parts of the Nizip Stream (see also; "Yukari Nizip Yöresi"; literally "Upper Nizip Region" in this volume). The area covered in this site as part of the Lower Nizip Region includes the lower part of the Nizip Stream between the town of Nizip and the Euphrates. The surveyors recorded the geological setting each artifact was found in. The formation of the terraces in the region was also studied; revealing that the Kaleköy formation is a Quaternary III terrace with Middle Acheuléen finds while the Nizip formation; which yielded Late Acheuléen artifacts is a Quaternary II terrace. |
| Stratigraphy: |
| Small Finds: Several Late Acheuléen biface handaxes and flakes dating to a variety of periods were found in Minzoni-Deroche's surface survey[Minzoni-Deroche 1988a:280]. The handaxes in this region are curved in profile. They were found south of the village of Tilmagara [Minzoni-Deroche 1988a:280]; west and northwest of the village of Mihrap; east of the village of Hancagiz and; southeast of the village of Mercanli [Minzoni-Deroche 1987:fig.5b;7;12]. The cores found in this area tend to be thicker especially than those found in the "Upper Nizip Region". Interestingly; almost no blades have been found. Minzoni-Deroche is still studying the chipped stone material from this region. |
| Remains: |
| Interpretation and Dating: |
