|
©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
|
|
|
|
|
|
Agaçli |
|
|
For site maps and drawings please click on the picture...  |
For photographs please click on the photo...  |
|
Type:
|
Habitation Site / Workshop |
|
Altitude:
|
20 m |
|
Region:
|
Marmara |
|
Province:
|
Istanbul |
|
District:
|
Kemerburgaz |
|
Village:
|
Agaçli |
|
Investigation Method:
|
Survey |
|
Period:
|
Ceramic |
|
|
|
  |
|
| Location: This site is located approximately 30 km northwest of the city of Istanbul and 14 km northwest of the town of Kemerburgaz; on the sand dunes between the villages of Çiftealan and Agaçli. |
| Geography and Environment: The site is composed of several artifact scatters which are located along Agaçli Stream in the west; along Hakaydin Stream to the east; along the Black Sea coast to the north; and on the beach and shrub covered/forested sand dunes to the south. The area is approximately 1.5x1 km in size. Because the dunes by the shore occasionally shift as a result of the wind; older dunes with evidence of early campsite habitation are occasionally exposed (for more detail on the geographic setting of Agaçli see Harmankaya-Tanindi 1996:Agaçli). The survey code of this site is C 12 / 1. |
| History: |
| Research and Excavation: The first systematic surveys in this area began in 1973; after E. Fondakowsky's discovery of the site and M. Korfmann's (Istanbul German Archaeology Institute) notification of the University of Istanbul Faculty of Letters Prehistory Section. The crew accompanied by B. Howe and M. Korfmann was composed of students and faculty members from this department. In 1974 B. Howe analyzed the artifacts collected in this survey. As funding and opportunities permitted; students from this department continued to conduct surveys on these dunes. Most recently (in 1975 and 1980); M. Özdogan; a member of the Prehistory Section surveyed the undamaged sections of the dunes as part of his comprehensive survey of Thrace. |
| Stratigraphy: It is believed that the dunes were inhabited from the Middle Palaeolithic Period on through the Upper Palaeolithic; Epipalaeolithic and perhaps into the Neolithic Period [Harmankaya-Tanindi 1996:Agaçli]. |
| Small Finds: Architecture: It has been determined that there was a camp-site comprised of two or three small huts/shelters on the highest dunes (Artifact Scatter 68). Özdogan has assigned the finds from here to the beginning of the Neolithic Period [Özdogan 1986:144]. The huts were probably simple wattle and daub structures. Pottery: The site of Agaçli yielded ceramics with sand and grit tempering which resemble Fikirtepe Ware. Because these finds and other similar wares such as the Yalova; Göztepe ceramics come from an unstratified context; Özdogan has refrained from assigning them to a period until further information is available [Özdogan 1992:47; footnote 16]. Chipped Stone: It is difficult to make a definite division between the Neolithic and pre-Neolithic periods at Agaçli because some Epipalaeolithic chipped stone traits continue in the Neolithic as well. |
| Remains: |
| Interpretation and Dating: The site of Agaçli; which lies in a region with access to the Black Sea with its dense fish population and the nearby forests with numerous hunting animals; is in a suitable location for both hunter-gathering and maritime activities. Like the nearby sites along the Black Sea which date to the Neolithic Period; this site should be assigned to the Neolithic with skepticism. |
