©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project


Cafer Höyük

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Cafer Höyük
Type:
Mound
Altitude:
675 m
Region:
Eastern Anatolia
Province:
Malatya
District:
Battalgazi
Village:
Cafer
Investigation Method:
Excavation
Period:

     


This site lies approximately 40 km northeast of the city of Malatya; close to the village of Cafer. It was possible to reach this site; which has since been flooded by the Karakaya Dam Lake; via the side road heading to the village of Cafer from the Malatya-Elazig highway. The mound was a conical; 150x28 m; broad mound extending east-west which lay where the Degirmentepe Stream tributary emptied into the Euphrates. The dark burnished ware recovered from Trench 3 during the 1979 excavations suggests that in addition to the Aceramic Neolithic there is also a Bronze Age component at the site [Cauvin-Aurenche 1987:68-69].
Location: This site lies approximately 40 km northeast of the city of Malatya; close to the village of Cafer. It was possible to reach this site; which has since been flooded by the Karakaya Dam Lake; via the side road heading to the village of Cafer from the Malatya-Elazig highway.
Geography and Environment: The mound was a conical; 150x28 m; broad mound extending east-west which lay where the Degirmentepe Stream tributary emptied into the Euphrates. The cultural depositional layer was 3 m thick. The eastern side of the mound faced the seasonal Degirmentepe Stream and sloped gradually while the other three sides of the mound were steep. Irrigation channels and terraces built for agriculture could be found on these three steep sides. Especially the western and northern terraces yielded many finds. It is assumed that the original mound was larger in size and that it was leveled for agricultural fields. The excavations in Trench 4 on the western terrace; which were led by Cauvin; lacked architectural remains. Clay-like brown virgin soil was reached; surprisingly only 40 cm from the surface. The artifacts recovered from this trench were out of context finds which may have been moved as a result of the terracing activities. The exposed sections along the pits dug by villagers for soil to make mudbricks were cleaned and a decipherment of a stratigraphic sequence was attempted.
History:
Research and Excavation:
Stratigraphy:
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