©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project

Çamlibel Tarlasi

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Çamlıbel Tarlası
Type:
 Mound
Altitude:
 m
Region:
 Central Anatolia
Province:
 Çorum
District:
 Bogazkale
Village:
 Karakeçili
Investigation Method:
 Excavation
Period:

     

Location: It is situated on the border of Bogazkale District with the Karakeçili Village in Çorum Province, 2 km west of Bogazköy.
Geography and Environment: The archaeological remains are located on a low plateau on the Karakeçili Stream. This plateau which is on a long and narrow rocky ridge, descends in two phases at the west end towards Karakeçili Stream.
History:
Research and Excavation: Excavations were initiated in 2007 as a project coordinated with the University of Edinburgh in order to illuminate the prehistoric periods of the region and to solve the problems related with that period, within the scope of Bogazköy campaign which was performed under the direction of the German Archaeological Institute. The well preserved state of the settlement location when observed above the surface, and traces suggesting utilization of the location after the prehistoric period were the primary reasons why this location was chosen for performing the excavations [Schachner 2009:486-489]. The third and last period excavations of Çamlõbel Farm are held between July 18 and August 9, 2009 [Schachner 2011: 221].
Stratigraphy: Based on the findings the settlement was abandoned for a long lasting period after this phase. As a result of this first period excavations it was found that Çamlibel Tarlasi was a settlement that consisted of two main phases. The adobe walls in the west of the excavation area belong to the older settlement phase. The newer building level with the stone foundation has no common characteristics with the old remains [Schachner 2009:486-489]. Below are the information gathered during the last layers held in 2009: CBT I: No architecture, water flowing in the middle of the field, seasonal use, copper melting pits, metal pieces, graves CBT II: Intense architecture remains, groups of rooms, copper melting pits, metal pieces, many child graves -Blank- CBT III: Structures with large rooms, "Burnt House", band decorated pottery, copper debris -Blank- CBT IV: Series of structures, Stone Paved Structure, yard with intense copper debris, band decorated pottery [Schachner 2011: 221].
Small Finds: Architecture: The oldest settlement remains on the virgin soil are fine adobe walls and the adobe floors between these walls. Rooms in various dimensions were revealed but their plans could not exactly be defined due to lack of space during the researches in 2007. The 2008 researches revealed that out of two rectangular planned built on stone foundation that were excavated in 2007 the south wall had walls made of a single course of large size boulders. The building's rooms seem like two independent and separate units with own foundation walls. The flat stone paved area northwest of the building is believed to be the entrance. An additional small cell building was found in the south of the structure. Another burnt building located north of this area revealed interesting data although the excavations are incomplete. The north of this building was built of large and cumbersome adobe blocks placed inside a clay mortar which was hardly preserved. The west side was destroyed due to erosion. A thick mortar layer was identified that consisted of burnt adobe both in and outside the building. It seems that this mortar covers the top of a series of adobe blocks on the floor. It appeared that the top three layers of these floor bricks were made of compressed clay and below these there was one layer of thick lime bricks. Only one of these was removed and the presence of at least three more layers was observed below. This is the only proof to the utilization of lime among the entire Çamlibel Field's architecture. The pits filled with cinder of organic material inside the building and heavy stones over the lime floors suggest that the structure was not built as a result of an accident or against enemy attacks, but as a statement on the spiritual importance of the house [Schachner 2010:300-301]. Another building revealed in 2008 has a rectangular plan and it is located west of the stone paved structure that was found in 2007. There is a patio between two buildings. A large, square kiln with a surface decorated with sherds was identified in the southeast corner of the patio. A small pit found south of the patio wall possibly was used for working the copper ore as it was the case in other previously found pits [Schachner 2010:302]. A new layer with no architectural remains is unearthed during the 2009 excavations. It is found that a waterway flowing on the slope of a mountain in the Northeast of the settlement during this period has later crossed the centre of the site. A group of oven pits are discovered at the top of the plateau used for copper production. A multi-layer isolation level made of broken potteries and small pebbles is observed inside these ovens which are 25 cm in diameter and 10-20 cm in depth. Above, a plaster is found which is made of thick clay that has become very rigid due to excess heat. A mineral called limonite which is normally found in copper mines exists in small pieces among the white layer of ash going deeper down from the surrounds of these pits. The rectangular structure (2.16 by 2.44 m) under the plateau with a grid plan and pebble stone foundation is believed to be used as granary. It is found out that the water crossing the centre of the site stopped flowing after some time. A group of buildings with adobe walls are excavated in the lower part of the settlement. It is observed that the foundations of these walls are made of stone in this region. A side structure with two large rooms and few small rooms is discovered but its walls are very worn out. The length of the walls of the house in the East could only be measured relative to the ground level and angle of the slope. An oven with a dome is located against the West entrance of the building. Large and long boulders are used in the walls in the slope side of the house in the West. A 2.96 by 1.56 m large rectangular platform is located made of blue çorak resting in the wall inside the house in the East. A round oven with a dome is located on this platform which is approximately 1.20 m in diameter. Similar platforms haven't been located in other houses however some ovens with domes are unearthed in large rooms. Pits for melting metal are found in between the houses. Most of the graves found in Çamlõbel Field are from this layer. The number of graves has increased due to new ones found this year. All of the graves from this layer belong to children. Another structure in the shape of a trapeze is located in the North side of the plateau. This structure is different than other buildings in multiple ways. All of the unearthed buildings were entirely vacated. The settlement seems to be deserted. No relation could be identified between Layer 2 and 3 in general with the only exception of the structure in the North slope. It is understood that there is a close relation between the "Burnt House" which was excavated earlier and this building. This old building is cleaned from debris at the beginning of Layer 3 and filled with clay. The "Burnt House" is constructed with the same plan exactly above this older building with walls built around the old walls while new ones are docking to the old walls. The "Burnt House" covers the yard of the older building and it is almost double in size. All remains from the second architecture level remains below the lime base of "Burned House". However this old building is not forgotten during the later periods. All of the extraordinary findings captured in "Burned House" are captured in the areas above the old building which is the North side of the house. On the upper side of the settlement a third building, though heavily destructed, is located this year having a similar shape with the two large buildings from the third layer. Apparent marks of destruction seen on the buildings show that Çamlõbel Farms is deserted again after this layer. No new information could be gathered on the fourth layer which is the latest year [Schachner 2011: 221-224]. Pottery: The collected sherds are typical to North and Central Anatolian Chalcolithic Period, their inside and outside surfaces belong to ware groups of various colors. Since they have similarities with the group of ware found in Yarikkaya this material was dated to 6th century BC [Schachner 2009:486-489]. A small amount of chisel decorated sherds were found in 2008. Among these especially the large vessel sherd decorated entirely with encrustrations is interesting [Schachner 2010:303]. During the studies held in 2009 no decorated potteries are found in the two old layers (as was the case was during the previous years of excavation) and this fact confirmed the belief that this tradition of decoration only exists in the two top most layers (ÇBT III-IV) [Schachner 2011: 224]. Clay: The most important find of 2008 is the rough tempered clay pouring vessel with the broken lower tip. There are two concave areas at the top of this object. Apparently one of these cavities was used for holding it when there is a hot fluid inside and the other was the negative that belonged to a disk-like idol. There is a U-shaped relief. The head section is in the form of a crescent moon on a thin neck. The deep hole in the center of the head section was meant for pouring melting metal inside to form a rod [Schachner 2010:303]. Most interesting findings from 2009 excavations are the head pieces of an animal statue which is possibly from ÇBT III. Its surface is red slipped, nose and mouth pieces are broken, the eye pits are very deep suggesting that they may have been filled with other material. This head possibly belongs to a bull, as suggested by the large horn marks going down. The bull head is 87 mm long which suggests that the statue was very large [Schachner 2011: 224]. Metal: A few metal objects are captured in 2008 most of which are piercing and sewing needles [Schachner 2010:303]. Majority of the metal artefacts captured in 2009 are sewing needles, piercers and pieces of wire. A lead wire piece among the finds shows that there were other metals in use other than copper [Schachner 2011: 224]. Grave: 3 toddler graves were unveiled underneath the floors which conisted of two pithoi and one basic grave [Schachner 2009:486-489]. In 2008 3 more graves were unearthed. All 6 graves belong to children. All are missing the larger bones and the remaining bones are scattered. The mouths of the vessels were sealed with other jars. The children who are older were buried without pithoi in hocker position [Schachner 2010:302]. Few graves are unearthed in 2009 that belongs to Layer I. Two of those belong to adults. As is the case in the child graves found during earlier years the bodies are placed in hocker position, heads are directed in South, faces looking East [Schachner 2011: 222]. Other: A 26 mm long bead made of jade stone is captured in Layer II in 2009. The body of this narrow cylindrical bead is thicker on the sides. The shape and raw material of these beads are known in Anatolia from Chalcolithic Period [Schachner 2011: 224].
Remains:
Interpretation and Dating: Based on informations; Çamlibel Tarlasi is one of the oldest settlements of North Central Anatolia. Lack of abundant finds is a common characteristic of the early settlements in the region. The small amount of obsidian finds in small dimensions suggest relations with Cappadocia and the direction of obsidian trade towards the south and not the north [Schachner 2009:486-489]. Four seeds were measured using 14C method. Two belong to latest settlement and two other belong to earliest levels and as a result the settlement was dated to middle 4th Millennium BC (3590-3470 cal). In this case Çamlibel Field, seems to be contemporary of Alisar type Chalcolithic Age based on radiocarbon dates from Çadir Mound. This situation suggests that Northern Anatolia was a region that had a richer cultural diversity during Late Chalcolithic period than previously assumed [Schachner 2010:303-304]. The most characteristic feature of Çamlõbel Field is that there are blank periods between periods. It is found that none of the four settlement phases took very long. No marks of modification or renewal activities are observed in the architectures found. Mines are an important element for this location to be selected for settlement. However it can be stated that, metal production does not cover a central role in the economy of this small society, rather it has been carried out as a side activity [Schachner 2011: 224].


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