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Kaman-Kalehöyük

Dr. Sachihiro Omura Director, JIAA

26th Excavation and Survey at Kaman-Kalehöyük (2010)

Introduction

26th Kaman-Kalehöyük excavation and survey started on 30th June and finished on 5th September. 44 pieces of excavated remains which are suitable to be exhibited at the museum were deposited to The Kaman-Kalehöyük Archaeological Museum on 5th September. This year Mr. Cihat Çakır (A curator of Kastamonu Archaeological Museum, came from Yeniyapan Village, 5 kilometer north east of Anatolian Archaeological Museum in Kaman Prefecture) has been dispatched to the site as an inspector. After the excavation, processes of sorting excavated remains, measuring them, taking photo of them, restoring them, etc. were started in the institute and still now such processes have been going on. And as previous years, to protect the excavated architectural structural remains and profiles excavated in the North Trench and the South Trench, temporary roofs were put as from 9th November and finished in three weeks.

During the excavation and survey in Kaman-Kalehöyük, a field course of museology for curators of museums in Turkey with co-sponsorship of The Japan Foundation and The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey. (Picture 1). Also during the same period, field courses of archaeology (Picture 2), zooarchaeology (Picture 3) and archaeobotany were conducted at the Institute of Anatolian Archaeology. There were students from Japan, Turkey, USA, Poland, Australia and so forth joining the courses and they made discussions and got to know each other.

Objectives of excavation

The objective of excavation and survey in Kaman-Kalehöyük is to compile “cultural stratigraphy”. To achieve this objective the North Trench was set in 1986. Until now 4 cultural layers – the first layer, Ottoman Empire Period, the second layer, Iron Age, the third layer, middle to latter Bronze Age and the fourth layer, early Bronze Age were identified. There also set the South Trench to identify settlement style of each cultural layer which had been identified in the North Trench.

In the 26th excavation and survey in Kaman-Kalehöyük, survey was focused on the third layer in the North Trench and the second layer in the South Trench. (Picture 5). Especially in the North Trench the transition period of the IIIc layer to IVa layer, in other words, early Bronze Age to middle Bronze Age cultural layers, and in the South Trench the IIc layer to the IId layer, in other words early Iron Age were mainly surveyed. (Picture 6)

The Structural Remains in the North Treench

An issue in the North Trench is boundary between the IIIb layer and the IIIc layer is relatively unclear and therefore, the survey in sectors V through to VIII of the North Trench has been intensively conducted over the years (Picture 7).

In the excavation and survey in sectors IV through to VIII, the IIIc layer, a large architectural remains running from north to south of Assyrian Colony Period are identified. A characteristic of this architectural remains is the foundations are built with large stones robustly and the floors are stone paved. There are paths at the west and east of this architectural remains in along side of stone walls paved with pebbles, fragments of earthenware, etc. are identified. These paved paths and architectural remains were removed year before and last year and it was revealed that these were rebuilt several times.

This season, stone walls which were assumed to be the bottom layer of the Assyrian Colony Period belonging to the IIIc layer of sector VII and accompanying paths paved with pebbles, sand, fragments of earthenware and ash were removed. They are destroyed while the IIIb layer, the buildings of the Old Hittite Kingdom Period had been built. The survey this time was conducted to verify whether the architectural remains found just beneath the IIIb architectural remains in sector VIII belongs to the IIIb layer or to IIIc layer.

The result of the survey is that the architectural remains found in the sector VIII and assumed to belong to the IIIb layer is not to the IIIb layer, but to the IIIc layer. There found further architectural remains belonging to the IIIc were identified just beneath the architectural remains running north to south assumed to belong to the bottom of the IIIc layer in the sector VII (Picture 9), and the newly identified architectural remains has been identified to be connected to the architectural remains found in the sector VIII assumed to be of the IIIb layer are revealing that the settlements in the Assyrian Colony Period were much wider than the assumptions till now in their sizes.

The next issue is whether the fortress running west to east identified in the sector IX is of the Assyrian Colony Period or of the Old Hittite Kingdom Period (Picture 10). Such issue can be resolved in the 27th excavation and survey and once the issue is resolved the general view of the IIIb layer and the IIIc layer in the North Trench can be seen. The boundary between the Assyrian Colony Period and the the Old Hittite Kingdom Period has been unclear and by the excavation and survey in Kaman-Kalehöyük such boundary issue has been getting clearer. The sorting of those excavated remains has to be made in line with such understanding.

The Excavated Remains in The North Trench

Fragments of earthenware and bronze ware are excavated in the North Trench. While the architectural remains were removed in the IIIc layer, iron products were found. Previously iron products were found on the floors of the architectural remains in the sector VII of the Assyrian Colony Period of the IIIc layer running south to north, and also while removing the architectural remains in the IIIc layer in the sector V, iron products were found. As such, it is likely that there were iron production in Kaman-Kalehöyük at least early 2 millennium B.C. It is important to identify mark of iron production.

The Remains in the South Trench

In the South Trench mainly the architectural remains in IIa layer, IIc layer and IId layer were surveyed.

The architectural remains in the IIa layer were surveyed in the sector XLVIII (Picture 11). In the west of this excavation sector, architectural remains in the IIc layer were identified and there were two stone walls of the IIa layer cutting these remains. These two stone walls having 3m width are quite different from the walls identified in the IIa layer. First of all there are with 1m deep dug-out at the beginning. And the matter revealed in the excavation this time were three (four) stone walls (approx. 1.2m wide) diagonal to the walls. The walls themselves are not robust construction by having human head size stones squeezed in. It could be said they are rough construction. Upper structures of those walls have not been identified yet, and there have been similar walls having similar constructions identified in the sectors XXXIV and LVI. The upper structures having this depth and kind of foundation must have been something significant and must not have been something private structures judging from their sizes. Anyhow, it has been revealed that the architectural remains of the IIc layer in the sector XXIX are destroyed by the architectural remains of the IIa layer.

There is a peculiarity that the architectural remains in the IIc layer are semi-basement structure. In the survey this time, excavation was conducted in R177 which has the peculiarity of IIc layer (Picture 12). Until now many of semi-basement type remains were identified in IIc layer, but whether those were the living space or not has not been clarified yet. On the other hand, there have been marks of hearth which implies living spaces, so there is possibility that those could have been living spaces.

The Remains Excavated in the South Trench

There are earthenware, bronze products, iron products excavated in the South Trench. Painted earthenware of Krater style aged to be the IIa layer was found from the pits (Picture 13). There also many painted earthenware of the IIc and IId layers.

Summary

In the 26th excavation and survey, compiling the “cultural stratigraphy” and survey on the settlement style and architectures of the Iron Age in the South Trench were the major research points and it has been revealed that the settlements of the Assyrian Colony Period are larger than anticipated in the North Trench and the structure of architectures is comparatively robust than other ages. The work to do from now is to sort out excavated remains which have been picked up and sorted in hypothetical layers in order of each architectural layer. It is possible to tell that the culture of the Assyrian Colony Period had been inherited by the Old Hittite Kingdom Period, and such has been modified gradually and repeatedly and then the culture peculiar to the Hittite must have been constructed.

Acknowledgements

The excavation and survey in Kaman-Kalehöyük has been supported by many of supporting bodies by ways of subsidies and aid money. We are grateful for all such supports extended to us and the following are names of bodies subsidized in 2011.

• Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
• Japan Keirin Association
• Sumitomo Foundation
• Foundation for Cultural Heritage and Art Research
• Shinnyo-en
• Japan Tabacco Inc.

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Progress of 26th Kaman-Kalehöyük Excavation and Survey (2011) (2)

The 26th Kaman-Kalehöyük Excavation and Survey started end of June is coming to the final stage. In the North Trench, “compiling cultural stratigraphy” as previous years and in the South Trench, survey on the “Dark Age” in the IId layer are the survey objectives.

In the North Trench, accumulation of the IIIc layer, the cultural layer of the Assyrian Colony Period is thicker than anticipated, so the IVa layer will not be got closer. There were number of iron products found in the IIIc layer in this season too and analysis on these items is to be done. There are quite a few groups of pits in the IIIc layer of the North Trench and it seems that each of those were used either for dumping or for storing. There are number of fragments of earthenware with curving found in the groups of pits in IIIc layer and it is certain that there are Copper Stone Age cultural layer in the Kaman-Kalehöyük remains. The architectural remains in the IIIc have been actively excavated and found that foundations of all of those architectural remains are structured with robust stone construction and there also is marks that those were used number of times with restoration process.

In the South Trench, the architectural remains of the I layer, Ottoman Empire Period and the IIa layer, latter Iron Age excavated in 1990s were removed from July through to early August. This was required to identify the fact that the architectural remains of Dark Age or in other words early Iron Age are spreading wider in the South Trench than anticipated, and for this purpose the architectural remains of the I layer and IIa layer were removed. During this process, krater shape painted earthenware, bronze arrow heads and fibulae were found and those are dated the IIa layer. In the excavation and survey this time, the architectural remains of the IId, the Dark Age are all burned and number of holes for columns were found on the floor surface. Such holes for columns have not been found in the IIIa layer, the Hittite Empire Period. Those holes for columns could be the peculiarity for the IId layer. The 26th excavation and survey will be finished in early September. (Sachihiro Omura)

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Progress of 26th Kaman-Kalehöyük Excavation and Survey (2011)

The 26th excavation and survey goes well. Weather in the area became stable in middle of July and temperature rises. In the North Trench the cultural layer of the 2 millennium B.C. and in the South Trench cultural layer of the IIc layer, the Dark Age are being excavated. In the North Trench, the IIIc layer, the Assyrian Colony Period to the IVa layer, the Intermediate Period (end of the Prehistory Age) are being intensively excavated. The boundary between the IIIc layer and the IIId layer, the Hittite Empire Period that has not been clear yet could be clarified through this excavation and survey. There are earthenware, stamps, spindle wheels, bone products of the Assyrian Colony Period found so far. Excavation is getting into the IVa layer gradually and hand twisted earthenware are found.

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The 26th Kaman-Kalehöyük Excavation and Survey has commenced

The inspector (Mr. Cihat Çakır, A Curator of Kastamonu Archaeological Museum) dispatched from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism arrived at the camp site on 29th June and in the early morning of 30th June the 26th Kaman-Kalehöyük excavation and survey commenced. As previous years, protection roofs which cover architectural remains and excavation sectors were partly removed and started cleaning. Preservation conditions of architectural remains and sections are good enough, which is owing to the protection roofs. 47 people from Çağırkan village where site camp is and the nearby Kaman were hired to do excavation and survey works. The excavation started 2nd July and in the North Trench, the IIIc layer, the Assyrian Colony Period, in the South Trench the IIa layer, latter half of iron ware age cultural layers are excavated.

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