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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Los Angeles
in East Anatolia
in Archaeology
by
Bekir Gurdil
2005
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UMI Number: 3169198
Copyright 2005 by
Gurdil, Bekir
UMI
UMI Microform 3169198
Copyright 2005 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company.
All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against
unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.
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Copyright by
Bekir Gurdil
2005
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The dissertation of Bekir Gurdil is approved.
/g 2'hcaM*
Susa.x i ^ u w u v j
Richard Lesure
Guillermo D. Algaze
k 't l ----------
Elizabeth F. Carter, Committee Chair
ii
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Dedicated to my parents, Mlikerrem and Qmer,
Annem ve babama,
iii
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Table of contents
Chapter I ................................................................................................................. l
I.A- Introduction................................................................................................................. 1
iv
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A.l.e- Room A C .......................................................................................................... 62
A.l.f- Room A D .......................................................................................................... 63
A.l.g- Room R .............................................................................................................63
A .l.h-R oom P-L....................................................................................................... 64
A.2- The second story of Building 1 ............................................................................65
A.2.a - Above the Room I ...........................................................................................66
A.2.b - Room O ............................................................................................................69
A.2.c - Above the Room U .......................................................................................... 70
A.3 - Conclusion notes for the Building..................................................................... 70
A.4 - The south area outside the Building i ............................................................... 74
IH.C-Building F C .............................................................................................................91
C.l- Room F C .............................................................................................................. 91
C.2- Rooms GL and G E ...............................................................................................97
C.3- Area F M ............................................................................ 98
C.4- Rooms ER and E S ...................................................................................98
C.5- Room E T ..................... 99
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HLE- Building E L ........................................................................................................... 121
E.l - Room E L ........................................................................................................... 121
E.2 - Area E l .............................................................................................................. 123
E.3 - Rooms EO and E P .............................................................................................123
E.4 - Room E N ........................................................................................................... 123
E.5 - Room F P ............................................................................................................ 124
E.6 - Rooms FR and F S ............................................................................................. 124
E.7 - Area E U ................................. 125
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m .I- Building F N ........................................................................................................... 151
1.1-RoomF N .............................................................................................................151
1.2- Room G O ............................................................................................................ 151
1.3- R oom FO ............................................................................................................ 152
1.4- Room HL.............................................................................................................152
1.5- Room H K ........................................................................................................... 153
1.6- Reconstructing the buildings p la n ....................................................................153
ID.N- Open areas, movement, and communication routes within the village.............183
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IY.C- Activities and functions........................................................................................196
C.l- Building I ........................................................................................................... 196
C.2- Building B C .......................................................................................................201
C.3- Building F C ........................................................................................................205
C.4- Building E E ....................................................................................................... 208
C.5- Building E L ....................................................................................................... 211
C.6- Building G K .......................................................................................................213
C.7- Building D U .......................................................................................................217
C.8- Building F D .......................................................................................................220
IV.D- Conclusion............................................................................................................221
D .l- Functional patterns of the buildings.................................................................222
D.2- Population and household ty p e ........................................................................ 228
Chapter V: Conclusion................................................................................................234
V.A- Built environment and projections for social organization of Degirmentepe.... 234
A .l-H o u ses........................................................................................................... 237
A .l.a-Basem ents.......................................................................................................242
A.l.b- Second stories............................................................................................. 243
A.l.c- Roofs and communication routes................................................................... 244
A.2- Open courtyard at the NE quadrant.................................................................. 246
A.3- The village......................................................................................................... 247
A.4- Population and household ty p e......................................................................... 250
A.5- Desertion of the s ite .......................................................................................... 251
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APPENDIX II: Activities, functions, and artifact types.................................. 287
P lates...................................................................................................................361
References.......................................................................................................... 425
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List of figures
Figure 3.1: Introductory chart for Building I and its room s........................................ 53
Figure 3.2: Mud-brick bins from East A natolia.......................................................... 68
Figure 3.3: Hand made mud-brick bins from East A natolia.......................................68
Figure 3.4: More bins from East Anatolia with applique designs.............................. 69
Figure 3.5: Introductory chart for Building BC and its room s.................................... 78
Figure 3.6: Photograph from Southern Anatolia showing the use of different sized
wood beam s................................................................................................83
Figure 3.7: Introductory chart for Building FC and its room s.................................... 91
Figure 3.8: Introductory chart for Building EE and its room s................................... 103
Figure 3.9: Introductory chart for Building EL and its room s................................... 121
Figure 3.10: Introductory chart for Building GK and its room s..................................126
Figure 3.11: Introductory chart for Building DU and its north a re a s ................ 134
Figure 3.12: Introductory chart for Building FD and its room s...................................147
Figure 3.13: Introductory chart for Building FN and its room s...................................151
Figure 3.14: Introductory chart for Building AS and its rooms................................... 155
Figure 3.15: Introductory chart for partially preserved structures and sounding 12 J..159
Figure 3.16: Stratigraphy of the sounding in grid 13F................................................. 173
Figure 3.17: Reconsideration of Degirmentepe stratigraphy......................................178
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Figure 4.13: Actual usable floor areas of houses given in m2 ..................................231
Figure 4.14: Population estimate per h o u se..............................................................232
Figure 4.15: Distribution of number of individuals by house....................................232
Figure All. 1: A list of activities and possible artifacts associated with them that may
be found at a late prehistoric site excavation...................................... 291
Figure AIII.l: Artifact types recorded during the excavations and their English
translations............................................................................................ 292
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List of Plates
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Plate 41: Cross section view of the wall (464) in room C M ....................................... 402
Plate 42: Plan of the early building phase of Building DU and Building BY 1 to the
n o rth ............................................................................................................... 403
Plate 43: Wall painting found at the south wall (506) in room D U .............................404
Plate 44: The east wall and the south wall (506) in room D U ....................................405
Plate 45: South section of grid 17 G showing rooms DU, BE, AY, and A T ............... 406
Plate 46: Cross section views of the rooms BR and A V ..............................................407
Plate 47: Plan of Building F D ........................................... 408
Plate 48: Plan of Building F N .......................................................................................409
Plate 49: A reconstruction of the north portion of Building F N .................................. 410
Plate 50: Plan of Building AS and the single room DA to the south...........................411
Plate 51: Multi-room buildings at the south end of the settlem ent............................. 412
Plate 52: Wall painting found on the interior of the west wall of room B l................. 413
Plate 53: Estimated location and size of the earliest occupation of the site............... 414
Plate 54: Distribution of artifacts found in Building i ................................................. 415
Plate 55: Distribution of artifacts found in Building B C ............................................. 416
Plate 56: Distribution of artifacts found in Building F C ..............................................417
Plate 57: Distribution of artifacts found in Building E E ..............................................418
Plate 58: Distribution of artifacts found in Building E L ..............................................419
Plate 59: Distribution of artifacts found in Building G K .............................................420
Plate 60: Distribution of artifacts found in Buildings DU, BY1, FA, and F K ............. 421
Plate 61: Distribution of artifacts found in Building F D ...............................................422
Plate 62: Location of houses with platforms.................................................................423
Plate 63: An experimental reconstruction of the village..............................................424
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List of abbreviations:
14C Radiocarbon
ca about
cm centimeter
E East
EBA Early Bronze Age
Fig Figure
Figs Figures
m meter
N North
NE northeast
NW northwest
S South
SE southeast
SW southwest
PI plate
Pis plates
TL Thermoluminescence
W West
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Conducting dissertation research and earning a doctoral degree is more than a full time
learning experience. This task would have been impossible without the assistance and
support of others who deserve respectful thanks. The first of these individuals is Dr.
Ufuk Esin, one of my professors during the early phase of my archaeological education.
When I was searching for a dissertation topic, she kindly suggested that I study the
architecture of Degirmentepe and allowed me access to the raw data. It was an honor
to study such an important site and I owe many thanks to Dr. Esin for providing this
The second of these individuals is Dr. Elizabeth Carter. She served as my committee
chair and she is one of my mentors. I am thankful to her for her guidance during the
years I spent at UCLA. My other committee members, Dr. Susan Downey, Dr. Richard
Lesure, and Dr. Guillermo Algaze, were very understanding and helpful both before
and during the writing process of the dissertation. I appreciate them so much and feel
Considering my first years at UCLA facing the challenges of using the academic
English language, the patience and faith of the other professors I met at the Cotsen
Institute of Archaeology should be acknowledged here. The classes I took from them
and the other experiences I had through their support changed my views of archaeology
dramatically and prepared me for critical thinking about the societies of the past. For
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my part, it was a significant preparation for the future and this dissertation could not
who provided access to the facilities during the study I conducted. Among those, I
especially thank Dr. Mehmet Ozdogan, Dr. Mihriban Ozbaaran, and Dr. Sava
Harmankaya, for sharing their ideas with me on Degirmentepe and the Ubaid in
Anatolia. Rukiye Eryaar, a student at Marmara University, made the ink drawings of
the architecture remains. I think we both learned a lot about how to make architectural
My new family here has always been a strong emotional support for me since the
beginning, and this surely boosted my performance. Among them, I wish to thank my
wife Tania, the most important person of my life. Her patience and endless
Almost eleven months of fieldwork, including study visits to archaeological sites and
museums, became possible with the generous support of American Research Institute
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VITA
Gurdil, Bekir.
2002. Systematic Surface Collection from Nevruzlu: A Late Halaf site in the
Kahramanmara Valley: Anatolica XXVUI. pp. 137-158.
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ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION
in East Anatolia
by
Bekir Gurdil
The studies conducted so far show that the Ubaid material culture spread to each comer
of Mesopotamia and beyond by the second half of the fifth millennium BC. More
importantly, the societies of these times were in the process of progressive social,
economic, and political changes, the outcome of which was the first state in the Late
Uruk. Egalitarian values were shifting and the societies, either individually or inter-
political relationships. It appears that the Ubaid chiefdoms existed, but the components
of these chiefdoms are still not well understood due to lack of investigation. Thus far,
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Stein (1994) suggested a feasible explanation for South Mesopotamia by bringing the
idea of staple finance economy to the fore. However, the other regions bearing Ubaid
components are difficult to integrate into this scheme, not because the material cultures
of these areas can not fit into his model, but because the existing research is too limited
site Degirmentepe in East Anatolia, which presents the opportunity to delve into the
light on the ways in which the community was organized. In addition, this analysis
assists in considering the identity of the inhabitants as well as the possible reasons that
the community spread to Anatolia. Analyses at the end of this study suggest a model for
this expansion: a process of hybridization for the inhabitants of Degirmentepe. Both the
newcomers, who are the inhabitants of the site, and the local Anatolian communities
that the end product of the process was the emergence of an identical Late Chalcolitic
cultural sphere in the coming centuries, which was not Mesopotamian but adopted
some of the Mesopotamian values strongly. I conclude that the case of Degirmentepe
indicates a society that did not place emphasis on status, but probably belonged to a
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Chapter I
LA- Introduction: -
Ubaid period and their representation in East Anatolia, the highland region beyond the
in the Malatya province of Turkey, exploring social organization through the spatial
arrangements and the identification of activity areas that gave shape to this particular
society. Investigating the use of space through the archaeological record is one means
There is little information known about the Ubaid period, despite the fact that its
existence was recognized from the early decades of the twentieth century (Hall and
Woolley 1927). Research investigating the earliest domestication of animals and plants
in early sedentary societies as well as the emergence of the first complex societies in
cities has tended to overshadow the study of Ubaid social organization in Mesopotamia.
When compared with the Neolithic and Late Uruk, the Ubaid period lacks observable
the socio-economic and political organizations of the Ubaid period even today,
However, based on the data available to us, the significant changes occurring in the
material culture of the Ubaid period cannot be ignored. Distinct from the Neolithic, the
patterns in social and economic trends during the Ubaid are manifested in the
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appearance of new settlement patterns, pottery, architecture, mortuary practices, and
small artifact types. For instance, the use of seals and seal impressions in the societies
intensifies dining the Ubaid. Even though such developments are observable in the
Ubaid data coming from the different parts of Mesopotamia, the Ubaid material
In a very general sense, the characteristics of the Ubaid are the reflections of the long
term adaptation processes, and the human experiences during these processes must
centuries: the first state societies. Therefore, answering the processual questions about
why and how the changes occurred in North Mesopotamia throughout the fifth
millennium B.C. and which aspects of the Ubaid way of life contributed to the
emergence of a state society should be one of the major undertakings to focus on in the
The rich dataset coming from the salvage excavations at Degirmentepe emphasizes the
importance of this site and promotes answers to these questions from the Anatolian
good preservation of the building remains and the wide horizontal exposures makes the
study of the architecture from this site particularly rewarding. Analysis of these
building remains will offer a better understanding of the Ubaid phenomenon to the
north, and add critical information for characterizing societies, Ubaid or otherwise.
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This chapter presents the theoretical and methodological background of architectural
analyses in archaeology to provide a basis for the approach used for the current
research. Thus, the effort is made to achieve a sound scientific and systematic
regarding the topography and geography of the region, as well as the stratigraphy and
the absolute dates of the site. The data from the architecture will be deliberately
omitted in this chapter since the following chapter addresses it in detail. A brief history
of the excavation and the recovered material culture other than architecture is given in
Appendix I.
Accordingly, the third chapter will describe the architectural remains of the site with
every detail recovered during the excavations. The buildings will be the major
description units followed by the incomplete building plans and room clusters. The full
from which a functional analysis will emerge. Therefore, the focus of Chapter IV will
be a spatial analysis, emphasizing how these buildings were used, where the activity
areas were, and how an individual could have moved within and around the settlement.
Based on the data, the roof types, population, and household types will also be
discussed.
Chapter five summarizes the conclusions made in Chapters three and four, emphasizing
the social organizational aspects of the site. Based on these conclusions, a brief
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discussion concerning group identity and the place of Degirmentepe within the other
As a result, the ultimate goal of this study is twofold. The first objective is to carry out
an architectural analysis using the available data and tackle the questions in
understanding the building functions and use of space at the site. The second objective
is to introduce an Ubaid site from the East Anatolian highlands and place it into the
Ubaid world on the basis of its architecture. In addition, demonstrating the temporal
and spatial processes that occurred during the Ubaid period may present clues that led
the society towards the first clear emergence of social complexity in the following
material culture and human social behavior as the products of humans adaptation to
their environment, then the built environment is one of the key material culture types to
medium between humans and the environment. For the inhabitants, the architecture is
also inbred with meaningful spatial arrangements, defining and regulating their
research, whether in poor or good condition, they become a useful tool to understand
humans spatial adaptations to their environment and the meaning given to these
spaces.
4'
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The simple need for protection from the extremities of nature is the driving force
behind architectural endeavors. The vulnerable structure of the human body within
Thus, out of this essential need, human beings have been reorganizing natural space to
create new and secure places to improve their chances of survival. As this use of
architecture for protection continued over the millennia, humans have embedded
cultural aspects of their life into the formats of defined spaces (Rapoport 1969; 1976;
1982). As the result, structures are the spatial organization of culture, reflecting social
adjustment and enabling inhabitants to cope with both physical and cultural concerns
(Willey 1956; Rapoport 1986; 1990). Structures participate in human survival and
organization.
their impacts on culture. Settlements, portraying the long-term occupation areas where
the regular tasks of daily life occur, constitute one of the units of analysis in it. In this
sense, architecture is entwined with the other material types, all of which together
comprise the settlement. Scholars in the sixties and seventies outlined the general
archaeology. The concern was to provide a basis for how the aspects of the human life
could be understood within any given unit of space. Theoretically, the issues in
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best possible sampling strategy. Despite the emphasis on extensive geographic regions,
the methods of studying smaller scales of research units were also debated (Trigger
1967; 1968; Struever 1969). Trigger, on the basis of such research questions, had
In refining these levels, Struever identified and implemented additional units of spatial
analyses to these schemes. For example, he proposed the activity area as the
smallest research unit in which a locus for certain activities and even a feature may
have been included. He also implemented the Mesoamerican term barrio that refers
social, economic, and political rules. He also added that the organization of a
developed various useful case studies (Flannery 1976a). These studies focused on
different levels of spatial units to define spatial arrangements and identify the causes
for these arrangements in settlements and regions. In the mean time, Clarke suggested
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other terms implying similar levels of approach to spatial arrangements: micro, semi
micro, and macro level analyses (1977). As the result, Clarkes terminology, referring
Activity area
(including features such as hearth,
storage pit)
I Micro-level Household level
House floors and distinct male and
female areas
House
Courtyard groups
Semi-micro level Intra-site level
n Barrio (neighborhoods)
Fig.1.1: Levels o f analyzing space in settlement archaeology. According to this scheme, the
architectural analysis o f Degirmentepe falls into categories I and II.
Despite some exceptions (such as Flannery 1976b; 1976c; Winter 1976; Flannery and
Winter 1976), most of the research focused on regions, investigating the interrelations
of sites within the same geographical system, site catchment and subsistence strategies,
and the viability of theory and methodology applied by the researcher. The aims were
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possible exploitation strategies. While doing this, the other concern was the
excavations: the best surveying techniques and ideal sampling methods within the size
approach to the architectural organizations of spaces within a site. The household and
Degirmentepe.
The built environment arranges and defines space. This organization comes into being
with the use of raw materials available in nature. Since people have numerous choices
of materials, the form of architecture may vary greatly. The spatial meanings coming
from cultural complexities are also a factor in architecture, and both the meanings and
form can differ easily from one group to another. People simply choose differently from
the available options. The result is the representation of vast numbers of differing
meanings given to these arrangements in each of these localities. Then, the task for an
analysis of any built environment must be to seek the meanings given to space by the
user and to separate them from the influences of the natural environment.
relationships from numerous culture groups around the world by showing how the
meanings and the function vary in the organization of space. According to his research,
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the surrounding environmental conditions in specific cultural locales determine the
have an effect on choice of the location for a structure and its form. However, he also
recognizes the importance of environmental influences on the images and ideals in the
minds of the builders and users who, in fact, give values and meanings to a built space
(1982). He asserts that, first, the environment plays an active role in creating the
images and ideals in the mindsets, and later, those mindsets applied to the meaningful
influencing the spatial organization, and the meaning and function are the results of the
designers interaction with the environment. Thus, the natural environment becomes a
fundamental factor having an impact on the built environment. Despite this, the images
and ideals of people and human knowledge have influence over the environment,
cut trees or bum brush to create open spaces for agriculture or build water channels to
irrigate the fields. These are deliberate modifications that people make to their
surroundings.
Apart from environment, there are three other qualities that participate in complex
ways in making space meaningful and functional. One of these qualities is the human
experience. The human experience derives from long-term interactions with the other
groups and environment. Human beings take active roles while experiencing the
events; they are not necessarily passive observers. Throughout these events, people
evaluate what is good, bad, useful, and what is an essential need. The knowledge
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emerging from such decisions is transferred one to another in the group over the course
of series consecutive generations. Based on the needs and the events experienced,
human knowledge evolves into the sets of accepted rules and beliefs of the group,
which may be either utilitarian or symbolic in nature but represent cultural adaptations.
space takes its form in accordance with the rules and beliefs, and the meaning and
function of a space face with constant changes as the knowledge of people develops. In
The second quality that signifies the meaning and the function of a space is the
implementation of symbols. The concepts from the desired, ideal world are deliberately
applied to the organization of space and influence it in significant ways. In other words,
consciously or unconsciously, symbolic values inevitably blend into the other qualities
resonance. It may be seen as a tool organizing the communication among the qualities
given above and transmitting the changes occurring in those qualities. Through time, the
meaningfully functioning space sends feedback to the ideals and beliefs indicating how
well the degree of usefulness of space meets with the needs. Such information reaches to
all factors participating in the functionality of the space. Based on the information from
instructions and may be modified to posess new attributes. According to this imaginary
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interaction mechanism, resonance becomes the last quality, a transmitter of messages
displaying a dynamic interrelatedness between the qualities, and the meaning and
function of space. Therefore, the environment, human experience, symbolic values, and
resonance take active roles in forming the meaning and function of a given space (fig.
1.2). However, the exact nature of interactions among these factors is a rather complex
issue; understanding these complex processes is the agenda for studying spatial
organizations.
Uti
Environment ^ Human Knowledge
A
Uti
Symbols -4 - Needs
Uti
Uti
Sym
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B.2.c- Interrelated factors in understanding spatial organizations:
With this in mind, the definition of space can be determined by two kinds of
which are solid and countable. These attributes are the use of raw materials,
dimensions of the space, and the distinct geometric form that qualifies the entities
However, this method alone is not enough to understand the society and should be
correlated with a second kind of measurement. These are qualitative meanings of any
given place. As Kent (1984; 1987) asserts, meanings can only be determined by
observing the correlations between the material and the social complexity of human
actions, during which the materials are produced, used, and become the end products.
Only through the search for meaning, either quantitatively or qualitatively, can the
unique identity of a spatial arrangement be envisaged. Fletcher (1995) argues for such
settlement growth. He sees the major role of architecture as restrictive, and within
behaviors. In addition, he states that human action generates the material component
of our social lives or that, in the short term, the material acts as a recursive aid to active
social life ,... (Fletcher 1995: xix). In other words, embedded verbal meanings in
material culture reflect the social action of humans, and architecture is loaded with
and social life. A built house does not only represent spatial restrictions by its walls, but
also through embedded meanings from social life and the capability of humans to cope
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with the limitations given by the environment. Similarly, Rapoport borrows a
relations (1982). Convincingly, he states that structures are images that act as
meanings in any given built environment (Rapoport 1976; 1982 see especially Ch. 1-2).
Then the visible differences in architecture represent the differences in the ideals and
meanings of the builders. As a result, there must be traceable and explainable links
between human action and material culture (Fletcher 1995; Rapoport 1986; 1990),
although determining the correlations between human social actions and the
architectural remains is not straightforward since the thoughts of the builders and users
are unknown to the archaeologist. Yet, the archaeologist may find some links to
provide answers regarding the purposes of specific spaces, their functions, and how
their use may have changed over time. These answers can lead to a better
understanding of the social, political, and economic concerns of the society. Therefore,
the task for archaeologist should be to define architecture not only by its solid,
measurable components, but also through its qualities and meaning. The available
plans of the architecture should act as a blueprint speaking for the added cultural
In order to look for the meaning of space and the role of spatial organizations in
culture, one must consider the methods available for studying the meanings of the built
environment. At the household and intra site levels, which are the levels of interest in
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this study, there are few approaches: the traditional approach and functional analysis.
The former is useful but remains rather descriptive, while the latter analysis builds
upon the former. Because functional analysis is systematic, it not only can confirm or
refute the viability of the traditional-descriptive method, but it also may go beyond that
The usual route of inquiry for an archaeologist in understanding space use is the
during the fieldwork. These attributes are the measurable dimensions and qualities of
the material that are visible in a trench. The compilation of these attributes leads to a
description of the unique nature of the space. Through this process, similarities among
attributes may be identified and their clusters begin to emerge. The description of those
attributes and their clusters may be used to define the types and classes of the built
environment. This processed data may eventually be used to draw generalized, not in
depth conclusions in the research usually limited to a narrative about the construction
However, this task alone, without a theoretical basis, cannot provide an explanation
concerning the cultural process, the spatial arrangements made, and the meanings
material evidence, overlooking the meaning of types and their clusters is a dead end
that will not produce conclusions that significantly improve our knowledge of the past.
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Therefore, if humans are pattern makers through their behavior and social organization
that are manifested in their material culture, then archaeology should seek these
patterns with legitimate methods and theory (Kent 1987). Descriptions of measurable
attributes alone and their classified groupings are insufficient and do not provide a
well-founded explanation.
carried out and a functional analysis must follow it. Since the traditional method is the
description of the physical features of the material culture, it prepares the foundations
by giving a character to the sites spatial order. Only after this description is complete,
can the functional analysis, which involves the search for activity areas, be initiated.
The functional analysis is at the core of the study of spatial arrangements and it is the
identification of the activity areas within the settlement. The search for the activity
areas relies on the 3-dimensional mapping of the artifact distributions and non-mobile
furnishings to reveal patterns of distinct areas used by the inhabitants. The additional
data gathered by two other studies, access analysis and micro-morphology, increases
the understanding of how a given space was used and what it meant to its users. For
that reason, these sub-fields have to be included in the research as applicable tools for
both household and intra-site level analysis. Apart from these two, the most critical
input comes from ethnographic analogies, which often serve as the most powerful tool
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C.2.a- Access routes:
Access analysis indicates the movements of people within the buildings and around the
site. What become visible in this analysis is the entrances into houses and to the site,
common meeting spots, the streets, and most importantly, the circulation movements
set within the architecture (Jansen 1985; Roaf 1989; Byrd 1994; 2000). Thus, access
analysis reveals both constricted and regulated movements in the spatial order and the
Degirmentepe prevents such an experiment because the site has an agglutinant layout
with no streets. Considering the circulation inside the buildings, there seem to have
patterns but they do not yield any significant insights as what they meant to the users.
architectural contexts are analyzed through a microscopic thin section in order to see
the depositional processes and activities within rooms. The results may lead to an
understanding of what materials were used in building constructions and how the rooms
were used in the past. Thus, the microscopic sampling from the floors and walls within
the structures may significantly contribute to the reconstruction of the built environment
and the understanding of the human activities therein. Similarly, Matthews et. al. assert
that micro-morphology offers useful insights in the study of the intended and actual
uses of space by examination of the types of floors or surfaces... (1997). They provide
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a few case studies conducted in the Near East to illustrate what this analysis entails in
regarding how the built environment was used in its original state. Based on her
distinguishing activity areas and different uses of space by examining the variability of
the floors, for example between roofed and unroofed areas. Likewise, a recent
ethnographic work in Rajastan, India concerned with the social causes related to the
process of re-plastering the interiors of rooms (Boivin 2000), which duplicated the
Comparisons of the results of the two studies suggested some possible social aspects
involved during the re-plastering made inside the rooms of atalhoyuk. Hence, micro-
help in the interpretation of household remains: the ways the smallest units of space
were built, used, and maintained. Unfortunately, this method must be deliberately
until the 1980s and were unknown to Anatolian archaeology until the mid 1990s.
Otherwise, this method would have provided interesting insights for space use.
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C.2.c- Aid from ethno-archaeological analogy:
Since its inception at the beginning of the twentieth century, providing the most critical
input in reaching reliable explanations in archaeology and limiting the biases of the
from its theoretical basis and its practice, has been extensively discussed in the
literature (Kent 1987; Kramer 1979a; 1979b; Watson 1979a; 1979b; for the most recent
overview see David and Kramer 2001). The use of analogies from ethnographic
research is the most important way of shedding light on activity areas and the use of
observations in contemporary settings about how the human events emerge, the
conditions of the material patterning before, during, or after those events, and the
human behavioral correlates that cause those occurrences of material patterns. The
ultimate aim is to establish such correlates as the datasets of the organic and dynamic
interrelationships between the events, material patterns, and human behavior in those
remains and contexts from the past, so that the development of a testable hypothesis of
what may have happened would be feasible (see the model of interrelationships in
Kent 1984 fig.l; 1987). If a correlation between the contemporary materials and the
observed events producing them can be established, then the similar correlation may be
material remains and their contexts are similar or identical to the ethnographic case
(Watson 1979a; also see Hill 1968 as a good case study). Thus, ethno-archaeological
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analogies can greatly assist in the functional analysis of archaeological material by
providing explanations derived from empirical data. In the cases of spatial organization
As the focus of research, ethno-archaeological studies from the Near East since the
1960s were developing ethnographic correlates for archaeological inquiry and delving
build hypotheses about the cultural dynamics of early farming villages in the Near East.
She not only reported the events, the actors, and the materials used in the events she
observed, but also various correlates about the cultural aspects of village life evolving
around these events, such as the agriculture, animal husbandry, economy, architecture,
textile production, use of tools, kinship relations and household type, religious beliefs
and practices, and so on. Furthermore, she compares these observations with
archaeological data to make inferences about the social organizational aspects of the
prehistoric village societies. Similarly, Kramer (1979a; 1982) also searched for cultural
correlates that shaped the society in modem Iranian village life, which resulted in
material traits. Among these studies, the use of material culture, their pattern of spatial
distribution, the use of space, household types, and domestic architecture were also the
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On the other hand, the application of ethnographic observations to the studies of
archaeological spatial organization is rare, except for the two recent studies from Tell
Madhur and Tell Sabi Abyad that used ethnographic analogy to address questions of
the function of space (Roaf 1989; Verhoeven 1999). Based on ethnography, these
studies assigned function to the artifact types, and analyzed their distribution and
clusters within the built environment, so that the possible past uses of distinct
architectural spaces became clear. Thus, a search for the use of artifacts and activity
Based on what has been discussed so far, the study of Degirmentepe is limited to the
traditional descriptive and the functional analysis methods at best. On the other hand,
assessments of tool functions from various ethnographic analogies will be adopted here
as the guiding reference in assigning function to the artifacts found at the site
It may be found that the Degirmentepe data has shortcomings caused by the lack of
detailed studies of the material remains (Appendix I). Verhoeven convincingly argues
that, if a functional analysis will be carried out on an excavated site, the detailed
analyses of material remains from that site should be completed first, because the most
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reliable answers to how artifacts were used in contexts and how a space functioned
could come from the results of these analyses (1999). For example, a lack of analysis
of animal bones will result in the lack of knowledge about practices of animal
husbandry, and the significance of such practices in diet and economy. What also
cannot be understood is the identification of species, the locations where animals were
kept, and where they were killed, processed and consumed. Unfortunately, this issue is
a valid concern for the material remains of Degirmentepe and the lack of information
from such analyses prevents us from fully understanding the contextual data as well as
Even though Verhoevens convincing argument about the necessity of studying each
material group is well taken and such studies are lacking for Degirmentepe, the
architecture of this site still deserves as precise attention as possible. The almost
2500m2 horizontal exposure, filled with a dense layout of rooms and buildings,
to the extent possible. To leave this sites architecture and the possible meanings of its
Following the detailed description of architectural remains in Chapter III (for the order
of these descriptions, see the beginning of Chapter III), a functional analysis will be
carried out, during which the artifacts from primary deposits will be placed in their find
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As a result of the analysis, it should be possible to estimate the household type and
size, from which the form for the society may be extrapolated, leading to an
explanation how the settlement functioned during its lifespan. This analysis will also be
useful in placing the site among its contemporaries in the region. It is further hoped that
this study hopefully will shed light on broader questions: How did the site organize
socially? Where were the private areas and public areas? Who were the inhabitants?
Were they really Ubaid people who were intrusive into the Malatya region, or locals
who had adopted southern traditions? Could the site be called an Ubaid colony? Does it
make sense to see the site as a precursor of the later social changes and expansion
processes evident in the Late Uruk? How do we define the time of Degirmentepe in the
context of the Malatya region? The architecture from Degirmentepe may help provide
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Chapter II: Background Setting
The name Ubaid derives from the material remains first recovered at the site called Al-
Ubaid near Ur in Southern Mesopotamia (Hall and Woolley 1927). However, the
recognition of the Ubaid cultural horizon with its significant material culture had to wait
for the excavations carried out at Hajji Mohammad, Ur, and Eridu (Ziegler 1953;
Woolley 1955; Safar, Mustafa and Lloyd 1981). The recovery of long uninterrupted
Ubaid sequence of Eridu inspired the idea that the South Mesopotamia was the
heartland for the Ubaid. The rich painted pottery assemblages, usually represented with
dark brown or black painted decorations made on a greenish or light color paste, and
the distinct tripartite architectural plans became the hallmarks of the period. In the
meantime, the tripartite building plan of the Ubaid was assumed to be the earliest
of such architecture comes from the temple sounding at Eridu, a type-site for the
Ubaid material culture (Safar, et. al. 1981). The architectural sequence of the site
showed a gradual development from a simple, square shaped mud brick room to a
Despite the seemingly clear progression of architectural forms, the recent analysis of
the sequence of temple architecture development at Eridu has led to some conflicting
scholarly reactions. For example, Akkermans recently expressed opposition to the idea
of the emergence of the temple from a single room at the early layers of Eridu (1989).
He noted that there were breaks in the lower layers of the temple sequence, and for
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him, the real temple architecture does not appear until level XI. Given the fact that the
excavations at Eridu took place before the 1950s, probably with faster and less
systematic recording, there may have been breaks in the sequence that might have
been missed during the excavations. Therefore, his argument requires attention, and
the temple sequence between the levels XVII-XII at Eridu requires re-evaluation.
Joan Oates, focusing on the developments and changes in pottery forms and painted
designs available from the early excavations, established a system of four division
- Ubaid 3,
-Ubaid 4.
Today, these phases are widely in use and French scholars have made a new addition
to this scheme. New data, coming from the Tell el-Queili excavations, showed that
there was an earlier phase for the Ubaid period named the Queili phase or Ubaid 0
by the excavators (Huot 1989; Forest 1991; Forest and Vallet et. al. 1996).
In addition to those known from early excavations, more Ubaid sites were discovered
with the surveys carried out (Adams 1972). Wrights (1981) 1965-66 surveys, focusing
on the area around Eridu to determine settlement systems during the Ubaid period,
yielded new data. His studies confirmed that there were apparently more Ubaid sites,
but with much smaller occupations. He also suggested a gradual growth in settlement
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size through time. Accordingly, he postulated that the earliest phase, the Eridu phase, is
problematic and the sites belonging to this date were probably buried under later
added that the earliest town size settlements would have occurred as early as the Hajji
Mohammad or the Ubaid 3 phases and that the socio-political conditions during these
times were probably giving rise to the development of two-level settlement hierarchy,
which became evident in the following Ubaid 4 phase. He suggested two territories
dotted with small settlements, with Eridu and Ur representing the town centers for each
of these enclaves, where the manifestation of the power of the central authority may
have been evident. As a result, these surveys in the south combined with the early
excavations were not only concerned with the existence of the Ubaid, but also
identifying the foundations for urbanization before it became apparent in the Late
Uruk.
In Central Mesopotamia, the brief excavations at Tell Uqair and Ras al-Amiya (Lloyd
and Safar 1945; Stronach 1961) indicated Ubaid expansion towards the north in the
Ubaid 2-3 period. The excavations at Tepe Gawra, Niniveh, and Tell Arpaciyah
(Tobler 1950; Thompson and Mallowan 1933; Mallowan and Rose 1935) confirmed
that the expansion went even farther during the Late Ubaid. The contexts from
Arpaciyah provided good data from the graves, but, unfortunately, the data from
Niniveh is more problematic, since the Ubaid layers were buried at the bottom of the
massive later cultural deposits causing poorer documentation. Although the excavation
of Tepe Gawra had procedural problems, the recent re-evaluations of that site
(Rothman 1988; 2002) and recovery of temples in Ubaid levels, especially the
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Northern Temple in Level XIII (Tobler 1950), established the importance of this site
for Ubaid research in North Mesopotamia today. As a result, Tepe Gawra, with its long
stratigraphic sequence and rich material remains, now stands as a type-site for the
The Ubaid expansion beyond the Mesopotamian lands is also evident in the Gulf and
Saudi Arabia. Research on the shores of the Gulf region encountered no architecture,
but found distributions of Ubaid 4 pottery stretching to the sites in Oman, Bahrain, and
even to the sites of Saudi Arabian coastline (Friefelt 1989; Oates 1976; Roaf 1974;
1976). Based on limited data, Oates (1983) proposed that the exploitation of marine
resources might have been the prime factor allowing contemporary local coastal groups
to interact with Ubaid pottery users in South Mesopotamia. In short, for her, finding the
Ubaid pottery in these areas may be explained as the result of some kind of exchange
mechanism, which introduced Ubaid pottery users to the coastal groups. Her suggestion
sounds plausible, but it has not been tested systematically and there has not been any
However, inland surveys from the Arabian Peninsula reported more Ubaid pottery
located near the rocky outcrops, suggesting the possible exploitation of rock within a
recovered together with other painted pottery groups, but the nature of the supposed
interactions with the locals in the Zagros hilltops remains unknown (Henrickson 1989).
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To summarize, the early Ubaid, during the Eridu and Hajji Mohammad phases, seems
to be manifested as a local phenomenon occurring only in the marshy region of the Gulf
in South Mesopotamia and in western Iran. In the Late Ubaid, however, we witness an
expansion into vast areas of the Near East. This expansion in North Mesopotamia is
explained as a result of an acculturation process. It has been argued that the local
traditions were replaced with incoming traits, which were technologically superior (e.g.
the brick mould, or irrigation agriculture), adopted from the heartland during this
The investigations carried out as a series of salvage excavations in the Hamrin region
in Central Iraq assisted in understanding the nature of the Ubaid expansion and the
formation of social organization in these local areas. Among the sixteen Ubaid dated
sites recorded in the region, the excavations at Tell Songor, Kheit Qasim, Tell Abada,
and Tell Madhur revealed Ubaid 2-3 and Ubaid 4 phases. These sites now represent
the period more clearly not only with pottery but also with architecture and other
artifacts (Jasim 1985; Jasim 1989; Roaf 1989; Fujji 1981; Forest-Foucault 1980).
Furthermore, some identifiers of an elite group were evident in the material culture of
the Ubaid 2-3 occupations at Tell Abade, while the other sites lacked such indicators
(Jasim 1985).
The step trench at Tell Hammam et-Turkman in the Balikh valley of Northwestern
Syria and the studies in the North Jazira showed that, by the time of Ubaid 4, cultural
Mesopotamia. Based on the Late Ubaid pottery analysis from the very thick layer IV of
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Hammam et-Turkman, Akkermans (1988c) argues that there is a distinction between
the pottery of Northern Iraq and that of northeastern Syria. He claims that, if North
Mesopotamia is a periphery and the South is the core region, then the North should be
seen as composed of different local regions using Ubaid traits. Citing the predominance
of the local unpainted Ubaid bowls in comparison to the painted Ubaid bowls,
Akkermans asserts that the limited number of painted bowls from Hammam et-
Turkman represent display items of the elite and may have been brought in, while the
plain pottery was only for daily use. Since he does not see this pattern in Northern Iraq
and eastern Syria, he separates Northeastern Syria from these regions. From the
preponderance of painted Ubaid pottery in the Khabur and Iraqi Jazira, he concludes
that true Late Ubaid traits might have penetrated into the Balikh area where the local
societies adopted and imitated these traits on a limited scale. According to these
during the Late Ubaid. Based on wealth, the small group of elites or high ranking
families probably co-existed with the larger group of commoners in the community.
Since Akkermans assertions were based on pottery only, the nature of wealth as well
as the nature of the interactions among the different social groups is difficult to
envision. Based on the results of his surveys and brief excavations in Iraqi Jazira,
Wilkinson and Tuckerl995). His surveys show that there were three settlement types
apparent during the Ubaid period. One type is illustrated by the large regional center
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Tell al-Hawa, which seems to have dominated the plain with its 15 ha area, and the
other type is represented by the smaller contemporary sites scattered around it, ranging
from 0.5 to 3 ha. Khirbet al-Akhwayn was the only one holding the middle of the
hierarchy with its ca. 5-6 ha area. In addition, excavations at one of the small satellite
sites, called Kanijdal East, led to the recovery of rather less substantial architectural
evidence (Wilkinson, Monahan and Tucker 1996), implying that such small sites
probably had less economic power and less political importance compared to the large
sites.
In conclusion, it is evident that the early periods of the Ubaid in South Mesopotamia
may represent the core region, but by the time of Ubaid 4, or Late/Terminal Ubaid used
to indicate North Mesopotamia, the traits of Ubaid expand into the whole of
Mesopotamia and the adjacent regions. What is unknown is the nature of the expansion
process. Did the expansion result from the processes of population shifts, or was it an
outcome of the diffusion of material culture via import or imitation of some cultural
traits? It is clear that the Ubaid displays the earliest crystallization of social and
political inequality among human groups in this part of the world, sometime between
the sixth and the fourth millennium. Furthermore, it has been stated that today the
Ubaid does not seem to represent a single, monolithic cultural and organizational
entity, but rather consisted of many locally unique variations on a general Ubaid
-especially at Tell Abade and Tell Madhur, in Northern Syria, in Iraqi Jazira and the
reevaluation of Tepe Gawra now provides more than mere recognition of the Ubaid
and its expansion. Instead, systematically conducted wide horizontal exposures, such as
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the recent projects conducted at Tell Ziyadeh (Arzt 2001), Tell al-Abr (Hammade and
Koike 1993; Hammade and Yamazaki 1995), Tell Kosak Shamali (Matsutani and
Nishiaki 1995; Nishiaki et. al. 1999), and Tell Kashkashok (Matsutani 1991), are
imply the influences it had on the following urbanization processes. Under these
Our knowledge of the Ubaid in Turkey comes from various sites, but because of the
limited nature of the horizontal exposures and soundings, the data is also very limited.
The early excavations, such as Phases D and E at Tell Kurdu in the Amuq plain or at
remains (Braidwood 1960; Goldman 1956). Mersin-Yumiiktepe level XVI, on the other
wall. A building next to this defense wall and barracks was probably a tripartite
building, but was only partially exposed. Pottery of this level was called Ubaid-like
pottery because it was not true Ubaid ware and was represented by a much less
quantity than the other wares (Garstang 1953). The unusual representation of
architecture and the lack of true Ubaid pottery along with the presence of other ware
groups indicate a society other than the typical Mesopotamian. Perhaps, Mersin XVI
represents a cultural boundary for the northeast extension of the Ubaid. The new
research has continued to shed more light on the characteristics of the material culture,
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the use of the landscape, and the cultural boundaries between the Ubaid and these local
Further east, there are additional sites with Ubaid pottery. In the Sakgagozii plain, the
Ubaid is represented at four sites: Coba Hoytik level IV, the Cave site, Tilmen Hoyiik,
and Gedikli-Karahoyiik (du Plat Taylor et. al. 1950; Waechter et. al. 1951; Alkim 1962;
Alkim 1979; Alkim and Alkim 1966). Of these sites, only Coba Hoyiik revealed any
architecture, which consisted of a few wattle-and-daub walls, plastered floors, and the
pits encircled with stones. The pottery included flint-scraped Coba ware and painted
Ubaid. Given the evidence, there seems to be a temporal change from the use of Coba
ware to Ubaid painted ware at this site. The Cave site was found in the same area at
one of the rocky outcrops and the soundings were made only at the opening of the cave.
Here, pottery was predominantly Ubaid painted. It was reported that at the other
nearby sites in the area, Tilmen Hoyiik and Gedikli, the soundings also yielded Ubaid-
like painted pottery. Just north of Saksagozii, interim pottery studies from recent
surveys in the Mara Plain yielded Ubaid pottery at seven small multi-period mounds
(Carter 1996; Eissenstat 2004), and further expansion to the NW is evident with Ubaid
In Gaziantep province, Oylum Hoyiik has recently begun giving data about the Ubaid
period, but the pottery has come from eroded deposits with badly damaged architecture
(Ozgen and Helwing 2003). The Adiyaman and Urfa areas had much intense Ubaid
sites. Surveys in the Adiyaman province yielded some Ubaid sites with Coba ware
(Blaylock, French and Summers 1990). Towards the north, at the foothills of the Taurus
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mountains, the major site Samsat located on the bank of Euphrates produced more
Ubaid pottery from its thick Ubaid layers (Ozdogan 1977; Mellink 1985). Prag states
that Ubaid Painted pottery was collected together with Halaf pottery at Harran Hoyiik
(Prag 1970). Similarly, unsystematic recent surveys in the Harran plain yielded both
Halaf and Ubaid painted pottery from various representative sites (Yardimci 1991;
1992; 1994).
The series of excavations in the Keban dam area in the mountainous region to the north
of the Taurus yielded Ubaid representations too, but the data from the four sites is
rather limited. According to van Loon, Ubaid pottery began at phase B of Korucutepe
but without any architecture (van Loon 1978). More Ubaid pottery appears at level 15
at the 8-0 deep sounding at Tepecik (Esin 1972). The largest site, Noruntepe in the
Altmova plain, has Ubaid pottery coming from the large sounding J/K 17.
Unfortunately, the bottom levels, 8 and 9, could not be opened more than 2 x 2 m
because of the appearance of underground water; here, only a small amount of Ubaid
pottery together with other ware groups were recovered (Hauptmann 1982, especially
see pi. 35 and 36/7-10). The other representation of the Ubaid comes from Tiilintepe
(Esin 1976). If the sites estimated ca. 16 meters high cultural deposits had not been
layers would have provided more substantial data. It was reported that, in these
circumstances, limited Ubaid material was still found just above the Halaf horizon in
the large Ubaid pit-deposit and its surrounding areas (Ozbaaran 1992).
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Pirot Hoyiik, located on the banks of Euphrates in the Malatya plain near
Degirmentepe, yielded another Ubaid settlement (Karaca 1985). Despite having a very
limited exposure at level XII, painted Ubaid pottery and few wall remains were enough
to confirm the substantial Ubaid occupation at this site. In addition, a recent cut at the
eastern sector slopes of Arslantepe confirms a Halaf and Ubaid presence at this site,
This brief survey presenting the extent of the Ubaid horizon in Turkey clearly shows
that Ubaid traits reached not only the northern fringes of North Mesopotamia, but also
intruded into the East Anatolian highland much further north. However, this much wider
geographical expansion of the Ubaid phenomenon during the fifth millennium leaves us
The geography of East Anatolia differs greatly from the Mesopotamian landscape in
the south. Mesopotamia consists of vast lowlands with less than 200 mm rainfall,
creating very hot and dry climatic conditions. In contrast, East Anatolia is a
mountainous region with a high annual rainfall, allowing much more temperate
conditions. The transitional climatic zone in between these two contrasting landscapes
begins with the low foothills of the Taurus range in Adiyaman and NE of Urfa. This
zone has pockets of narrow valleys giving opportunities with respect to different types
the small plateaus in the mountainous zone (pi. 2 and fig. 2.1).
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The Elazig and Malatya plains consist of flat alluvial soils connected with the Keban
pass and surrounded by high mountains. The Euphrates and its branches cut these
mountains and provide abundant water for the nearby areas while setting the major
communication route between these two plains. Collecting heavy snow at their peaks
each winter, the mountains become impassable for most of the year. Water from the
melting snow and the sudden rains during the spring season run down to the plain via
small rivers and channels below the surface. These sources provide sufficient annual
water for the survival of flora and fauna in the lower elevations. At the end of this
route, the remaining excess water is emptied into the Euphrates to begin its long
southerly journey.
The rugged appearance of the general landscape was created by various natural
factors. The melted snow running down the mountains cuts the riverbeds, bringing down
immense amounts of loose deposits rich with minerals to the plains. This continuous
erosion has created multiple narrow valleys and occasional gorges in the piedmonts
and water-rich fertile flat lands of the plains, providing ideal niches for a wide variety
of animals. In addition to this activity, the tectonic movements over the course of
millions years have been shaping the landscape. The two major plates are the Altinova
and the Avan in the Elazig province. Together with other smaller faults, they are
active faults that have been promoting the formation of mountain ranges and other
geographical features throughout the entire region of East Anatolia (Ardos 1984; Erol
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The Altinova and Avan plains are adjacent to each other within the modem province
of Elazig. It is likely that the city and its nearby districts grew upon these plains
because of the rich water resources and the fertile alluvial soil of the land. The most
significant springs are Munzur ay, alti Su, Karasu, and Murat Suyu that run year
round with high water regimes. These springs converge on the plain and form the
mighty Euphrates above the Keban district in the SW. The large Keban Reservoir,
resulting from the second largest water dam construction in Turkey, now covers the
greater portions of these fertile plains, reaching ca. 700 km2 in area.
The Altinova and Avan plains are about 950 meters above sea level and have an
average temperature of 13 C with ca. 428 mm annual precipitation (pi. 2). Winters are
cold, snowy, and dry contrasting with very hot and dry summers. The snow stays on the
mountains for as long as six to seven months. These plains may have steady,
the smaller valleys and niches at the margins near the mountains (Ardos 1984).
Accordingly, plants and animals in these pocket areas may be different from those
adapted to the large and rather flat plains. Thus, this diversity of species of flora and
fauna would have provided a variety of nearby food resources for the human diet.
The mountains surrounding the Altmova and Avan plains are made of calcareous,
granitic, basaltic, and serpentine rock formations, while the plains themselves consist
mainly of alluvium, sand, and clay with the occasional appearance of some gravel
deposits and a few small rocky outcrops. Studies of the geomorphological strata of the
plains have shown that a large lake covered the region from the Pliocene era, but,
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because of the tectonic activities, the lake gradually emptied its water and shrunk over
the millennia until the emptied areas were filled with sand, gravel, and clay by the time
As mentioned, several streams to the immediate north of Elazig make up the Euphrates
in Avan and Altinova, and as it flows south, more small streams converge to greatly
increase its water regime. The Keban district lies to the immediate south of Elazig.
Here, the Euphrates has cut into the low hills over the millennia, forming a narrow
pass. This Keban pass finishes about 15-16 km west of the Keban district near the
village of Ataf, which is submerged now under the reservoir. After this pass, the
Euphrates enters into the Malatya plain and the riverbed becomes much wider (see fig.
2 . 1 ).
This plain covers an area of roughly 1000km2 on the west bank of the Euphrates
housing the modem city of Malatya located at the southwest comer of this plain. The
other side of the Euphrates, the east bank, has very narrow flat land bordered with the
beginnings of hills further east. The peaks are high enough, most reaching up to 2000m,
to retain snow for a long time in a year, seven to eight months in winter.
Streams and small rivers are more numerous in the Malatya plain than in Elazig to the
north. They are the Keban Su, Aliaga ay, Kurugay, Tohma Suyu, and Komiirhan
Deresi, all of which join the Euphrates and increase its flow of water substantially.
Immediately after entering the Malatya Plain, the river makes wide sweeps until it
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Fig. 2.1: The map of the floodplain in Malaya. The green areas in the center are agricultural
fields that were vulnerable to floods. Today, the Karakaya dam and smaller dams, such
as the one in lower left, harness the snow-melt from the mountains. The many
kilometers long ridged area, just to the north of the fertile plain with its southeasterly
slope towards the Euphrates, was formed by the heavy rain and snow run off reaching
the Euphrates over the millennia (Image: from Landsat-7 taken in 2000 by NASA).
reaches the south end of the Malatya basin. As it descends further south towards the
Komiirhan pass, the landscape changes again with the rocky hill area enclosing the
plain. The Komiirhan pass represents the end of the Taurus Range that extends until the
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Adiyaman and Urfa regions (Ozdogan 1977). Today, the Karakaya reservoir covers
most of the Malatya plain, including Degirmentepe. The site, like many others, is
known from the salvage excavations that continued up until shortly before the site
Similar to Elazig, the Malatya plain represents a semi-arid environment that has low
rainfall (400 mm), but the average temperature is high (ca. 36 C in July) during the
dry months of the summer. Cold and dry winters turn into hot summers and the desert
like dry conditions may predominate in the areas where springs and streams do not
appear (Marcolongo and Palmieri 1983). The climate of the entire plain is not normally
favorable to agriculture and animal life, except at the riverbanks and at the immediate
However, the melting snow from the mountains -notably Beydagi- brings an abundant
water supply for a sufficient agricultural yield in the lower elevations of the plain.
Probably, villagers developed simple and small-scale irrigation techniques before the
construction of the dam to control the water regimes and supply enough water for
agricultural fields near the springs. Unfortunately, no data is available regarding how
the water was harnessed and used before the water dams were built. Even if there is a
water shortage from the Euphrates or from low annual rainfall, excess water from
melting snow can still feed the plain substantially and contribute to the regime of
Euphrates (Marcolongo and Palmieri 1983). As a result, the southern part of the
Malatya plain resembles an oasis with plenty of melted water via underground springs
and small rivers, especially in the city of Malatya and around the nearby site of
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Arslantepe. Nevertheless, these resources occasionally create excessive water beyond
A geological study of the morphology of the Malatya plain also showed the role of
springs rich with water (Marcolongo and Palmieri 1983). The slopes of the mountains
are made of conglomerated calcareous sediments, limestone, fissured gravel and sand
formations, and basaltic rocky outcrops left from volcanic activities. Such rock
sediments allow the melting water to run below ground. Water seeps through the
ground and travels all the way down to the plain without any loss. At the skirts,
limestone, conglomerate forms, and calcareous rock formations pool the large amount
of leaking water and release it again from many openings. Thus, the Arslantepe and
Eski Malatya (Old Malatya) areas of the plain have numerous springs today feeding
the plain all the way down to the Euphrates, creating a lush, green environment
supporting many plants and animals. These fertile locations would have offered ideal
green areas with abundant natural resources for the inhabitants in antiquity (fig. 2.1;
During the rescue excavations carried out in Malatya before the construction of the
Karababa dam, some sites had natural cuts made by the river that showed the distinct
39
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Kodioturan
Mevki
Yarim
Degirm en
moglu h. K oskerbaba
Ku,u?agi
a n tep e
MALATYA
LEGEND
belt of high soil moisture content in
alluvial plain often with terraces
Fig. 2.2: Hydro-geological drawing o f Malatya and the location o f some sites on the riverbank
(from Marcolongo and Palmieri 1983).
The locals of Eski Malatya today also know the risk of flood well. Tohma Suyu always
has sufficient water flow all year around and floods occasionally, triggered by the
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sudden, heavy rainfall season in the spring. Even without abnormal snowfall from the
winter months, sudden, heavy rains during the spring create consistent and inevitable
floods, giving the plain a very shallow, swampy lake appearance for three to seven
days. This certainly inflicted substantial damage to agriculture up until the last decades
(communication with locals) (figs. 2.1 and 2.2). Since there were no substantial
tectonic and climatic changes recorded in the Chalcolithic, the conditions in the region
may have looked similar to those of today. Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine that
different levels of flooding may have occurred repeatedly in the past too. A few of
these floods may have been much more drastic than the others, if the snow from the
preceding winter was very heavy and the following spring season brought in very
heavy rains to the region. In addition, the scale of such heavy snow and rainfall
conditions can extend to Elazig to the north, causing a much higher water regime for
the Euphrates before it enters into the Malatya plain. Certainly, such disadvantageous
factors came together at least once as evidenced by the sediments of the sites just
mentioned above. Since the process of flooding in this area has not been explored
extensively, the questions about how the water level increased, how suddenly the
floods took place, or how many times it occurred in the past still remain unanswered.
Despite the fact that the Elazig and Malatya plains are surrounded by high mountains,
communication among the human groups in these regions as well as the other nearby
regions was well established in antiquity. According to the ancient history of East
Anatolia, there were common roads within the two plains connecting one settlement
with another (see Mitchell 1980: fig.3). Two geographic conditions, namely the river
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courses and the mountain passes, set the limits for the inter-regional communication
routes.
The river courses of the Euphrates as well as its branches establish the natural routes. It
appears that the southerly water flow of the river provided one means of transportation;
boats made with floating air-filled animal skin bags have been traveling this route until
recent decades. In addition, it has been documented that between the 1850s and
1960s, rope bridges were in use at convenient spots to cross the river (Wagstaff 1973;
McNicoll 1973). Furthermore, the riverbanks must have been the most common natural
land routes, allowing one to travel through the mountainous passes and gorges.
Following the routes of the Murat Suyu and Karasu, it is possible to travel to the Black
Sea Mountains and Pontic region to the north, or to the Araxes River to the northeast.
Similarly, once reaching the Ergani pass after Hazar Lake to the east, one can continue
on the banks of Tigris River and its branches to Diyabakir and Batman and then to the
Mosul area further southeast. Most importantly, the widespread flatlands of North
Mesopotamia could be reached following the Euphrates via Komiirhan pass and then
Mountains, on the other hand, can provide passage only during the summer. The heavy
snow on the mountain peaks for six to eight months during the winter creates
impassable conditions. Only when the warm temperature settles in during the mid
spring to the end of fall do these high elevations permit travel and access to more
resources for subsistence. Therefore, the landscape and the seasonal climatic conditions
set the rules for travel from one region to another. For example, once the mountain
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range to the west of Malatya is passed, it is possible to reach Mara, or even Kayseri,
and then continue on to Central Anatolia via the route of the Elbistan and Afin plains
(seepl.l).
sources. If water was really one of the prime factors in antiquity determining the
location of a site, then the mapping of the inland settlement patterns should also
indicate sparser distributions. Equally important, the sites at the mountain slopes near
the springs were probably sparser and presumably had a different socio-economic
character than the ones near the river. In this environmentally deterministic view, it is
possible to imagine that there were a few more sites in the nature-favored niches in the
foothills, which controlled the natural resources or the communication routes between
the plains. Such settlement patterns would have allowed opportunities for establishing
trade or socio-economical bartering rules for certain goods among the communicating
groups.
In these circumstances, the combination of the natural factors in the region and the
available technological abilities of people coping with these factors must have
determined the nature, the frequency, and the importance of communication routes as
the relationships among the past communities. Given the fact that Degirmentepe was
located on the center of a major route, on the west bank of the Euphrates, the
inhabitants of the site must have had constant interactions with other sites and regions
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II.C- Chronology, 14C dates, and Stratigraphy of the site:
Degirmentepe is a multi-period mound, but only the Iron Age and Chalcolithic periods
yielded substantial architecture. Small finds and pottery dating to the l sl millennium
AD, 1st and 2nd millennium BC, as well as the EBAI / Karaz cultures were found in the
mixed contexts of the top layers of the trenches. At the east side of the mound, there
was a round shaped, massive stone building constructed during the Iron Age. Esin
suggested that the Iron Age settlers might have been responsible for the lack of
architecture on the mound dating to the Bronze Ages. These Iron Age settlers probably
rearranged the living surface of the mound to build their dwellings, along with the
outpost that badly disturbed the early layers. In addition, the Iron Age necropolis and
the giant ca. 2 to 4 meter wide size pits also demolished the lower levels (Esin 1987;
Esin et. al 1987; 1983). Furthermore, she suggests that the floods of Euphrates
occurring after the Chalcolithic period would have damaged not only the transitional
layers from Chalcolithic to EBA I, but also the EBA occupations themselves (Esin
1984; 1987; 1998). Some activity of the Karaz culture of EBA I definitely took place,
but this culture was only represented with its pottery and a couple of postholes. Without
significant architecture, the Bronze Age layers are unclear in stratigraphy. On the other
hand, the earliest represented material culture remains were from the Ubaid period,
which yielded dense mud-brick architecture and numerous small finds. (Esin 1980;
1981; 1983a; 1983b; 1984; 1985a; Esin and Harmankaya1986; 1987; 1988).
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Degirmentepe seems to have witnessed the most extensive occupation when the use of
Ubaid material culture was spread throughout the settlement. Of the twelve layers
encountered in the 12-13 J step trench at the northern slope of the mound, only layers 7
through 11 dated to the Ubaid period. It has been suggested by the excavator that most
of the Ubaid architecture exposed in other trenches should represent layer 7, although
the corresponding layer numbers were different in each trench. This stratigraphical
order presents confusion for the analysis of the remains. In terms of temporal
another building. In other words, the settlements architectural development during the
Ubaid period is unclear. As a result, the architectural changes that occurred in the
Ubaid settlement remains for this dissertation to untangle. This task is taken up in the
next chapter based on the available data (see Ch. Ill section ELM).
Periods Layers
12-14 J Step 15 J Other Trenches (South o f the
Trench mound)
Iron Age- Medieval (mixed) 1 1 1
Iron Age-Medieval-Late Roman 2 2 2
(mixed)
Iron Age 3 3 3
Iron Age 4 4 4
Iron Age - MBA I - EBA I 5 5 5
(Karaz Ware) - Chalcolithic
Chalcolithic Ubaid 6a 6
Chalcolithic Ubaid 6b 7
Chalcolithic Ubaid 6c 7 1 (not everywhere)
Chalcolithic Ubaid 7a 8 2 (inm ost areas)
Chalcolithic Ubaid 7b 3 (in most areas)
Chalcolithic Ubaid 8 4 (not everywhere)
Chalcolithic - End o f Amuq D 9-11 5 (not everywhere)
Sterile Soil 12 Conglomerated Cobble
Fig. 2.3: Stratigraphy o f Degirmentepe. The top five layers o f the right column indicate later
periods other than the Ubaid, while the second part o f the same column coincides
solely with the Ubaid horizon (compiled from Esin and Harmankaya 1987; 1988).
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The absolute dates of Degirmentepe were obtained with 14C and Thermoluminescence
(TL) techniques, but the analyses of all of the samples have not yet been completed
(Esin 1986b). There were 33 samples taken for 14C dating, but only nine of them have
been dated so far at the laboratory of Middle East Technical University (METU) (Fig.
2.4). The results from these nine samples are inconsistent but the cause of this is
unclear: whether the samples were taken from contaminated contexts, or were not
collected correctly, or whether the dating procedures applied at the lab had problems
Fig. 2 .4 :14C dates from Degirmentepe (half-life: 5568 + 30) (from Esin 1986b; 1989).
Esin warns that since the Iron Age samples 21/1 and 21/2, and the EBA I samples 18
and 26 belong to the same specimen taken from the same location, the dissimilar dates
cast daubt. In addition, the Chalcolithic samples 20 and 22 were both from Room 1, but
these samples also do not have similar dates. Thus, she argues that there is
inconsistency in the 14C dates and that the calibrated dates for the Chalcolithic samples
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are too early for the Ubaid dates. Further, more confusion comes from the TL dating of
the hearth inside room BM to 4492 B.C., a date that does not match well with the 14C
dates. As a result, the absolute dates obtained so far are neither consistent not reliable
for Degirmentepe. Because of this, Esin relatively places Degirmentepe in the second
half of the fifth millennium B.C. corresponding to Ubaid 4 (Esin 1985a; 1986b; 1989).
This chapter has now set the background for the study of Ubaid Degirmentepe by
geography of the region, and providing the absolute dates and chronology of the site
history, recording system, and the artifact groups found at the site are provided in
Appendix I. The next chapter gives the detailed description of the sites architecture.
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Chapter III: Degirmentepe Architecture
This chapter presents detailed descriptions of the architectural evidence recovered from
Degirmentepe (pi. 3-5). Since the walls and most floors of the structures were well
similar plans and features, indicating a distinct architectural tradition for the Ubaid
chapter as the major descriptive units and the rooms are the smallest units described
within these buildings. Each room description includes the available data about the
walls, the construction techniques, soil textures, and any related furnishings found
inside them, such as hearths, niches, or benches, etc. In many cases, the characteristics
of the buildings came from the field notes. When certain measurements were not
available in the notes, such as the room area, dimensions were calculated from the
original pencil drawings. The black and white photos taken during the excavation also
facilitated this process in many instances, because they provide the most secure data
about the existence, size, and positions of the features. To confirm the existence of a
particular feature, the feature in question must have been recorded by at least two
means, or should be visible in the photos. The descriptions of architectural remains that
did not constitute any coherent building plan or room follow the complete building
descriptions. The excavations carried out in two soundings come thereafter. The end of
appearance of the village, and a discussion of the existence of two story buildings, open
spaces within the settlement, and the roof structures on the buildings.
-''48
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In order to keep the descriptions short, the coordinates where the buildings were
located, their orientation, their total area, number of rooms, room sizes, and the depths
of floors in each rooms are given in a chart at the beginning of each building
description. In some cases, some rooms only yielded their rooms size and floor depths
because of the lack of investigation, recording, or preservation. In these cases, only the
name of the room appears in the chart of the given building and no further descriptions
If relevant data emerged during the excavations, the descriptions of a building begin
with any renovations made to the structure and explore the possible temporal order of
changes made during the structures use-life. Then, the focus is shifted to the central
room of the building, followed by the small rooms at the flanks of the building. If any
thereafter.
In principle, the description of the rooms proceeds vertically, or in other words, from
bottom to top, presenting the data about the floor first and then the walls and any
detected wall renovations. The discussion includes the possible form of the ceiling or
the roof structures as well, when the data is indicative. In addition to all these, any
installations or furnishings made inside the rooms are included within this vertical
descriptive order so that, for example, a hearth inside a room follows the floor
description on which it was built, and doors or niches found on a wall are described
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The area measurements of the buildings include the space occupied by the floor areas
and every interior and exterior wall that confine it. However, when the room areas are
under consideration, the walls surrounding each single room are ignored intentionally,
and only the floor area of the room is measured; this is because the architectural layout
of Degirmentepe presents an agglutinant spatial order and the room spaces in buildings
are defined by their shared walls. Indeed, it would be inconsistent to measure a shared
wall twice, let us say, with the floor area of room A and then with the neighbor room B
adjacent to room A. Calculating the shared walls twice would result in larger area than
the actual sizes of the interior spaces, which would add up to a greater area than that of
the building as a whole, and might create anomalies in any further study and preparing
charts.
Walls and feature numbers are given in parentheses within the text and are all shown
in the plans. Accordingly, any missing number of a feature within the text or a plan
means that no number was given to it during the excavations. Each building name
comes from the name given to its central room, a rule of thumb in the recording system
that was originally developed during the excavations. The descriptions begin with the
archetypical building for the site, Building I, located in the SW quadrant of the
settlement.
Drawings and cross section views, prepared as plates in this study, support each
structures description in the text. Plate 3 provides a legend listing the architectural
characteristics of the buildings. Plate 4 presents the master plan of the site together
with the topography and the established contour lines. The three long cross sections
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prepared in plate 5 aim to show as many varieties of architectural features as possible
as well as to present the general height differences of the rooms and buildings, making
the apparent variations of floor levels and wall heights within the topography visible at
once. Each building is drawn on a separate plate, with the cross section view of that
particular building underneath the plan. As time permitted, the excavators drew a
series of cross section views of certain rooms to depict their interiors. These cross
section drawings are also prepared as plates and follow the building plan to which they
belong. The drawings are made according to a 1:20 scale, except the master plan,
which is prepared with a 1:100 scale. The scale in each plate indicates lm intervals, but
in the case of the wall paintings, the scale is in centimeters. Scales are also used as
frames bordering the cross section drawings. It is hoped that this system of drawings
presents the characteristics of the architectural data from Degirmentepe in a simple but
informative manner.
given the most generic and simple names, such as a building or a structure. In the
absence of evidence suggesting a more specific designation, these two terms must be
used. The true name of a structure should indicate its function, and it is the hope in this
study that such different names can be proposed at the end of this text, such as a
house, a pen, a workshop, or a complex that functioned for certain such and such
activities. Among these, probably the term house will be applied to most of the
buildings, because the houses are the specific and confined places where the
community members live and conduct their routine activities throughout the day. It is in
the house space that the household members cany out tasks for basic needs in human
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life that are intense and repetitious enough to leave distinct behavioral patterns, such as
cooking or weaving. The term building complex, on the other hand, should imply a
rare but distinct space in a site where certain activities other than the basic needs and
the routines of daily life take place. In addition, the number and the identity of
more than one household group in the community. Until these distinctions can be
enough for the purposes of this study. It familiarizes the reader within the architectural
character of the site from a very detailed point of view to the general, or in other words,
from the household level to the settlement level. Because the site produced many
similar architectural plans and features, the presentation of the Degirmentepe buildings
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in.A- Building I: (pis. 6-16)
Coordinates Located in grids 1 7 ,18-E, F, G
Orientation N-S
Area 102 m2 in the basement, and probably another 102m2 space in the
second story making total of 204 m2 area.
Number of rooms 9 in the basement, 4 or 6 rooms on the second story totaling 13 or
15 rooms.
Rooms Size Floor
I 28 m2 Floor3 4.91-5.03m;
Floor 2 4.79m at north 4.90m at south;
Floor 1 3.70 m
U 7.0 m2 4.40 - 4.60 m
AF 3.7m2 4.43 m
AG 3.1m2 4.38 m
K 4.0 m2 4.91m
AC 3.6 m2 4.65 - 4.70 m
AD 3.7 m2 4.85 m
R 3.8 m2 4.90 m
P-L 4.2 m2 4.78 m
O 9.0 m2 3.50-3.60 m
Building i displays every distinct architectural and interior design feature recovered
from the other buildings. Its distinct tri-partite plan, use of hearths, twin rooms, bins,
burials, and pits are some of these characteristic features. Most significantly, Building 1
is the only structure that clearly and indisputably represents the existence of a two-story
building, the evidence apparent in room K and central room i (see below).
There are three building sub-phases determined solely by the floor renewals inside the
central room. It appears that the tripartite plan was adhered to strictly, and the only
modifications carried out were concerned with floor renewals. In accordance with these
floor adjustments, some installations were also modified as part of the re-designing of
the interior. The description of the building begins with the basement rooms, followed
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A .l - Basement:
A.l.a.i - Floor 3:
The lowermost floor was a packed mud surface between 4.91-5.03 m1. It was located in
the south half of the room with a southerly slope. Further test excavations under the
hearth (268) or the bins at the north half of the room would have helped to understand
whether floor 3 extended to the north. Based on this, it can be suggested that floor 3
represents the renovation of floor 2 made in the south portion of the room, which was
The furnishings that clearly belonged to this floor are a fragmentary hearth and the two
pits. Hearth (348) was in the middle of the room, but it was not preserved. According to
the field notes, only a few broken pieces of plaster were found in situ with pieces of the
surface scattered in the surrounding area. Thus, the plan of this hearth is not known.
One of the two pits was located in front of the east wall (120) at 4.93 m and ended at
6.93 m. This pit (324) was 1 m in diameter and was dug into sterile soil. Its wall was
carefully made to be straight and vertical. The contents included bones, pottery, and
ash, however, details concerning the amount or condition of these contents were not
1 The datum point, located at ca. 30 meters north of the mound, indicated an elevation of 650.80 above
sea level. This point is given in the master plan (pl.4). From now on, any depth given in the text indicates
the level below 650.80 m.
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given in the field notes. The other pit (149) lay to the west of the pit (324) found at the
depth of 4.90 m. (pl.6 and cross section A-A in pi. 7). It was carefully made with
straight vertical walls into the sterile soil. Its bottom consisted of dense sand and
gravel. The contents of the pit included very dense ashy soil with some charcoal pieces.
Building I was probably occupied during the time of this second floor for the following
three reasons. First, the thickness of the earlier floor 3 was only ca.15 cm and was
located only in the south half of the room, implying a shorter use period than the floor
2. Second, the hearth (268) and the bins of this floor level had good preservation,
indicating that the floor 2 must have been the primary living surface used throughout
the lifespan of the building. Third, the threshold levels of the three doors made to enter
from the side rooms fit well with the level of the floor 2 (see cross sections in pi. 7).
Therefore, floor 2 represents the major occupation level for the building.
Floor 2 had a hardened mud surface slightly sloping to the south of the room. The large
size hearth (268), attached to the north wall of the room, was surrounded with bins. The
hearth (268) was built with a typical oval form similar to the other hearths encountered
so far. Although it is not easy to ascertain its superstructure, because its base plan is
similar to those found elsewhere in the site and because some of these hearths had the
remains of curving walls, this hearth probably had a dome shape too. The surface was
plastered, and it sloped smoothly towards its 35 cm wide opening found at the east side.
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The back of the hearth had a much thicker wall construction than its north and south
There were two bins to the west of the hearth, and another one to the east, in front of
the hearths opening. A young fox was found buried inside the latter one. Only the
bases of these two bins remained. There were two more bins attached to the east wall
(120), but they were recovered in a very fragmentary form. If it can be assumed that
these bins were used for storing agricultural produce, their proximity to the hearth
indicates that the function of the hearth should be associated with cooking edible food
items.
The pit (320) was located to the south, in front of the wall (107). It was 95 cm in
diameter, and it began at 4.80 m and ended at 6.49 m in sterile soil. The field notes
emphasized that it was carefully dug into virgin soil, although the consistency of the
soil, beginning at the depth of 5.58 m, was hard, sandy, and mixed with gravels. The
wall of the pit was still unusually smooth and vertical. The interior of this pit was clean,
and neither ash, nor pottery fragments, nor bone deposits were found. Based on this, the
excavators suggested in the notes that this pit might have served some kind of ritual
purposes and the construction of the pit was thought to be the result of a planned
activity related to the nature of the possible rites. After the event(s), the pit seems to
have been filled with soil deposit free of archaeological material, but no further
information is noted about the characteristics of this deposit. The other pit (349) was
located in the north end of the room, near the hearth (268), but its bottom actual shape
is unclear.
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A.l.a.iii - Floor 1:
The information for floor 1 comes from the field notes with short descriptions. It only
covered less than 2m2 of the room. It may be suspected that this floor in fact
represented a large chunk of collapsed roof or the floor from the upper story that fell in
associated with this floor. Thus, the reliability of this latest floor is questionable and it
A.l.a.iv - Fire:
Excavators recognized at least a partial fire inside this room i that may have ended the
use of the Building I. This fire was correlated with floor 2 and was recognized by the
partially baked mud bricks on the walls and the apparent pinkish to light red
discoloration of the walls. In addition, the texture of the soil became soft with a dense
ashy fill. On the other hand, no charred wood or similar burnt organic materials were
reported from the soil fill. Similar evidence of fire was also noted in rooms P, K, and U.
Therefore, the fire was limited to the south part of the building. Perhaps this fire was
the reason for the renewal of floor 2, and would explain why the new floor 3 appeared
to have been made only in the south portion of the room I. On the other hand, fire is
always dangerous, and may easily become a catastrophic event; this fire may well
The walls were built with two or three rows of bricks. The south wall (107) was a i m
wide double wall, and the same was the case for the east walls of rooms AG-AF. Thus,
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the use of a double wall seems to have been the choice for demarcating the building
and the outside spaces. The average wall thickness is ca. 50 cm. Almost every interior
wall face was covered with white plaster; the interior of east wall (120) had the best
plaster preservation in the settlement. The north wall (136), however, did not show any
plastering. It is possible that the hearth (268) and the related fire activity may have
hastened its deterioration, if the wall had ever been plastered. Because of its good
preservation, the east wall (120) retained wall paintings in two areas (pis. 8-10). One
of them was closer to the middle of the room and the other one was on the south side of
the wall near the door. The designs in these paintings probably represented abstracted
concepts without understandable theme or narrative. They consisted of red lines and
circles filled with red pigment color. Some thick, black colored lines were also evident,
which may have indicated frames encompassing separate themes and designs. If not,
the designs given in plates 9 and 10 may represent a mixture of multiple concepts and
some of the designs may have been superimposed upon the earlier designs.
The interior of the south wall (107) had two niches placed ca. 1.70 m apart from each
other. They were ca. 20 cm wide and almost 1 m high. One of them was made slightly
Room U was large and rectangular, occupied the southeastern comer of the building.
The soil in the room fill was soft and ashy. Also, there were abundant charcoal remains
in the room fill and a 14C sample was taken from this room, although the results from
these samples turned out to be somewhat problematic (Esin 1989). As was noted in the
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central room I floor was sloping towards north. At the southeast comer of the room, a
baby burial was found in the floor. The walls showed evidence of fire, apparent by the
baked and pinkish discoloration of mud-bricks, especially visible on the north wall
A doorway with high and straight sides was located at the south end of the west wall
(120). The top of it was not preserved, but it was wide and high enough for an average
person to walk through without any difficulty (see cross section F-F in pi. 7). The
second exit was a narrow one, with a height of 90 cm and a width of 50 cm; it was used
to enter the room AF through the north wall (229). The south wall (121) had a niche,
but its actual size is unknown because of its poor preservation. The east wall (517) had
another niche. About a meter above the niche, there were five holes indicating the
horizontal beams forming the ceiling on top of this room. These beam holes confirm the
existence of a second story. Their height from the floor of the room was ca. 1.30 cm,
providing a quite uncomfortable, low space for an individual to live2. A similar situation
is evident in room BB of Building BC (pi. 19), where the existence of a second story
was inferred by the same reasoning. Because of this low ceiling height, room U
represents a space used as a basement. Above these holes, the wall continues another
40 cm with no visible constructional change. The continuation of the wall also supports
the interpretation as the second story rather than the roof. An even better example may
be seen on the north wall of room DG in plate 34 (see the height above the beam
holes). In that case, the wall continued ca. 65 cm above the holes. As a result, room U
must also have had a room belonging to the second story on top of it.
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A.l.c - Rooms AF and AG:
Excavations in other Ubaid sites revealed that tripartite plans often have two narrow
rectangular rooms built parallel to each other at one of the flanks of the buildings (for
plans from various sites see Kubba 1987; Forest 1983; Margueron 1989). The best
example comes from the Tell Madhur house, where their function was suggested as a
staircase used to reach to upper floor or roof (Roaf 1989). It appears that Degirmentepe
tripartite plans also reveal such rooms. The plans of rooms AF and AG in this building
seem to represent those parallel built, rectangular shaped and narrow rooms3.
The twin rooms AF and AG had very narrow rectangular forms and communicated with
each other via their shared wall. The other door was in the south wall of AF for
entering room U. The function of a staircase is not indicated at all, but because clear
evidence for a staircase as the means of communication with the upper story was found
in the twin rooms of Building EE, these twin rooms were probably used for the same
purpose.
K is a small, square room located in the SW comer of the building. The fill consisted of
grayish brown soft soil with an ashy mixture, indicating that the partial burning of the
building occurred inside this room too. The only non-mobile furnishing found in this
3 From now on, if the room plans clearly indicate that two parallel rooms are the narrowest rooms, they
will be called twin rooms, because this form is apparently typical in tripartite architecture. As will be
seen below, rooms GF and GG of Building GK (pi. 39), EB and EC in Building EE (pi. 28) have those
twin rooms too.
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room was a 40 cm diameter clay bin in the northeast comer, preserved up to 30 cm in
height. Its walls were 6 cm thick. In addition to this bin, some complete and broken
pots, and polishing stones were also found inside this room.
In terms of clearly indicating the existence of an upper floor, room K had the most
preserved in the 50 cm wide north wall (111) of this room. It had a narrow door that
was sealed with bricks sometime after its original use. This entrance would have been
uncomfortably small for an adult, with its ca. 50 cm height and 42 cm width. Above this
door, there were six horizontal beam holes (see cross section A-A in pi. 7). The holes
were ca. 8-10 cm in diameter and were placed at more or less regular intervals
throughout walls interior face. They were not laid strictly horizontally, but rather in a
kind of convex layout, which may have been the result of the beams sagging during
their use, or the deformation of the wall during the deposition process. About 20 cm
above these holes, there was the second door preserved with its lower portion only.
This second entrance must have belonged to the upper floor to enter the L shaped room
O of the upper story (see pi. 15 for upstairs plan). The door was more than 55 cm wide
and the eastern side of it was preserved up to 65 cm in height. Since the top portion of it
was missing, it is impossible to deduce its exact height, but it is safe to say that it had a
for any individuals use. In sum, these two doors and the beam holes in between them
provide clear evidence for the two stories. In this situation, it is not difficult to see room
K as the basement room, because the height between the beam holes and the floor of
the room is only ca. 1.20 meter (see pi. 12). In addition, a pot found at the level just
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above the beam holes inside room O is intentionally drawn in plate 12 to indicate the
floor level of the second story room O in relation to the beam holes and the basement
rooms. Accordingly, the floor level of the second story room O was probably
The south wall (109) was a double wall built with two standard brick sizes. The
exterior wall had 30x18 cm size bricks while the interior wall had 40x20 cm size bricks.
The three horizontal beam holes preserved on interior face of the top part of this wall
(109) corresponded with the heights of the beam holes found at the north wall. They
must represent the other end of the beams used to carry the floor above (see cross
section C-C in pi. 7). Although patchy, some parts of the interior of wall (109) had a
The west wall (112) was also a double wall. The inner wall had two rows of different
size bricks, -50x30 cm and 50x15 cm, a whole and a half brick lay. The outer wall had
only one row without a clear brick size. Thick mortar filled the space between those
attached walls. The interior of the west wall was smooth with a 2 cm thick plaster
coating. The east wall (110) had a small passageway for entering the central room I
(pi. 12). Dirty white plaster also survived on the interior of this wall.
AC is a narrow rectangular room to the north of room K. In the east half of the room,
there was a mud brick partition made on the floor. It was 12-15 cm thick and less than
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purpose were detected. There was a large cobble found in the northeast comer of the
room that may have been used as an anvil or as a base to raise another object off the
floor. The only entrance into this room was from room K to the south.
Room AD, to the north of room AC, was almost square in shape. The recovery of more
furnishings inside this room implies multiple activities or specific but more intense
tasks than in the room AC. There was a platform slightly higher than the floor in the
south half of the room, which was made by laid mud bricks rows. The very southeast
comer had a higher platform, which was ca. 70 cm high from the floor. Some cobbles
were laid diagonally on top of it, suggesting an outline of some kind. These
The other features of the room included three cylindrical clay bins of different sizes.
One of them was placed on top of the mud-brick platform, while the others were found
Room AD had two doors. One of them communicated with the central room I to the
east and the other one communicated with room R to the west. Both doors were rather
small. The one in the west wall had a width of 45 cm and a height of 50 cm, while the
other one in the east wall was slightly larger, with a width of 50 cm and a height of 55
cm. A pot burial was found in the NW comer of the room, buried halfway into the floor.
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Room R, located to the west of room AD, was narrow and long. The north half of the
room was only ca. 60 cm wide and the south end reached ca. 1 m width at most. The
furnishings of this tiny room consisted of a small hearth at the southeast comer and a
bin at the west side of the room, both of which were preserved only in fragments. Later,
a burial was made into the floor, canceling and replacing the hearth at the same
location.
There were two entrances to this room. One was from room AD to the east. The other
one was from room P-L to the south, with 1 m height and ca. 70 cm width; it was sealed
with mud-brick at a later date. Because of its unusual shape, the room originally may
have been an open space left in between the buildings. Later, it may have been added
In the very first excavation season, only the south half of the room was recovered and
the name L was given to it. The north part of the room, unearthed in the following year,
was mistakenly recorded with a new room name P. Room P-L is the second unusually
narrow room with an L-shape. The north part of it was narrow, similar to the north part
of the room R. At the south, it becomes a little more spacious that must have allowed a
person to move and turn around without much difficulty. The only door was in the north
end, communicating with room R. The west wall was attached to the wall of Building
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A.2 - The second story of Building I: (pi. 15)
The floor plan of the upper story above the basement may be extrapolated although it
was only partially found. Room O on the west side of the building was the only
complete room found that belong to the second story. There was certainly another room
above the central room 1, but its floor plan was not preserved (pi. 8). In addition, while
lacking a floor plan, rooms U and K yielded enough evidence to conclude that they had
upstairs rooms above them (pis. 11,12). Thus, while the complete second story plan of
the building is unknown, it may be assumed that the second story floor plans were
similar to the floor plans of the basement rooms. Plate 15 shows the known room O,
and estimates the floor levels of the rooms above rooms I, U, and K. The supporting
- the beam holes found on the east wall (517) in room U in the basement,
- the beam holes and the doors found on the north wall of room K in the
basement.
Accordingly, the drawing in plate 15 presents the plan of the second story as generally
similar to the plan of the basement. In order to clarify the reconstruction, the
approximate floor levels of rooms O, IU , and K were depicted with the dot-and-hyphen
line, indicating a probable but indefinite depth range for the second story. The possible
range of floor levels in these particular rooms is mentioned below, when the relevant
data about them is available. The other areas show the rooms from the basement, since
no data indicative of the superstructure were found. It is the hope that the plate 15 can
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A.2.a - Above the Room I:
The architectural evidence indicating the existence of second story above Room I
comes from the hearth (146) (pi. 8 and cross section A-A in plate 15). The hearth
(146) was attached to the uninterrupted north wall (136) between the depth range of
2.90 - 3.10 meters. The east portion of it was not preserved and collapsed into the
basement, indicating an empty space immediately below it. It was a large hearth,
similar to the one found under it, hearth (268) of the basement. If the hearth (146) had
architecture would have been expected. Therefore, the hearth (146) must have been
The actual floor for this second story room was not found in the excavations, probably
because it had collapsed into the basement. This makes sense, because part of the
hearth had collapsed into the basement too. According to the preserved surface of the
hearth, the floor level of the second story room above the room I must have been
somewhere between the range of 3.00- 3.20 meters. Although no direct architectural
indication was found during the excavation, the plan of the room above Room I was
The field notes reveal that the remains of two broken and badly preserved bins were
found near the hearth (146), but they were not in situ. No other installations were found
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The other important line of evidence for the existence of the second story above Room
I comes from the contexts of the artifacts mentioned in the field notes. According to the
note taker, the intensity of some finds and artifacts was higher at 3.14 m depth, the
inventory of which consisted of a complete pot, some broken sherds, fragments of a few
grinding stones, and some other worked stones. Obviously, these artifacts from 3.14 m
were not in situ, but they had moved from their upstairs location to their find spots.
More interestingly, artifact density below this level dropped significantly until the
depth of four meters. Apparently, it was the collapsed rubble of the upper floor that was
excavated until this fourth meter level, and the contexts belonging to the basement
began below that level. Furthermore, when level 3.14 m is compared with the
approximate elevation of hearth (146) and the horizontal beam holes in room K and in
room U, the heights of these features are all very close to the 3.14 m level. As a result,
it is reasonable to think that the artifacts appearing above 3.14 m belonged to the
second story.
One may wonder about how the western half of the hearth managed to survive.
Although not obvious at first, there may be a good reason for it. When the collapse
occurred, the weakest part of the floor, that is the center of the room, must have
collapsed first, while the edges fell in later over a longer period of time. However, in
the case of the north edge of the room, the installed furnishings of the basement
immediately under the hearth (146) may have helped to support it, allowing the partial
preservation of the hearth. What is important to visualize at this point is the heights and
the superstructure of the hearth (268) and the bins next to it. The superstructure of the
hearth (268) must have had a height of ca. 1 m and the nearby bins must also have had
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a height of at least 1 m. These high furnishings would probably have supported the
upstairs hearth preventing its complete collapse into the basement. It seems that the
bins located to the left of hearth (268) were especially supportive. The estimation of
the actual heights of the hearth (268) and the bins given above are reasonable
Fig. 3.2: Mud-brick bins from East Anatolia. Left: A broken circular bin with hand-made pots
inside a deserted vernacular house (from Koyunlu 1982). Right: A group of rectangular bins in
use for storage in the kitchen o f a mud-brick house (from Peters 1979). They are raised off the
floor and the openings at the bottom were plugged with a piece o f cloth to keep the grain
inside. No openings were found in the Degirmentepe bins, possibly because o f their poor
preservation. The only exception was a cylindrical bin with an opening, found at the south o f
Building L
Fig. 3.3: Hand made mud-brick bins from East Anatolia. Left: Two bins from a vernacular
house deserted in the 1970s (from Koyunlu 1982). Right: Two cylindrical mud-brick bins in an
East Anatolian house that was still in use in the 1970s (from Peters 1979). Their location near
the doors and their cylindrical form can be compared to similar examples from Degirmentepe.
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e*jl,1 Q n o 0 ^ ' , o 0 O (!> Qt J a
mc
Fig 3.4: More bins from East Anatolia with applique designs (ftom Peters 1979). Patterns were
made with mud before the whole structure was hand smoothed and plastered with thick lime.
Room O was found at the west flank of the building. It belonged to the second story,
built above rooms AC and AD of the basement. The wall (189) between the rooms AC
and AD did not continue in the second floor. As a result, Room O had an L shape. The
room was confined with the exterior walls of rooms AC and AD from the basement.
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The area of this room was 9 m2. The floor of this room was not found, and no associated
furnishings were recorded inside. The floor must have been at a range of 3.30-3.40 m,
because the bottom of the top door at the south wall (111) and the beam holes under it
Despite the fact that the room itself and its floor were not found in the excavations,
there must have been a second story room above room U. The beam holes on the east
wall (517), found at 3.00 m, imply that the floor for the second story room was probably
The pits belonging to floor 3 in Room i confirm aspects of the settlements stratigraphy
in this quadrant. These pits were dug into virgin soil consisting of yellowish sandy soil
with gravel. Even though no test excavations were made below the exposed
architecture of the village, the virgin soil found under the Building I is a clear statement
that, stratigraphically, no major earlier occupation activities took place in the western
half of the settlement. In addition, it is important to refer to the pits (332) and (593) of
Building DU here too, because they were also dug into virgin soil. Thus, we can
conclude that there were no earlier cultural depositions below these buildings, and
there was only one major Ubaid phase in the west half of the mound, represented by
the buildings depicted in the master plan. Only minor architectural modifications were
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made time to time within the buildings, which presumably served the changing needs of
the occupants.
basement and the second story above it. The floors of the upstairs rooms were at ca.
3.15 m. and probably had a tripartite plan similar to that of the basement. Some of the
other buildings previously described in this text showed evidence of a second story as
well. The beam holes found inside room DG and the staircase found inside room EC in
Building EE, and the beam holes found inside room BB in Building BC all indicate that
these two buildings had two story constructions. The reasoning for accepting the
evidence for a second story in these particular buildings has already been given above
Despite the relatively extensive architectural evidence in the case of Building i, the
actual height and form of the roof is impossible to guess with the available data.
However, there may be some interesting indications about the basement and the use of
hearths, air intake, and daylight. Hearths on each floor would have heated the building
during the cold winter months. The fresh air supply would have been sufficient for the
upstairs hearth, but it must have been limited for the basement hearth (268). The
required ventilation for this hearth was not detected architecturally in the excavations.
In other words, no window or any opening in the walls to take air inside the basement
was recovered. Since the walls were more than 1.50 cm without windows in the
building, the basement must have generally had limited oxygen that would probably
have limited the nature of the fire. However, the size of the fire would have also
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depended on what was baked inside the hearth. The recovery of the bins near the
suggest that the hearths were used for cooking edible food items; this activity may not
have required a very powerful fire, but rather a steady and continuous fire. Smoke
could have been removed through a chimney attached to north wall of the room. The
hearths probably shared the common chimney, since they were located in the same part
The lower level rooms may represent sunken basements built into the ground. In other
words, the basement level floors of the buildings may have been lower than the outside
ground surfaces, evidence for which was found to the immediate south of the building.
The G-131 hearth seems to have been an outside installation and the probable ground
surface in this outside area must have been the same as the surface of this hearth, or
slightly lower at ca. 2.98-3.15 m range. This floor depth range is much higher than the
floors of the basement in the building (compare the outside with the basement in cross
section B-B in pi. 15 and 16). This assumption of a sunken basement is consistent with
Similarly, there were no windows made in the basement walls of the other buildings.
Accordingly, the fresh air supply, not only for the basement hearths but also for the
general needs of the occupants, must have been limited in the cases of buildings with
definite basements. The lack of windows suggests that the basements were dark places
unable to take advantage of the daylight. Instead, these locations must have been
rather gloomy, possibly lit weakly by candles that may have been placed in the niches.
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It was mentioned earlier that the south half of the building had experienced a fire and
that the earliest floor 3 found in the south portion of room I was suggested to be the
resurfacing following this event. During the excavations, in the middle of the room I, a
pit (74) was found beginning at 2.40 m. As the excavations went on, this pit apparently
turned out to be a very large, unusual area containing dense, burned ashy soil, covering
the entire southern half of the building. At that point, the excavator was satisfied that
this distinct soil texture was not a pit (74), but a large space filled with the deposit
representing the fire in the south half of the building. Since this burned area began at
2.40 m and continued until 4.70 m, it can be suggested here that the fire may have
taken place upstairs as well, and may have led to the collapse of the second story into
the basement. This explanation is convincing, when the suggested floor levels of the
second story rooms are compared with the beginning of this fire level (compare the
suggested floor level for the second story in the sections in pi. 15 and the depths of
The last important aspect of this building is the possible ritual function of the central
Room I of the basement. Despite the hard, gravelly soil texture, the carefully made
walls of the pits (320), (324), and (149) together with the burial found in pit (149)
convey the importance of this space. Similar cases were also observed in room DU of
Building DU, and room BD of Building BC. Except in the case of room DU, the hearths
in these rooms may also be affiliated with ritual activities. The nature of the rituals
seems to have been related with the burying the dead, but we have no evidence
concerning the details of this process. Another type of ritual behavior seems to have
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occurred in the central rooms of buildings EE, EL, DU, and FD. The platforms with the
appearance of fireplaces, and the nearby pits may have been used for another kind of
rites. As will be seen below, the central room of Building FC also had a mud-brick
platform with pits. Because of this, Building FC should also be added to this probable
second type of ritual activity. Unfortunately, the nature of the rituals in each case is not
understood; the occurrence of ritual activity is based logical deductions from the data
The area south of Building I presents several interesting features. It is assumed here
that the attached, physical proximities of these features to the building imply the
ownership of this space by the occupants in Building I. However, since there was no
door communicating with the building and this area, the connection remains unclear.
This area must have been an open space, because walls forming room spaces did not
The well-preserved hearth, G-131, was attached to the south wall (107). It was first
identified as two small rooms, called G and H, during the excavations, but later, it
became clear that they were the two compartments of a single hearth and the name
was changed into G-131. It was built quite differently than the other typical hearths
found in the site. The back of it was to the east and the opening was to the west. The
south and north sides of the hearth were attached to the thick mud-brick walls. The
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This hearth consisted of two chambers: the chamber (131) to the east and the chamber
G to the west. Chamber (131) was 1 m in diameter, built in an oval shape with a
plastered surface. It opened into chamber G to the west with a 15 cm long, 20 cm wide
tunnel, but a small hole made in the north side of the hearth opens onto the outside.
This small opening was probably used for controlling the air ventilation to release the
smoke. It may also have functioned as an additional limited access to the inside of the
hearth from its back. The wall of the chamber (131) was also plastered, although it was
not preserved to a height of more than 40 cm. Thus, the superstructure of this chamber
The front chamber G had a slightly rectangular shape with soft turning comers. Its
dimensions were 1x1.2 meter. The surface was a carefully plastered convex shape. The
opening of this chamber, which will be referred to as the mouth of the structure, was to
the west and was ca. 35 cm wide. The surface here extended outside the hearth with a
smooth slope meeting with the outside ground level. There were two ground stones
placed at both sides of this slope at the mouth of the hearth. The wall of this chamber
was ca. 30 cm high with a slight curve implying a dome-shaped superstructure (for the
forms of the chambers G and 131, see the cross sections in pi. 16).
The complicated and well-planned architecture of the hearth implies that it had
importance for the users. The plan of it does not match that of the others found in the
site, since it had two large chambers connected by a small tunnel and a carefully made
small opening at the back. The surfaces and the interior of the walls of the chambers
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showed its capacity to reach high temperatures, but what was fired inside of it remains
unclear.
There was also a very narrow, small room to the south of the G-131 hearth. The floor of
this room was not found. It was only 55 cm wide and 2 m long, but the walls were
exceptionally wide for such a narrow room with a thickness of ca. 75-80 cm. There may
have been another room further south, but the walls were not preserved enough to see
To the west of the narrow, thick walled room and the double chambered hearth G-131,
there was neither room nor structure, but two circular clay bins (130) and (202). One of
them, no. (130), was buried about 50 cm into the ground (see the cross section C-C in
pi. 16). It had a small opening at the bottom, which may imply that the floor for this
area may actually have been at the 3.50 - 3.60 m range, and the 2.77 m level given in
plate 40 plan should not indicate a floor but rather an unexcavated deposit.
There were two other storage bins to the north that were different from the typical
circular bins. They were attached to the exterior of the south wall of room K as
separate compartments. Bin M had a 75x80 cm square shape and with ca. 10-12 cm
thick walls. The other bin, N, was next to M but its south side did not survive. The
bottom of the bins was not found. The room T was partially opened further to the west
of these bins; it probably belonged to the earlier phase found below (see Partially
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There was a thick layer of gravel to the south of the trench representing the flooding of
the site (pi. 16). Found at 1.80-2.10 m, it consisted of dense sand and various sizes of
gravel. This layer extended further north and east, covering Building I; in addition, the
same material was found further south in grid 19 H below the surface soil at 1.80 m at
the north and at 2.50 m at the south end. This shows that the flood was very widespread
and powerful to be able to leave such a thick layer of gravel over the southwest
quadrant of the mound. A small sounding, of 1x3 m, made in grid 161 yielded a ca. 30
cm thick layer of the same gravel. This time, the gravel layer was under the Karaz
culture materials at 2.70 meter, and the Ubaid walls began appearing below the gravel.
A similar gravel layer with dense sand appeared at 1.30- 2-40 m in grids 15 K and 15 L
as well. This time the gravel layer was almost lm thick and it seems that the lower 40-
60 cm was much denser with sand, but only the gravel covered the rest of this layer. No
further information is provided in the field notes either correlating the gravel layers
found in these different areas over the mound, or describing the relationships between
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HI.B. - Building BC: (pi. 17-21)
FG 2.9 m1 -
The majority of information about this building was compiled from a few photos and
drawings, and the brief descriptions in the field notes. The black and white photos
provided the most reliable information about the architectural layout described here.
The modification activities recovered inside this structure were obscured and their
construction described below are based largely on a common sense interpretation of the
Building BC displays a four-part layout instead of the typical tripartite plan observed
throughout the settlement. It is not clear, however, if it started out as a tri-partite building
at the beginning of its history. The modifications observed inside the rooms do not
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The northern part of the building is problematic. When Building FD began to appear
during the excavations, attention was shifted to this building; as a result, the north end
of Building BC as well as its relationship with Building FD remained unclear. The low
wall heights at the north portion of the building and unclear floor levels also contributed
to the difficulty in determining the room sizes and their relations with each other as
Building BC does not have an exterior wall to the north; it either remained under
Building FD or was totally demolished during the later construction of Building FD.
The position of room FB and the area north of room EV (pis. 17 and 47) support the
latter possibility. Room FB does not have a north wall and the area north of room EV
seems to have been another room space almost completely demolished by the
construction of Building FD. Based on these observations, the room plans for Building
BC to the north remain unclear, but it may be stated that Building BC is an earlier
general building plan, the missing exterior walls in this northwest comer can be
reconstructed. The missing north wall of the building should have existed somewhere
near the south wall of Building FD. An imaginary line, indicating this exterior wall of
the building, may be drawn in an E-W direction. Since the west wall (278) of the
building continued north into the section, this west exterior wall of the building may
likewise be extended further north until it intersects with the imaginary north wall of
the building. If this unexcavated area inside these lines were added to the building,
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Building BC becomes ca. 150 m2 with a rectangular shape. With this extrapolated
layout, there must have been at least one other room north of room DC2. While this
reconstruction is very plausible, the plan of the unexcavated NW area may still have
been very different, because no direct architectural evidence was found for the NW
comer of the building. It is also possible that the open area located to the west of
The floor of room BC was only found at the south half of the room. The only feature
found in the room was a thick mud-brick walled structure located in the east part of the
room. It was attached to the east wall (301) of the room by ca. 50 cm wide walls. The
interior was empty and no information was available about its construction and
surfacing. This feature recalls the others found in rooms GK, CE, and BY1, which were
much smaller and built with much thinner walls. It could have been used as a large
The walls in the south part of the room were higher, but the preservation quality
diminishes rapidly towards the north. The east end of the room had two walls indicating
two phases. The interior of an earlier wall was found running under the wall (697) that
There were two doors in the south end of room BC. One of them communicated with
room AO, but it was only 25 cm wide with an unclear shape. The second exit was a
wider door opening into room BD with a width of 70 cm and straight sidewalls.
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B.2 - Room DH: (pi. 18)
The walls of this room were more or less 50 cm wide in most parts. The west wall
(301) was renovated at its south half. It is possible that originally the south end of the
wall was as wide as the north half and had a wide door. This door was later sealed with
mud bricks and two compartments were attached to its interior (see the cross sections in
pi. 18). The compartments were made with 8-10 cm thick mud as almost in rectangular
shape narrow spaces. They were preserved to a height of ca. 40-45 cm above the floor.
This remodeling of the south end of the wall and the addition of the compartments were
related to the hearths (504) and (505), because they occupy the entire south half of the
room. The compartments attached to the wall were probably used as containers,
possibly for holding some equipment for the hearths. In addition, a niche, made inside
the south wall, was found behind the hearth (504). It was probably used as a shelf,
The horseshoe-shaped large hearth (504), located in the south end of room DH, was
found at a depth of 4.10 m. Its carefully plastered surface covered an area of more than
lm 2 and sloped down towards its opening to the north to meet with the floor at the 4.72
m level. The plastered wall of the hearth was 45 cm high and very wide, covering the
entire width of the room. The interior of the wall of the hearth was curved indicating
that the superstructure of the hearth probably had a dome shape. There were various
artifacts collected from inside and around this hearth, such as complete Coba bowls,
bone awls, some shells, number of seal impressions, metal slag, and a piece of a thick-
walled crucible.
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The hearth (505) was located to the SE of the hearth (504). It had a much smaller size
with a diameter of ca. 50 cm. It was also deeper than the hearth (504) at 4.58 m and
had a circular shape instead of the typical horseshoe or oval shape. It was connected to
the opening with 40-50 cm long tunnel behind the hearth (504) (see cross section A-A
in pi. 17). Based on the artifacts and the location of the hearths, it can be suggested that
these two hearths were possibly used for purposes other than cooking. This idea is also
supported by the very soft black and ashy soil spread all over the room, indicating
intense firing activities. In addition, the much smaller size of the hearth (505) is
significant when compared with the other hearths described so far. Metalworking could
have been one possible activity for this room. The recovery of the metal slag, crucible,
and other artifacts, as well as the soil texture and the hearths all support this suggestion.
Perhaps, the use of two different size hearths maybe related to different steps in the
metal refinement process. More convincing evidence supporting the idea of metal
production, in the form of a hearth and metal slag, was found inside the room BM.
Perhaps, hearth G-131 to the south of Building i may be the other location for metal
Room BB is in the SE comer of Building BC. The walls of the room were well
preserved and the east wall retained a series of beam holes, probably indicating the
existence of the upper living floor. The floor consisted of gravel and mud. The interior
of the west wall (353) was plastered and a door at the north end of this wall opened
into room DH. The width was 75 cm and it was preserved up to 1.30 m in height.
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There were 9 horizontal holes on the east wall (312) that were all at sim ilar heights.
They represent horizontally laid wood beams carrying the ceiling of the room. The
forms of the holes were irregular, indicating the use of uneven, rough beam shapes, and
they were placed at ca. 15-20 cm intervals. There are ethnographic examples showing
the use of different sizes of beams laid with an inconsistent alignment even for roof
structures (compare fig. 3.6). It seems that as long as the beams are placed to have
enough resistance to carry the roof, the size and the spacing between the beams are not
r?C ' * T ^
*vW
Fig. 3.6: Photograph from Southern Anatolia showing the use o f different sized wood beams.
They were placed unevenly but parallel. As long as the roof holds, the placement of the beams
is considered satisfactory (photo, taken by m yself in 2000, is from Malatya-Turkey).
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The tops of the holes most likely represent the upper story of the building, because the
distance between the floor of this room and the ceiling, as indicated by the beam holes,
was only ca. 1.40 m, suggesting that this room was the basement room. The 1.4 m
height would have been too low for people to carry out tasks and move around easily,
so the actual living floor must have been above the basement. Probably, the actual
floor level of the second story would have been ca. 20 cm above the beams line shown
in plate 19.
In addition to these beam holes, there were two niches, placed ca. 1.20 m apart from
each other, made inside the east wall (312). The one to the north was average in size,
ca. 25x15 cm, but the other one was much smaller with an almost triangular shape. A
pot burial (no.27) was partially placed inside the south wall, but no further details were
Room BM had two floors made with packed mud surfacing. The earlier one may not
actually have been a floor, since it was found only in a very limited, small area in the
north portion of the room and no further information was recorded about it. Thus, the
The oval shaped hearth (390), at the southeast comer of the room, was built ca. 30 cm
higher than the floor. The possible dome shaped superstructure was inferred by the
curvature of its 45 cm high and 15-20 cm thick wall. The surface of the hearth, covering
more than lm2 area, was plastered. The field notes state that metal slag was found in
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and around this hearth, together with charred wood remains. Based on such evidence,
metalworking activities were already suggested as the purpose this hearth and room
(Esin 1984). The only exit from this room was in north wall, with a width of 65 cm, but
EV had no representative floor inside. When the door of the room BM was sealed with
mud, room EV may have been added to the north, blocking the north wall of room BM.
A new door for room EV was located in the north wall for access to the area further
north.
The floor for area FB was also not found. The field notes suggested that FB might
represent an open area because there were no walls to the immediate north or east. The
wall under the wall (697) is represented by its interior face only, which separated this
area from the central room BC. Overall, it is difficult to confirm if it was an open space
or not. The east wall of this area ends before it reaches the south end of Building FD.
Perhaps this implies a door into another space further east where, again, there was not
the insufficient exposure in area FB and the area to its east cannot be understood well.
It is believed here that room FG was added to modify the interior space of the building,
because of the presence of the earlier wall lying under this room. The west wall (697)
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was built on top of an earlier east wall of the central room BC. Since the excavations
did not continue under this room, the plan and the nature of this early wall remain
unknown. The walls thickness varied between 40-60 cm. The south wall had a very
wide, recessed inner face with a depth of ca. 18 cm and the exterior side of the NW
Room BD occupied the southwest comer of the building. The floor sloped slightly
towards the north and reached a depth of ca. 5.25 m; gravel appeared at a depth of 5.17
m and continued until the excavations stopped at 5.30 m. A rectangular hearth was
found in the NW comer of the room. Its surface was plastered and its wall was 30 cm
thick. The interior of the hearth covered an area of almost lm2; its opening was at the
southeast comer facing the door. The inside of the hearth was clean, but the entire
room contained dense lenses of soft, gray ashy soil with black charred specks in it. This
hearth and the soil texture indicate intense fire-related activity for this room.
There were two small pits with diameters of ca. 50-65 cm. One of them was excavated
until it reached the gravel layer at 5.30 m depth. The other pit began at 5.03 m and
ended at 5.45 m, again within the gravel layer. The contents of them were not recorded.
The west wall (278) was built to an exceptional thickness of almost 1 meter. Although
the distinct separation line of a double wall was not observed, it may still have been
built as a double wall because the exterior walls of other buildings are double walls at
this site (such as Building i). There were three doors in this room, but the one in the
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west wall was sealed with mud-brick. The one in the east wall was 70 cm wide and
opened into the central room BC; the other door in the north wall with a width of 50 cm
communicated with room DC1. Both of these doors had mud-brick thresholds.
There were two pot burials found in this room. One of them, Burial (286), was found in
the SE comer of the room buried halfway into the floor. The other burial (294), found
inside a Dark Faced Burnished Ware (DFBW) type bowl, was partially buried inside
the south wall at the floor level. The proximity of the burials to the two pits inside this
room is interesting, because a similar placement of burials near a pit was also found in
intramural burial practices. Even though the contents of these pits are unknown, the
proximity of burials and the pits imply a related activity that took place during the
interments. Another example of this practice was found in the central room I of
Building I.
These rooms are located to the north of the room BD. Room DC2 was only partially
exposed, because its northern portion was buried under the north section of the trench.
The floor of DC1 was whitish colored mud with some chaff inclusions as well as some
horizontally lying sherds. About 20 cm below, the soil texture changed into sandy,
yellowish, fine sterile soil without any pottery fragments or other artifacts. Room DC2
floor, on the other hand, had yellowish mud. The 40 cm party wall had a doorway for
access into both rooms with two mud steps going further down inside the floor of room
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DC2. These steps would have been necessary because the floor of room DC2 was ca.
Room AO is the part of Building BC building with direct communication to the central
room BC, although the door in wall (135) was narrow, ca. 30cm. The tunnel EF was on
the east side of this room. The rooftop (193) of the tunnel, at 2.90 m, was made with
two rows of regularly laid 45x30 cm size bricks (see pi. 17). Its roof thickness was ca.
60 cm. It is possible that the top surface of the tunnels roof functioned as a platform to
walk on and may also have been the floor level for the upper story. As seen in the
description of Building I, the beginning of the second story of Building I more or less
coincides with the rooftop of the tunnel at around 3 meter depth (see Building 1). This
tunnel continued almost 2 m further east and opened into the room-hearth AU. The
ceiling of the rooftop was not clear and the arch-like appearance, visible in the cross
section in plate 17, resulted from the search for the form of the ceiling during
excavations. The beginning of the tunnel at its west end was not preserved either. The
corridor was ca. 1.10 m wide and it continued straight to the east, but this space
narrowed down to 50 cm at the east end (see the dotted line in the plan representing
the tunnels east end). The reason for this narrower east end must be related with the
function of room AU, itself a giant-sized hearth. This narrow end may have been used
as the door area to seal the heat inside the room-hearth AU. The tunnel may have
continued a little further east into the area AU, but the rooftop of the tunnel was not
preserved.
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Room AU had a large-sized hearth that took up the entire floor space. Just above the
surface of the hearth, especially to the west, the soil consisted of dense ashy material.
The surface of the hearth was brown colored plaster preserved only at the south half of
the room. The preservation of the hearths wall, on the other hand, was good enough to
provide an approximate square shape for the lower areas of the hearth, but the shape of
its superstructure was indeterminable. If AU was a room at the beginning of its use, its
roof may have been flat, and later, when the room was converted into a complete
hearth, the roof may have left unchanged. Adding the room AO as an entrance to the
tunnel EF, and the tunnel as the mouth of the hearth, the size of this hearth becomes
much bigger than the original room AU, which itself occupied a relatively big space.
Therefore, the structure of the hearth consists of these three distinct areas: AO, tunnel
EF, and AU. Thus, the intriguing question remains unanswered: why was it necessary
to build such a large-sized hearth that would have required enormous amount of fuel to
obtain sufficient temperatures? Its large size, unique at the site, indicates that its
function went beyond ordinary domestic purposes. I tentatively suggest that the hearth
was a kiln, perhaps with an open top. Once the fuel and pots were placed, the fire
would have been set from the tunnel. If there had been evidence of intense firing noted
on the mud-brick walls, this suggestion would have been confirmed, but few details
Three sub-phases can be recommended for the use of this distinct space. Initially, AU
was a room consisting of a four-walled structure. For unknown reasons, this room was
converted into a giant-sized hearth at a later time, but during the third sub-phase, this
area was used as a dump and must have been filled rather quickly. This last activity
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was suggested by the excavator in the notes based on finding abundant bones, sherds,
and ash in the higher levels of soil deposits. Yet, it is still difficult to correlate these
This room does not have any direct communication with building BC, but it was part of
the building since the low wall separating it from room AO was a later addition. It may
have served as storage. Perhaps, the fuel used in the hearth was kept here.
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m.C- Building FC: (pis. 22-27)
Building FC is the west neighbor of Building I; it may have rivaled Building I in size,
but its plan is not complete. While there were probably more rooms to the north, the
walls found close to the south section may represent the exterior of the building.
Despite this incomplete plan, the building represents a clear tripartite form with the
room FC being the central room. The preserved evidence described below includes
FC is the central room of the building with the missing north portion under the baulk.
The floor of this room has been identified by the installations built inside and the two
complete pots found at similar depths. The mud-brick platform of the room was at a
depth of 5.20 m and the pots in the SE and N parts of the room were also at this level.
The platform (677), made with clean, clay-like mud, had a rectangular shape that was
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1.15x0.85 m in size. It had a 12 cm diameter hollow area in the center containing small
pieces of dry pigments4. The structure was ca. 5-7 cm higher than the floor level.
The feature (557) was found to the west of this platform, but its identity is arguable. It
was at 3.14 m and ended at 4.40 m. It had a diameter of 1 m and the entire interior
surface was carefully plastered. The excavator of this building suggested that it might
have been a well dug from above into this floor. However, the plastered interior
implies that this feature might not have been used as a well, but later as a storage pit.
The field notes do not describe its contents or the soil texture of the deposit. From the
distance between the floor level of the room, 5.20 m, and the bottom of this feature,
4.40 m, it may safely be concluded that it was dug from upper layers into the deposits
of Building FC. In that case, it would not have belonged to Building FC, but could have
been used as a storage pit during a later phase. Its tentative identification as a storage
The practice of storing grains in shared exterior areas, a communal activity in a sense,
was carried out in the villages of East Anatolia until the 1970s. Large pits of various
shapes were dug into the ground; the interior was always plastered (Peters 1979). It
was an activity in which more than one family in the village was involved: the grain
was accepted as belonging to the entire community, not just significant individuals
within the village. The best evidence for this practice was documented by Peters in the
Elazig region. In addition, in 1997, the locals from the Kahramanmara province were
4 Although some other buildings, EE, EL, DU, and FD, had platforms, they lacked pigments. Besides the
FC platform, pigments were found only in the FD and EL platforms.
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able to remember that the same practice being carried out by their elders as early as
the 1930s (communication with locals in the town of Narli in this province). However,
this economic practice led to social tensions that contributed to economic instability in
the village. Disagreements concerning access rights and distribution among families
resulted in disputes and even feuds. In addition, grain theft also became a problem,
even though the negotiations and rules for access were always established at the
beginning of the storage season. The other problem was the difficulty of maintaining
the grain in a dry and edible state. Preventing rainwater from running into the pits was
not easy during the rainy seasons. More importantly, the effort of protecting the grain
from continuous rodent attack seems to have reduced the benefit of the shared storage,
although the plastering of the interiors of these pits was intended to protect the grain.
Thus, community members had to constantly guard and maintain these storage areas
against theft, seeping rainwater, and rodents. Communal storage was eventually
abandoned because of the difficulty of maintenance and the socially disruptive results
mentioned above. Other storage techniques had also been concurrently practiced in
these villages, such as the use of private storage bins in individual households, so that
the transition from communal to private storage was not complicated and preceded
quickly. Based on this ethnographic information, the feature (557) made from above
room FC may be interpreted as a storage pit, because its plastered interior was very
similar to the storage pits made in the recent past in East Anatolia.
The pits (613) and (614) may have functioned similarly. Pit (613) was found to the
north of the platform (677); it was a little larger than 1 m in diameter. The bottom of it
was at a depth of 5.27 meter. The other pit (614) was located to the east of the
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platform; similar to pit (613), its bottom was at a depth of 5.30 meter. Their close
proximity to the platform suggests a related function. Their shallow depth may be the
indication of a short time use. The contents of pit (613) were not recorded, but the
deposit in pit (614) produced DFBW, Ubaid pottery, a grinding stone fragment, and a
fragment of a figurine. The very northwest comer of the room was unexcavated after
installation. The soil texture in that area seemed finer than the room fills, but no further
recording concerning this supposed feature was made in the field notes. Thus, it is not
clear whether there was a bench or any type of installation here, or whether it was just
The central room FC had two doors, the first of which was 65 cm wide and
communicated with room ET via the east wall and the second of which was 55 cm wide
and led to Room GE through the west wall (611). The outside face of the south wall
was not found, but there were two niches made into the interior of this wall. These
niches were significantly larger than the other niches found in the site (see the cross
section view A-A in pi. 22 and the top drawing in pi. 23). One of the niches had an
oval shape with a height of ca. 55 cm, but the other one on the west side of the room
was much longer, with a height of 1 m, only 25 cm above the floor. The bottom half of
the wall had white plaster with red painting, but the red lines of the painting were faded
There were two square shaped, thick wooden beam holes found at the topmost level of
the south wall. They probably represented the joists carrying the upper story of the
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building. Further information about them is included below at the end of this buildings
description.
The builders clearly applied a basic knowledge of geometry for defining the room
location of the platforms inside the central rooms. There is enough evidence from three
other complete central rooms at the site to confirm the application of some basic
geometric rules to constructions at Degirmenepe during the Ubaid (for schematic plans
of these buildings see pi. 27). Understanding this system allows the reconstruction of
the missing north wall of the central room FC and the calculation of its area.
The central rooms EE, EL, and FD have platforms preserved within their complete
plans. At first glance, each platform may look as if it was in the center of the room, but
that is not exactly the case. They are positioned slightly off the center point of the
rooms. A geometric analysis helps reveal the systematic placement of the platforms
within the rooms. When the room is divided into four equal size triangular areas by
drawing two diagonal lines connecting the opposite comers, the intersection of those
diagonal lines is the very center of the rectangular room. A line parallel to the short
walls of the room passing through the center point is the middle-line that divides the
room into two equal size halves (pi. 27). Now, when the locations of the platforms are
compared with the middle-line dividing the rooms in half, it becomes clear that the
position of the platforms was deliberately placed just to one side of the middle of the
room. Attention should be paid to the orientation of the buildings at this point. Building
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EE lies on an E-W axis and the platform in Room EE was placed just east of the
middle-line. The Buildings EL and FD, on the other hand, were built on N-S axis, but
the platforms in the central rooms are still just off center. In all three cases, they are
located slightly away from the middle-line and one edge of the platforms lies very
close to rooms middle-line. However, in the cases of room EE and FD, middle-lines lie
a little bit further away from the platforms. The reason for the variance should be
related to the margin of error in the placement of the diagonal lines, which might have
been caused by the use of imprecise measurements, such as calculations by eye and
ropes. Despite such inconsistencies, the Ubaid builders were obviously choosing the
locations of the platforms deliberately and setting the diagonal lines to find the center
of the room simply by eye and by using ropes. Overall, such a measuring system would
account for the consistent, proportional placement of the platforms within the rooms.
Since platform (677) is completely exposed, applying this geometrical principle can help
determine the location of the north wall and the actual size of the room FC. Because
Building FC was in a N-S direction as were Buildings EL and FD, the platform (677) in
room FC must have been installed slightly south of the center of the room and the
middle-line dividing the room into two halves must have been positioned to the
immediate north of the platform. The length of this middle line is already known from the
3,5 m width of the south end of the room. Accordingly, the distance from the middle-line
to the south wall becomes 4,7 meters. Since this area is half of the room, multiplying the
4,7 m length by 2 gives the actual length of the room. This enables us to find the location
of the north wall and the actual size of the room as well:
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N-S length of the south half of the room x 2 = Length of the room FC
4,7 m x 2 = 9,4 meter
The location of the north wall, then, should be 9,4 m away from the south wall. If the
east wall (700) and the west wall (611) of the room are extended to the north, the
points 9,4 m away from the south wall on each of these walls are the north comers of
the room representing the location of the north wall. The reliability of these
calculations and the most probable location of the north wall can be tested by drawing
the diagonals from the comers. The center point of these diagonals in the other sampled
rooms meet at the middle of the middle-line, an assurance that the location of the north
wall and the area of the room FC is correct. Plate 27 shows these lines indicating the
Based on variations in the proximity of the platforms to the middle-lines in the other
three complete rooms, the margin of error in this geometry-based calculation of area
should be minimal, possibly ranging from 0,5m2 to 1,5 m2. As a result, room FC with an
area of 33m2 must have been the second largest central room found at this site after the
The size of room GL could not be determined because its north portion lay outside of
the trench. The missing door could very well have remained buried in the unexcavated
portion.
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GE holds the southwest comer of the building and it is one of the largest side rooms of
a tripartite building found in the village. There were three bins, two of which were in
the southeast comer of the room near the two doors (see bottom drawing in pi. 23). The
third bin, in the northeast comer of the room, had an elliptical shape rather than a round
form. Communication with the central room FC was via the door on the wall (611). The
other door, in the south wall (678), allowed entry from area FM. A typical double wall
system was observed on the east side of the building, providing the most clear example
Barely any data is recorded for this area, which was excavated at the end of the last
season. Based on the photos, it was probably dug until the fourth meter. The wall (678)
is clearly the exterior wall for the building in this part, since it meets with the exterior
wall (624) to the west. If the south end of this area had been excavated, more
information would have been available about its actual shape, floor level, and
relationship with Building FC. Perhaps this area was an open space for the building.
These are the twin rooms of the building and have a similar size and shape. Although
these floors are higher than those of the other rooms in the building, no further
excavations were carried out inside the rooms to recover possible earlier levels. Their
shared wall (702) had a door at the east end, establishing direct communication
between the rooms. This entrance was 55 cm wide and the lower half of this door was
partially blocked with mud-bricks (bottom drawing in pi. 24). The north wall of room
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ES had evidence of multiple repairs. The bottom drawing of plate 25 shows that this
wall had at least three different sections. The northeast part of it was much thicker than
the rest of the wall, presumably a remnant of the original (also see pi. 22). The
temporal order and the nature of these renovations cannot be reconstructed with the
available data.
Room ET occupied the southeast comer of the building and contained evidence related
to the second story (see below). It must have had a slightly larger room size than what
was found, since the south wall was missing. Inside of the room, there were three bins.
One of them was found in a poor state of preservation in the northwest comer. The
broken pieces of the edge were scattered around this location and none of them were in
situ. The second bin was in the southeast comer of the room at 5.08 m with a height of
ca. 30 cm and the third bin was in the southwest comer near the door at a depth of 4.98
m.
The east wall (704) of the room was a double wall separating this building from
Building 1 to the west. There was one door in the west wall (700) and another in the
north wall (703) (pi. 26). An almost U-shaped opening with a height of about a half
meter was found at the top of the west wall (700); this was thought to be the remains of
another door used in the second story. The existence of a similar wall with two doors
built on top of each other in room K of the Building i encourages the idea that this
depression area in the wall may also be an upper level door. However, its original form
as a door is unclear.
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The north wall (703) had a group of holes found in the depth range of 3.30-3.50 m that
probably represented one end of the horizontally but unevenly laid beams carrying the
floor of the second story. The hearth (570), found at 3.10 m, survived with its plastered
surface only in the south of the room (pi. 22). The opening of the hearth was probably
on the northwest side because the surface bulges out slightly in this area. Since it was
preserved inside the room and probably attached to the south wall, this hearth would
Despite their varying sizes and uneven layout on the wall, the beam holes found at the
opposite wall (703) must indicate the ceiling of the room they once carried. If the south
wall had been recovered, it probably would have shown some beam holes providing
more definite evidence for the presence of the second story. The level of the second
floor associated with this hearth was not found, and the shape of the room on the
second story above the room ET remains unknown. However, the ceiling carrying the
floor of the second story was probably at the level of ca. 3.20 m. The name Level 1,
given to the deposits in the third meter during the excavations after the discovery of the
hearth (570), contained the first Ubaid cultural deposits in this trench. Now, it can be
The two thick joist holes found on the south wall of the central room FC support the
idea of a second story for the building. However, the evidence is somewhat ambiguous
too. The recovery of the joist holes alone does not confirm the existence of the second
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floor because the height of this wall above the joist holes is not known. In addition, the
height of the room from its floor to these joists is not low enough to call room FC as a
low basement, such as those clearly observed in Buildings BC and t Instead, the height
of this room was ca. 1.80 cm, easily permitting an individual to move around and carry
out any necessary task. Then, one should still ask, whether there was a second story
above room FC. The answer is probably yes, because the existence of a second story is
indicated by:
Accordingly, it seems that the floor level of the second story above room FC was
slightly higher than the floor level of the second story room above room ET. Probably,
the room above room ET began at ca. 3.00 m, but the room above room FC would have
It is highly probable that the higher floor level of the second story above the room FC
necessitated the use of thick joists to provide extra support to carry the ceiling. It should
also be remembered here that the room was 3.5 m wide and probably longer than 9 m,
reaching an area of ca. 33m2. The thick beams laid from one long wall to the other may
not have been capable of carrying the ceiling across such a large space. If the walls of
room FC had survived much higher, they would probably have shown more and better
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evidence for the construction of the second story. In conclusion, a second story must
have existed above rooms FC and ET, but the floor levels of the upstairs rooms can
only be guessed without any direct evidence of room plans. Thus, Building FC, after
Buildings I, and BC, becomes the third structure in the site to have had a second story.
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III.D- Building EE: (pis. 28-36)
CC 7.2 m2 3.70 m
EG 7.3 m2 3.60 m
Area HA 3.8 m2 2.72 m
EH 6.8 m2 3.80 m
EA 7.0 m2 3.65 m
EB 4.2 m2 3.61 m
EC 3.4 m2 3.45 m
DF 2.8 m2 -
Peripheral Rooms
DG 3.2 m2 early floor 4.15 m; second floor 3.80 m;
CV 4.5 m2 -
CU 2.7 m2 2.70 m
CT _ 2.62 m
DB 10.5 m2 3.30 m
Area DD 12 m2 ca. 4. 00 m
Area GZ ca.18 m2 or more Indefinitely 2.80 m
Located at the east side of the site, this structure was built on east-west (E-W) axis
contrasting with the north-south (N-S) axis used for the other buildings at the site. The
There was a wall beneath Building EE located at the SW comer (pi. 28). This wall
indicates an earlier structure under Building EE, which was probably contemporary
with Building EL to the south. In order to accommodate Building EE, this earlier
structure may have been demolished, with only this early wall remaining intact. Since
the shape of the south walls of the rooms EA and EH is similar to the shape of this early
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wall, the earlier building may have had the same plan and the same direction as
Building EE. In addition, the southwest comer of Building EE almost intersects with the
NW comer of Building EL. This suggests that Building EL already existed at the time
of Building EE construction, and must have limited the space available to the south.
After demolishing the earlier building, the builders of the new structure EE must have
known how much space was available and built the new Building EE accordingly. The
recovery of the earlier wall and the position of the Buildings EE and EL suggest that
Building EL was contemporary with either the Building EE phase or the earlier building
The ground plan of the building is a typical tripartite plan consisting of the central room
EE, and the side rooms HA, GN, CC, EG, EH, EA, EB, EC, and DF. The rooms added
to this core plan are room HA to the east and room DF to the west. If they do not belong
to another structure further north, we may also add rooms DG, CV, CU, and CT to this
building. Since the records for these rooms are cursory and the excavations in the areas
further north did not reach Ubaid levels, these rooms are subjectively accepted as the
extension for Building EE. Room DB to the north of room EG does not have any direct
communication, but it may still be part of Building EE since Building EE is the only
cohesive structure found next to this room. Furthermore, the areas DD to the west and
GZ to the east must be added to this building as its outside areas, although the other
The walls of the building were preserved up to 1.60 m in height and varied between 50
to 60 cm in thickness.
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D.l- Room EE:
The floor of room EE consisted of compacted mud and was mostly preserved to the
west portion of the room. The platform located in the center and the hearth (630) at the
west comer of the room supported the existence of the floor at that level.
The platform was made of mud and had a rectangular shape with rounded, softly
turning comers. It was 130 cm long and 80 cm wide. It had a slightly raised, bulging
area, which had a small circular sunken hole in the middle that was ca. 5-7 cm deep.
This platform was slightly raised from the floor by ca. 7 cm and the surface was eroded.
Although it was scarcely mentioned in the field notes, there was a small burnt area to
the northeast of this platform. This particular location had no built structure, such as a
plastered surface, that would have been appropriate for setting a small fire on the
into an area 70 cm wide. The possibility of burnt and then fallen roof beams instead of
a fire place is unlikely, because no charcoal was reported from this room and no sign of
an extensive fire was detected for this building. It is possible that a fire was set
occasionally and was affiliated with the platform because of their proximity to each
other.
The other furnishings of the central room were the horseshoe-shaped hearth (630) at
the west side of the room and a square shaped bin (675) next to it. Their backs were
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attached to the west wall of the room, which was heavily damaged by the large size
Iron Age pits, such as the one (521) provided in the plan. The hearth (630) was 10-12
cm higher than the floor surface. It had a horseshoe shape and was almost 1.30 m in
diameter. The surface was carefully made with mud plastering that sloped smoothly
down toward its opening to the east. The opening of the hearth was ca. 20 cm wide and
the wall of the hearth was preserved up to 20 cm in height, but the shape of its
superstructure is unknown. The feature (675) was more or less square-shaped; 1x1.2 m
in size, and interestingly, built 1.20 m high. The surface of this structure was only 15-20
cm deep as a very shallow, tray-like container. The mud walls were ca. 15 cm thick. Its
function must be related with the use of the hearth because of their proximity to each
other. Perhaps it was used for storing edible items, which required that it be off the
There were three doors found in this room. Two of them were used for entering the
smaller rooms of the building, while the third one at the east served as an entrance
from the outside. One of the two small interior doors was located at the north wall
(532) near the square bin (pi. 29). It was less than 1 m high and 50 cm wide with a
slightly dome-shaped top. The second door of the room was located on the south wall
(529) connecting with room EH. It was 1 m high and 45 cm wide. The entrance to
building EE was from the east side via area HA. After sometime, this door was taken
out of use by blocking it with mud bricks and adding a newer wall to the exterior face
of the wall (652). The area squeezed in between this wall and the enclosure wall
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The only niche found in this central room was at the northeast comer of the room. This
niche was rather deep, 35 cm, and large compared to the niches recovered in other
buildings.
The preservation of the walls in this central room was much better than many other
walls of the site. The south wall (529) of the room had the remnants of wall paintings
made on multiple layers of white plaster (pi. 30). After applying a new plaster layer on
top of an earlier painting, a new pattern was made. The designs did not survive
completely. Some red, orange, and black colored designs were visible, but the themes
were unclear. Thus, plate 30 probably shows multiple layers of paintings with different
themes made on this wall. More wall paintings apparently existed in other buildings
too, but the poor preservation did not indicate the use of multi-layered paintings in
these cases.
The top brick courses of the north wall (532) may imply the existence of an upper floor
(pi. 29). The U-shaped cut above the left door may be the indication of the bottom
portion of a door from upstairs. The east end of this wall has a similar cut at the same
elevation. If these cuts imply an upper story, the top mud-brick courses above this
elevation should belong to the upper floor and below these cuts should indicate a
ceiling with a height of only 1.25 m, which would be too low to allow easy movement
for an adult. However, this height is not unusual, since there are more cases found in
this site with solid evidence for a second story that show similar heights. Such evidence
is mentioned below within the descriptions of their respective buildings (see Room K in
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D.2- Rooms GN, CC, and EG:
The 130 cm wide, E-W running baulk covered a substantial area of these northern
rooms. Only the south portion of the room GN was preserved but the other two provide
a complete room plan. According to the notes, the north wall (389) of room CC had a
niche at 2.40 m, but it was not drawn in the plans. The notes also mention some copper
slag in this room but without any further description. The north wall of room EG was a
double wall with a total of five rows of mud-bricks (pi. 28). The southern three rows
belonged to room EG and the other two belong to room DB to the north. A small door
made in the south wall was used for entering the central room EE.
A door on the west wall (652) was once used to enter the central room EE but it was
blocked with a new, parallel wall attached to it sealing the door with mud at some later
time. It is not clear if area HA represents an open space or a room. Perhaps area HA
may have been used as an entryway and may have been an open area before the door
to room EE was sealed later, it may have been turned into a room when the door was
sealed. The south wall is represented only by its interior face due to the damage by the
The pit (670) was damaged its eastern portion. The wall found at the bottom of this pit
appears to be the remaining lower courses of the east wall. The door communicating
with room EE was at the north wall. The niche in the center of the south wall was
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conical in shape and 35 cm high, 18 cm wide. Its bottom part was filled with mud-brick
at a later time, so that the size of the niche became smaller, shrinking to 20 cm in
height. The door at the west end is described below in room EA.
It is unclear what the distinct, ashy, soft soil with abundant pottery found above the
compacted mud floor means. The north end of the east wall (525) had a door with up to
1 m height and 40 cm width between this room and room EH. The west wall (526) had
another door that was blocked soon after with mud-brick (see room EB below). In the
middle of the south wall (524), there was a niche with a conical shape. It had a height
Room EB is one of the twin rooms of the building. The soil context above the floor had
a dense ashy matrix indicating some burning activity, although the nature of this is
unclear. This room has two doors at opposite sides. The entrance from EA had a height
of 1.30 m as preserved and had a width of 50 cm (pi. 32) and sometime later, this door
was filled with mud. The other entrance at the opposite side of the room communicated
with the parallel room EC. This door was more than 70 cm wide and at least 1.5 m high.
The niche found at the south wall (524) was conical in shape.
The Iron Age pit (521) destroyed the northwest portion of the room. There was a barely
preserved fireplace in the southwest comer of the room but it must have been taken out
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of use after some time according to the brief excavation notes. A DFBW pot had a baby
burial inside that was placed under the floor at the southeast comer of the room. One of
the entrances was from room EB, and the other one was from room DF at the northwest
comer. The latter had an irregular rectangular shape that was sealed with mud-brick
A number of beam holes were found in the inner faces of the east wall (527) and the
west wall (528). Each hole on one side of the room more or less corresponded with
another one found on the other side. Thus, the holes from both sides of the room are
pairs found at similar heights. The elevation of these pairs on both side of the room
gradually rises from the north end of the room to the south end.. Each hole had a
different diameter, but the average diameter was 12 cm. Their round shapes are
slightly flattened at the bottom. They clearly indicate a basic system used as a staircase
for going to the upper level. It is not so obvious from this evidence whether there was
another living floor or a roof on top of these rooms. However, the indication of ceiling
height in this room clearly shows that it was rather low. The uppermost beam holes
depicted in the top and bottom drawings of plate 33 show the 2.80 m level as the ceiling
line for the room. This level enables us to calculate the distance between the ceiling
and the floor of the room, which was less than 1 meter, probably ca. 85 cm. Since the
floor and the ceiling heights of this room are established, and it may be assumed that
the low height would prevent an adult from moving about freely, the room EC should
be interpreted to represent the basement of the building. The living floor with a
comfortable ceiling height allowing a person to move around upright must have been
above this floor. To summarize, Building EE had two stories, and the cross section view
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of the room EC in plate 33 and the plan of the entire building in plate 6 show the
It may be thought that these holes cannot represent a staircase because of several
remaining problems. First, the number of beam holes on both sides of the room that do
not match, and second, the distances between the holes found on the same wall are
In referring to the first issue, there were 9 holes identified on the east wall (527), while
there were 11 holes on the west wall (528). The two additional holes on the west wall
are at the north end of the room facing the doorway used to enter from room EB. The
answer to this problem may be related to the door made in the wall (527). There were,
probably 11 holes on the east wall (527) too, but the lowermost two holes were
obliterated later when the door with a threshold was made. The holes at the opposite
wall (528) coincide with these missing holes and support this reconstruction.
The second discrepancy of the possible staircase is the irregular distances between the
holes found on the same wall. Spacing between the holes varies from 15 cm to 30 cm.
In order for these holes to indicate horizontal steps of the staircase, it would be more
desirable for each hole to be equally spaced on the same wall and to coincide with
another hole of the same height on the opposite wall. As mentioned above, the
corresponding holes on the both sides of the room still match and make more or less
horizontal lines for beams. Based on these, it may be stated that the builders did not
measure carefully and probably approximated the distances between the beams by eye,
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which seems to have been the common practice in making the ceilings as well (see
Buildings I and BC). For a much simpler structure, such as the staircase in question,
improper spacing may not have been a problem, and the irregular holes in this case
must still represent a staircase used for access to the top level.
One may wonder about how the staircase was constructed. The structure might have
imagine that the staircase may have had an underlying mud ramp. The limited notes
and soil descriptions do not give evidence for such a ramp at all, but it is still possible
that a ramp may have been present. In this way, no matter how irregular the structure
of the ladder, it would be safe to use and the beams embedded into the mud would
prevent erosion on the ramps surface. In addition, a mud ramp with wood step layout
would have made going up and down easier. Supporting evidence for mud ramp usage
was reported from a similar Ubaid building at Tell Madhur in the Hamrin (Roaf 1989).
The baby burial, the remnants of an oven or a fireplace at the southwest comer of the
room, the blocked door used for entering from room DF, the other door used for room
EB on the east wall (527), and the removal of some of the beams indicate a number of
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In the original construction of the building, the staircase had probably not yet been
built, although the fireplace in the south end may have been present. The DFBW pot
burial could have been placed next to it some time thereafter, but there is no way to
determine if these two features were contemporary. During this time, the door from
room DF might have been in use. Later, the door from room DF might have been
sealed, but the fireplace and the burial may still have been visible in the room. In the
next stage, because the room function had changed, the room was modified by building
a ramp with wooden steps embedded on its slope. In the last stage, the door from room
EB was opened, which necessitated the removal of the first two lowest steps of the
ramp at the north. Based on the evidence given above, the order of this, scenario is
The east wall had a 70 cm wide door that was sealed after some time of use. The wall
construction of the room indicates that the south, west, and north walls may have been
later additions to confine this space as a room. The north wall consists of a double wall
with both (675) and (468) reaching a width of 80 cm. The south wall (676) seems to
have been built for the room DF and another wall at its south face, belonging to the
room FP of Building EL, was attached to it. These two walls draw the border for the
neighboring buildings here. The west wall of DF is a single wall built with three rows of
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The rooms described so far constitute the core tripartite plan for Building EE, but more
rooms to the west and north may also be part of this building. The lack of doors
providing direct communication with Building EE makes the relationship between those
structures difficult to understand. In addition, the Ubaid layers were not investigated in
grid 161 and there may have been another building in this trench. Only the close
proximity of these rooms to Building EE suggests the possibility that they may belong
to the larger structure. In this sense, these rooms may be accepted subjectively as the
The spatial proximity of room DG to the west and room DB to the north in relation to
Building EE makes these rooms the easiest ones to correlate with the building. In the
case of room DB, no other building was found with which it could easily be affiliated,
assumption to correlate room DB with Building EE. Area DD was an open space
probably shared by the occupants of Buildings EE and GK. Similarly, the area GZ
The second floor, above the earlier packed mud floor, was a thin layering of gravel
preserved in the north part of the room in front of the door. The walls were 75 cm thick
but the large pit from above destroyed its east wall. The physical relationship of this
room with Building EE would no doubt have been clearer, had the pit not damaged it.
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The north wall of the room is an important one because it contains a door for entering
room CV with a number of beam holes on top of it. The door was 100 x 65 cm in size
and had a rectangular shape. There were 7 holes made above the door representing
horizontally laid wood beams carrying the ceiling. They were more or less at the same
height, but the beam size, beam shape, and the spacing between them are uneven. In
terms of supporting the existence of second story, the same logic followed in the case of
the staircase and the basement in room EC can be applied here too. The height of the
ceiling in this room is 85 cm between the first floor and the bottom line of the ceiling
and 1.30 m between the second floor and the bottom line of the ceiling. Both of these
heights show that the room height in both floor phases was low for an adult person.
Because of this, room DG may also be interpreted as a basement, implying that there
must have been another living surface above with a higher ceiling. The brick courses
preserved ca. 45 cm above the beam holes (shown in plate 33) must belong to the
second story. As a result, this room represents the evidence for the use of two-story
Ethnographic analogies also support the existence of a second story in this room. The
vernacular architecture of East Anatolia provides two clear clues (Koyunlu 1976; pi.
35). First, the height where the roof begins is also the height where the walls end. The
north wall of room DG does not show such a case. Instead, the wall continues ca. 55 cm
above the beam holes. Thus, the beam holes must not have been carrying the roof, but
the floor of the second story and the wall portions above the beams must represent the
second floors wall. The second indication of vernacular architecture from East
Anatolia concerns the thickness of the roofs. The height between the beams carrying
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the roof and the top surface of the roof ranges between ca. 30 to 35 cm in vernacular
reinforce the roof, such as very fine mud, soil mixed with small size gravel, beams, and
wood planks or fiber mats. If the beam holes of room DG and the distance of the
preserved brick courses between those holes and top of the wall are considered to
represent the roof, then preserved brick courses above the beam holes become too high
for the roof. In other words, the 55 cm high wall preservation above the beam holes is
too thick and inconsistent for a roof structure. In sum, ethnographic examples suggest
that a roof would have been much less thick; therefore much less thickness for the roof
systems and the 55 cm continuous height preserved above the line of beam holes in the
These rooms are located next to each other and extend to the west of the building. The
limitedly preserved floor depths are higher than the floors of Building EE, which may
indicate that they do not in fact belong to Building EE. The limited excavations shed
little light on the plans of these rooms. A wall with a length of ca. 4 m to the south of
It is certain that this room had distinct functions because of the number of seal
impressions, mostly out of context, and burials found in it. The floor consisted of a
rather soft, light brown soil, identified through the recovery of human remains laid on
the floor.
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The lack of an entrance makes this room difficult to affiliate with Building EE. The
additional walls to the east, west, and north of this room may have belonged to the
remains of other buildings. By contrast, its south wall was built with an unusual
technique. It was at least 1.20 m wide and had 5 rows of bricks with ca. 10 cm wide
hollow areas spaced regularly between them. These regular empty areas can be
interpreted as rails into which narrow wood planks might have placed horizontally. The
reason for such a wall construction is not clear from the available data. The two brick
rows on the north side probably belonged to this room, while the other three rows on the
Since the interiors of all the buildings in this settlement are in the form of four walled,
rectangular rooms, area DD with more than four sides does not appear to be a room or
an interior space. Moreover, the space it confines is much larger than the usual room
space. Based on such reasoning, area DD represents one of the few roofless spaces
found in the site surrounded by the buildings EE, GK, BY1 and perhaps another
building at its north side. The occupants of these buildings must have shared this area
If no wall remained hidden under the west baulk, area DD may have continued further
west and area CZ to the west may have also constituted part of it. The floor might have
been at ca. the 4thmeter because a few fragments of a hearth with ashy debris around it
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D.9.e- Area GZ: (pi. 4,28)
This is the last open area located to the northeast of Building EE. A wall to the north
partially buried in the section implies another structure, but the excavators did not note
An enclosure wall built at the southeast edge of the site surrounded Buildings EE and
EL. The excavations outside these buildings were carried out in a hurried fashion and
the enclosure was discovered only with its preserved top courses. The sides of the wall
were excavated ca. 40 cm to expose the plan of the enclosure. This clarified the
relationship of the enclosure with the buildings, but its association with the immediate
open areas remained unknown. In other words, the floor levels of the open areas
located to the east and south of these buildings were not found.
Surrounding the east of Building EE, and the east and the south of Building EL, this
possible but not confirmed. Since this wall continued further north, it probably drew a
borderline for the structures built to the north of Building EE as well. With this layout in
- The south walls of Building EL and the southwest area of Building GK continue
the enclosure with another mud-brick wall attached to their exteriors. A series
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of large, rectangular-shaped posts were embedded into these walls in an upright
- The south walls of rooms GT and GY may have also been included in the
enclosure but the weak preservation does not permit us to be certain about the
west end.
Carefully made wall (649) to the east of Building EE demarcated the inside and
outside spaces for the village. It was made of two rows of mud-bricks with the visible
length of ca. 20 meters. It continued north under the baulk. This wall was ca. lm away
from the buildings to the north, but gradually approached the east walls of the buildings
towards the south, and almost connected to the southeast comer of the Building EL. At
this point, the east wall of room EN was thickened with an additional mud-brick wall
with four rectangular posts embedded in it. Continuing south, the enclosure had a series
of large boulders sealing the east of the building completely. The boulders disappear
south of Building EL, but the exterior of the south wall of Building EL was also
thickened with an additional mud wall, likewise supported with the groups of
embedded poles.
The enclosure was extended to the southeast comer of Building GK further west, but its
existence is not as evident as in the east end. A 4 m long and 2 m wide wall, almost
attached to the east walls of rooms GV and GY, was probably an addition built to support
the enclosure and link the south areas of Buildings EL and GK (see this wide wall in pis.
4 and 39). Perhaps the south walls of the rooms GT, GY, and FF were used as the west
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end of the enclosure as well, because these walls were supported with upright poles as
Flooding to varying degrees is a common event during the spring season (cf. Ch. II),
and at least one major flood occurred in antiquity that damaged the site. This enclosure,
thus, may have been built as a protection against disastrous floods. The occupants must
have been aware of the heavy rain and the high water regime in the nearby branches of
Euphrates as well as the Euphrates itself in every spring. The evidence of flooding,
dated to the post-Ubaid period with the layer of gravel, was well documented at the
southwest of the mound (pi. 16). In addition, another 40 cm thick layer of gravel was
detected immediately above the Ubaid walls in a small sounding in grid 15 K. One may
think that the water may have come from the Euphrates to the north, but no evidence of
flooding was found at die north side of the settlement. Perhaps water came from other
directions, but it is impossible to explain in detail how such a process could have
occurred. According to this, the enclosure wall may have been built to provide
protection against the seasonal floods, but the circumstances by which the river gravel
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IILE- Building EL: (pi. 37)
Coordinates Grid 18 J
Orientation N-NE to S-SW
Area About 104 m2.
Number of rooms 7 rooms and a possible open area
Rooms Size Floor
EL 19.5 m2 3.12 m
El 3.2 m 2 3.04 m
EO 4.1 m1 3.14 m
EP 3.4 m1 Probably 3.14 m
EN 6.1 m2 3.10 m
FP 6.5 m5 3.18 m
FR 3.6 m2 Probably 3.50 m
FS 3.6 m2 Probably 3.50 m
EU - -
Building EL is located at the SE quadrant of the site surrounded by the enclosure wall.
The walls survived up to 1.55 m in height except for the east wall (545) of the central
room, which had a height of only 60 cm. The wall thicknesses vary between 40 and 60
cm. This building appears to be contemporary with Building EE to the north and
Building GK to the west since all these buildings had similar floor levels. However,
some architectural indications implied that Building EL probably had an earlier use
than these two buildings. The details are given in Building EE and GK descriptions.
E .l - Room EL:
Despite the damage done by Iron Age pits dug into to the Ubaid contexts, the
shaped mud platform in the middle of the room was ca. 10 cm higher than the floor. A
circular shaped hollow area, ca. 10 cm in diameter, was in the center and contained a
few dry lumps of pigment. It is possible that these pigments were prepared for making
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paintings over the plastered walls, although in this case no painting was detected on the
walls.
The south wall (546), which is also the south wall for rooms EN and FS, is a double wall.
It is extraordinarily thick compared to the others, reaching a width of 1.25 m, because the
enclosure wall was attached to it from the exterior. Eight rectangular postholes, in groups
of four, were embedded in it for support. On the interior, two niches were found of
similar size and shape. They were 25x25 cm in height and width and ca. 20 cm in depth.
They were placed ca. 1 m apart from each other and ca. 50 cm above the floor. The west
wall of the central room EL had two small doors for entry into rooms FP and FS (pi.
38). Cutting a rectangular form into the mud walls made these doors. They were ca. 70
cm in height and ca. 50 cm in width at their bottom line. The lowermost brick courses of
the wall were left intact and used as a 20 cm high mud threshold.
A circular bin was located at the northwest comer of the room near the doorway. Only
the ca. 18 cm high bottom portion of it was recovered, but it had a diameter of 50 cm
and a wall thickness of 6 cm. Its location partially blocks the front of the door, implying
that the bin was placed there later. The inside of the bin was empty.
The hearth, which was not given a feature number, was located in the northeast comer
of the room. Its north and east sides were attached to the north and east walls. The
hearth had a horseshoe shape with a diameter of ca. 1.40 m and a wall thickness of ca.
25 cm. Its mud plaster surface was slightly raised from the floor. The walls of the
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hearth had a slight curve, implying a dome shaped superstructure. The opening at the
south side sloped smoothly down to the floor of the room. This carefully plastered slope
was wider than the actual opening of the hearth. The slope leading to the opening may
have facilitated the efficient placement of the wood inside, and removal of the ash and
Area El was located in the northeast area of the complex and covered an area of ca.
3.20m2. A wall that lay partially under building EE and the room EO to the south
confined this area. Since walls did not completely surround it, it must have been an
open space that was probably used as vestibule to enter the building from room EO.
The narrow triangular-shaped area further west of it could not have functioned very
efficiently.
The north wall had a 1.25 m wide opening connected with area El to the north. The
other 60 cm wide opening at the south wall (548) connected EO with EP. The south
room EP was slightly narrower than the room EO. The mud-brick enclosure wall (649)
was unattached to the east wall (549) but ran parallel to these rooms.
This room did not have any door communicating with the other rooms around it. A
plaster surface representing the remains of a hearth was found in the NW comer of the
room. It was more or less square in shape and ca. 5 cm higher than the floor of the
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room. The actual form of the superstructure is unknown, due to its poor preservation.
The east wall of room EN was 80 cm thick and the south wall was 1.25 m thick. There
were four rectangular wooden beam holes made inside of each of these walls. Similar
beam holes were also found at the south wall of room FS.
The floor of room FP may have been at 3.18m because the two circular bins were found
at this depth also. The bins were placed side by side in the SW comer of the room. One
of them was 50 cm in diameter while the other slightly larger. Only the bottom parts of
these bins were preserved. The east wall of the room had a small door for entering the
central room EL. The west wall of the room was a double wall with a thickness of 1.50
m. The outside wall of this double wall belonged to Building GK. Given the fact that
the double walls have been repeatedly discovered in many other cases as the exterior
walls for the buildings, this double wall indicates a physical boundary drawn between
When compared with other room plans, the plan of this room clearly differs with its
non-rectangular six sides. This could hypothetically imply a later remodeling, but there
These adjacent rooms had a similar size and shape. The middle room FR had no exit,
but the room FS contained a door that opened into the central room EL. The south wall
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of room FS was a double wall and its exterior with postholes constitutes part of the
surrounding wall.
There are two very narrow areas west of these rooms. No significant records were
available for these tiny openings, but they are visible in the excavation photos. Their
width is 35cm at most and their floors were not found. The notes mention that the
excavations could not continue further down after the first 70 cm because of the
difficulty of digging in these very narrow areas. These two cell-like openings seem to
have stratigraphical indications for this part of the settlement. They may have been part
of Building EL, since no architectural evidence distinguishes them from this building.
However, Building GK to the west was a later construction built on top of an early
structure; these two obscure areas were probably the remains of the two rooms
belonging to this earlier building. This case will be pointed out once more in the
description of Building GK when the south rooms are under discussion (see the
This is the area outside of Building EL that surrounds the south and the east sides of the
structure. The actual surface of this area was not found, but the harder soil texture
found at 3.25 m depth was assumed to be the ground surface for the outside areas in
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m .F- Building GK: (pi. 39)
GF 3.4 m2 3.40 m
GG 2.3 m2 3.40 m
GH 5.6 m2 3.60 m
GI 1.3 m^ (?) -
GY - -
Area FV - -
The floor preservation inside the rooms of Building GK was poor and their
identification was largely based on the determination of the harder soil texture, as well
as the depths of the installations and the positions of artifacts near the possible floors.
Building GK was the largest structure with the widest single walls encountered in the
site. The walls were generally lm wide, or even wider in some cases. They were
preserved up to a height of 70 cm for the most part, but the south wall (608) was 1.40 m
in height.
More rooms and an open space were located further south of the building. A discussion
about their relation to Building GK is provided below. However, it may be noted here
that this group of rooms seems to have been the remains from an earlier building that
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lay beneath building GK. According to their relative positions to each other and the
possible floor surfaces, the use-life of Building GK can be divided into two sub phases:
1- the early building phase and 2- the building GK phase during which the rooms to the
The central room of the building was the largest room found in the site. An Iron Age pit
(471) with a diameter possibly ca. 4 m had destroyed a portion of the north side of the
room. The excavators seem to have decided not to remove this large pit and the layers
above it in order to reach the Ubaid deposit under it because this task would have taken
a considerable amount of time. Thus, this giant pit area remained unexcavated and the
The floor was in a bad state of preservation. The soil was reported to be very soft and
ashy, indicating some exposure to fire. The excavations inside the room produced large
amounts of broken pottery, with the bottom of a circular bin at the southwest comer of
the room, and a box-like mud-brick feature. The circular bin had a diameter of ca. 50
cm. The box-like feature was at the floor level and was attached to the east wall (466)
from its back. It had a 45x45 cm square shape with ca. 8 cm thick walls, and was empty
inside. This feature may have been used as some kind of container.
The interiors of the walls were carefully plastered and a small area with red painting
was preserved on the east wall (466). The designs and the theme of the painting cannot
be understood because of its limited preservation (pi. 40). Some scattered fragments of
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dry pigment pieces found inside the room may have been related to the production of
the wall paintings. The east wall (466) had a doorway opening into room GH that was
about 80 cm wide. There were two other doors found at the opposite side of the room
on the west wall (609), but their actual height was unclear, because the part of the wall
at these door areas was only preserved to a height of ca. 60 cm. One of the doors was at
the south and was used to enter room FL; the other one at the north was used to enter
The south wall (608) had two small niches with a width of ca. 25 cm, a height of 20 cm
and with an arch-shaped top. They were relatively shallow and were placed a little
more than one meter apart from each other (see the cross section view in pi. 39).
Room CH was located at the NW comer of the building. The door to enter room GK
was on the west wall, but was obscured by the baulk. There were three infant burials
found in the shelf-like horizontal openings made inside the wall. The context and the
The baulk from room GK continues and covers most of the interior spaces of rooms CY
and FL. As a result, the information from these rooms was greatly limited. The floors
for these rooms were not found, but, since the other rooms of the building had floors at
a similar depth range, it was logically assumed that the floors should have been
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CY was a narrow rectangular-shaped room. A burial of an adolescent was found in a
ca. 60 cm long shelf-like space inside the north wall. Some residue of red paint found
on the skull indicates a treatment of the dead after death. The notes suggested that the
remains might have belonged to an individual of ca. 15 years in age based on the shape
and condition of the teeth. This information should be considered unreliable, since the
note-takers were only students and the necessary confirmation by a specialist was
never made at that time. Room FL was similar in shape and size to room CY, but its
This northeast room had a more or less square shape. A circular fireplace area might
have existed in the middle of the room, because the soil had an intense gray and ashy
content specifically in this location. Although it cannot be proven, a few pebbles that
The north and east walls were built as double walls and were exceptionally thick. The
exterior wall of the north double wall (464) was 55 cm wide and the interior wall was
70 cm wide. The interior wall had an entrance from area DD, but this was filled with
mud to seal it (pi. 41). Later, this door was blocked with the addition of the exterior
wall in front of it. The east double wall (465) had 65 cm wide exterior and 90 cm wide
interior walls reaching a total thickness of 1.55 m. The inner wall bricks seemed to be
more square in shape than the bricks used for the outer wall.
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An infant burial was found in a pot in the northwest comer of the room. The burial was
located slightly within the wall, but the pot was broken into pieces and the bones were
emerging out of the wall. The pressure of soil from above may have caused the pot to
break during the depositional processes and may have pushed the bones out from their
place into the softer soil deposit that filled the room.
These twin rooms were located south of room CM. The recovery of abundant pottery
and bones may imply the use of these rooms as a trash area. These rooms are
connected with each other via a door cut straight at the end of their shared wall (604),
but they had no apparent access from the other rooms of the building.
Their form and size suggest that they were the twin rooms of the building that were
used to access the roof or an upper living floor, although no evidence indicating a
staircase was recovered inside of them. The reasons for assuming such a function were
already presented above when the case of room EC in Building EE was under
discussion. Assuming that the size and shape of the twin rooms are appropriate for their
use to access to upper level, then rooms GF and GG may represent at least two
different functions: 1-they, for a while, served as the dumping area, 2- they provided
access to the roof or second story. The idea of such multi-functionality is supported by
the evidence detected in rooms EC and EB of Building EE, where the internment of the
dead, the use of an oven, and then the use of a staircase were evidential activities (pi.
28). Building EL, on the other hand, does not show any twin rooms with clarity. If the
room size and plans are the first criteria, rooms EO and EP may not be designated as
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the twin rooms, because their size is not as significant as the rooms GF and GG in
Building GK and no evidence indicative of their function was recorded in the notes.
Room GH had a more or less square shape. The door on west wall lead into the central
room GK. The field notes state that pottery and bones were abundant in this room, but
To the east of room GH, there is a very small cell-like room GI. The wall in between
GH and GI has no door, but an incomplete, small opening was made in antiquity from
the GI side of the wall without reaching the room GH side. The east wall of GI was
very thick, indicating a border between Buildings GK and EL. This associates the room
GI with Building GK. On the other hand, room GI may have originally been part of an
earlier structure beneath Building GK, the remains of which were represented by the
group of rooms to the immediate south of building GK. Therefore, it seems more
convincing that room GI probably existed before Building GK, together with the
southern rooms, but was also used later by the Building GK occupants (see below).
More architectural remains were recovered to the immediate south of Building GK.
The goal for excavating this area was to expose the outer areas of the Building GK so
that the general architectural plans and the southern edge of the site could be visible.
The walls were represented only by their preserved tops at a depth of ca. 2.30 m and
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the floors were not found inside every room. As a result, the available information is
limited for this area, yet the recovery of architectural plans was reasonably successful.
The areas HE and GU do not appear to have been rooms, since they were very narrow
(ca. 55 cm) and would not have allowed enough space for an individual to cany out
any task. For that reason, they are refened to here as areas. There was a partially
preserved mud floor recovered at the east end of area GU at a depth of 2.52 m. A bin,
found in the middle of area HE at a depth of 2.47 m, provides further evidence for the
existence of this floor. The floors of the rooms GT-GV and GY were not found.
Based on the general architectural plan, HE and GU seem to constitute a large, single
room, since there was no division wall between them. Similarly, GT and GV make
another room. The room GY, on the other hand, was a rectangular room with no
connection between it and its neighbors. The walls of these rooms survived with a
height of ca. 35-40 cm. A 50 cm wide entrance established communication between the
All together, these rooms must be interpreted as the remains of the southern portion of
another single structure because they do not fit the plan of Building GK. In addition,
this structure must be an earlier building below Building GK, because the 35 cm wide
south wall of HE and GU extends a little bit beneath the SE comer of the Building GK.
The very narrow and long space of HE-GU also indicates that it previously would have
had a much wider space towards the north, which was obliterated by the massive walls
of Building GK. According to these, it is safe to assume that when the construction of
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Building GK began, it destroyed the earlier structure underneath it. Based on these
observations, rooms HE-GU, GT-GV, GY, and probably the small room GI to the east
of the room GH should signify part of this earlier structure under Building GK.
Furthermore, the two very small areas to the north of GI, found between Buildings GK
and EL, must represent two larger rooms that belonged to the north portion of this early
structure but were destroyed by Building GK. That is why these two rooms were
recovered with such small and seemingly unusable areas. As a result, Building GK may
multiple rooms. If any other remains of this earlier building had survived demolition for
the construction of Building GK, a small test sounding inside room GK would have
yielded sufficient data to confirm or refute the existence of this early building. Given
that the floor level of the room HE-GU did not differ greatly from those of Building
GK, these rooms may not have been deserted, but rather may have been used later by
The south walls of the rooms GT-GV and GY may also be seen as a barrier
incorporated into the west portion of the enclosure wall, which, as one possibility, may
have protected the site against floods (see Building EE and EL plans). The poorly
preserved south wall of room GY may have been intended to provide such protection,
however unsuccessfully.
South of these rooms, area FV, defined an open space and probably the southern edge
of the site. Since the excavators were primarily interested in the interiors of the
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ffl.G- Building DU and its north area: (pi. 42)
CE 2.8 m2 3.68 m
Small Building BY1 at north
BY1 12 m2 early floor 3.67 m; later floor 3.30 m
CO 3.0 m2 early floor 3.67 m; later floor 3.30 m
BZ 6.7 m2 3.30 m
CG 2.3 m2 early floor 3.78 m; later floor 3.37 m
BH 3.8 m2 possibly at 3.60 m
Fig. 3.11: Introductory chart for Building DU and its north areas.
While the basic concept of the tri-part division was somewhat adhered to in the layout
of building DU, only one large size room was built to the east and west sides of the
central room. Furthermore, the addition of a series of narrow, smaller rooms to the west
and north blurs the tri-partite organization. The area in grids 17 G and 17 H to the north
of Building DU is intentionally added into this section here. The excavations in this part
of the mound seem to have been hurried and the significance of the rooms to the north
of this building was not clear. However, the lack of doors between these rooms
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indicates that these north rooms were disconnected from Building DU and may be
considered part of another building. The wall thicknesses, the plan of these rooms, and
the relation of these rooms with each other also support the interpretation as a separate
building to the north. This building is called Building BY1 in this study, which takes its
name from room BY1. The cluster of rooms to the south of Building DU did not belong
to Building DU either. They constituted other smaller buildings. For this reason, the
description of them is in the section called partially preserved structures that can be
This room represents the two major building phases, but the recovered floors belong
only to the early phase (see the early phase floor in pi. 45). The building plan in plate
42 shows the upper floor of the early phase, because it is the one that contained
installations. There must have been another floor above it belonging to the late building
phase, but a large Iron Age pit from the top layers seems to have destroyed it. The
section drawing in pi. 45 shows this late phase floor together with the associated wall
remains inside rooms BE, AY, and AT. The evidence from these rooms helps in the
reconstruction of the late phase for the building. Therefore, room DU must have been in
use through the later major building phases as well, but the evidence of this phase did
not survive.
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The installations belonging to the upper floor of the early building phase were: a
platform in the north end of the room with two basins near it, three pits in the floor, and
The two Chalcolithic pits were in the south half of the room (pi. 42). The pit (585) was
at 3.63 m and continued until 4.51 m. The other pit (593) was at 3.66 m, dug into the
sterile soil to a depth of 5.01 m. The third pit (332) was located in the north end of the
room. It began at 3.59 m and its bottom also reached sterile soil. There was a skull of a
deer near this pit, but no clear indication correlating this skull with the pit. The context
and the soil texture of the pits are not specified in the notes, except that dense layers of
The platform (586) was in north side of the room and had two mud-brick basins near it.
The platform was 10 cm higher than the floor and was attached to the north wall. It was
square in shape, ca. 60 by 60 cm in size, and had a ca. 7 cm diameter hole in its center.
To the immediate west of it, there was a basin that also partly connected to the north
wall. It had an ovoid shape with a pronounced curved edge, which functioned as a rim,
and it had a plastered surface. Their close proximity with each other suggests that they
may have been used together. Since this platform resembles the others found in
buildings EL and EE, it can at least be suggested that these particular installations were
probably used in the same fashion inside the central rooms. The second basin (587)
was located further south, and probably functioned similarly to the other one to the
north. It was made of mud brick with an oval shape, but its west side was not preserved.
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The walls of this room as well as the rest of the building are not particularly thick,
averaging ca. 40 cm. It appears that two rows of bricks were used for the south wall, but
the others might have only had one row of bricks. There were three doors for entering
the side rooms of the building. The one on the east wall was used to enter room EK and
it was 50 cm wide (pi. 44 top). The other doors were on the west wall (507); the one
for entering room BE was 80 cm wide, but interestingly, the door made for the room
DV was too narrow to use comfortably. It was 30 cm wide only (also see room DV
description below). The interiors of the east, west, and south walls were covered with
white plaster; a red painting survived in the southeast comer of the room on wall (506)
(pis. 43 and 44 bottom). It is possible that there were more paintings on the plastered
The south wall (506) was the interior part of the double wall built to separate the
building from southern rooms. The south walls of rooms EK and DV were also built in a
similar manner. There were two niches made ca. 1.50 m apart from each other on the
south wall (506) (pi. 44 bottom). They were ca. 20 cm deep and the size of the west
niche was 50x35 cm. The other one was much larger, probably because of erosion on
A baby burial was found in the northwest comer of the room, lying in a flexed position
inside the wall. The body was placed horizontally within the wall. The excavation notes
suggest that the burial, the deer skull above the pit 332, and the platform with the two
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basins indicate some kind of ritual activities in this room. The wall painting on the
G.l.b- Early Floor Level of the Early Building Phase: (pi. 45)
The lower floor of the room DU was at ca. 3.92 m, but was not found as a distinct
feature with any furnishings associated to it. It is represented in the middle and,
partially, in the northwest comer of the room. Below this early floor was yellowish
This room itself comprised the eastern flank of the building, and it was relatively large
for a side room. The floor belonged to the early phase. The north, south, and east walls
were all double walls. The north wall had a width of 1.15 m, while the east and south
walls were less thick, with ca. 80 cm in width. The use of these double walls for this
room indicates that it was the border for the east side of the building.
The 50 cm wide door on the west wall was used to enter room DU. A buttress-like wall
projected ca. 30 cm out of the north wall. It may have been used to support the roof, but
may also have defined the northeast comer of the room as a separate part for some
purpose. Pit (615), with a diameter of ca. 1 m, was located in the south end of the room.
It was dug into the floor at 3.56 m until 4.60 m. The high platform (667) built at the
southeast comer is the third feature installed in this room. It had a 20 cm wide mud
edging with pebble-stone surfacing. Interestingly, this feature was ca. 50 cm higher
than the floor and its wall was survived to almost 1 m in height at its west side. It may
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have been used for storing certain items, which required pebble surfacing for isolation
Room DV is again relatively large for the side room of a building. The floor belonged
to the early building phase. The entrance from room DU was only ca. 30 cm wide,
through which it would have been difficult for an adult to pass. The narrow size of this
entrance must be related with the spatial arrangements made inside the room.
Occupying most of the room space with a diameter of 1.40 m, the oval-shaped hearth
(538) is quite large for this room and barely allows an individual to move comfortably
around it. As this hearth was attached to the east wall of the room, the remaining part
of the east wall (507) provided only a very narrow space for a door. The surface of the
hearth was mud plastered and its wall was preserved as high as 20 cm from the floor.
Its opening was ca. 20 cm wide and was located on the west side. Because the hearth
occupied most of the space, this room could have been linked with fire-related
activities, such as ceramic firing or possibly cooking. There was a small niche in the
south wall, but it was not well preserved. A burial found at the SW comer was
contained only a skull and a few bones, indicating a possible disturbance of the deposits
in the past. These remains may even have leaked down from the later period deposits.
Thus, it is safer to avoid dating the burial as Ubaid period since it was found in an
uncertain context.
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Room BE provides clear evidence for the existence of two building phases. There were
later walls built on top of the early walls (305) and (304), and there was a floor, made
above the two early floors, undoubtedly associated with these late walls. The walls of
the late building phase barely survived up to 40 cm due to damage from Iron Age
activities. Thus, the walls (304), (305), and the two floors represent the early building
phase and the floor in 3.65 m depth is the renewal of the earlier one.
No features were found in this room except the three doorways, suggesting that the
room was used as a vestibule for entry into other rooms. The width of the east door was
ca. 80 cm, used for going into room DU, and width of the west door was ca. 50 cm,
opening into the small rooms AY, AT, and DZ. The last door to the north was used for
entering room AV and had a width of ca. 50 cm. A baby burial placed into a pot was
found in the south of the room, but no details about it are available in the notes.
Areas AY and DZ are the two parts that form a reversed L-shaped room. Both building
phases are represented inside rooms AT and AY. The later building phase in AY was
represented with later wall remains and a floor built on top of the early phase floors.
The early floor of the early building phase was at 4.10 m, but it was renewed later. The
depth of the late floor and the associated walls, as well as the early building floor and
the walls, match well with the depth and position of both building phases encountered
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Room AT has almost the same levels for the walls and the floors, except the late
flooring within the early building phase is missing. The south wall of AT was a thin
wall made with one row of bricks. This wall may be a later addition that blocked the
connection with room DZ to the south, but no data is available to confirm this.
There were baby burials found in the southeast comer of the L-shaped AY-DZ room.
One of them was buried in the soil, while the other two babies were interred together
inside a pot. They were placed on top of each other in flexed position.
The plan and the building phases of these rooms were very similar to those found in the
small rooms AT and AY. Both of these rooms had the early building phase with two
floors, but the later building phase was only represented with later walls built on top of
the early walls. The early floors consisted of packed mud and ashy soil with abundant
gravel. This gravel was mostly flint, probably brought in from the Euphrates, which
contained numerous multi-pointed perforator tools. The small size of these rooms
suggests that they may only have been used for storage.
No early or later building phases were detected in these rooms. The size and shape of
room GA are reminiscent of the other small rooms found in the building. FZ also has a
similar size, but its floor surface was made with pebbles. Instead of a room, FZ should
be accepted as a platform because it was built slightly higher than the surrounding
rooms. It may have been used for keeping tools and other goods above the floor level.
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If this was the case, the question of to which neighboring room it belonged cannot be
answered with the available data. It may equally have been part of room BF to the
CE is a small, square-shaped small room. This room has no access to its neighboring
rooms, which makes it difficult to determine whether it really belonged to Building DU.
However, the double walls to its south, east, and north sides imply that it was a part of
Building DU.
Inside CE, there was a ca. 60x60 cm size, mud-brick box-like feature attached to the
interior of the west wall. This feature recalls the other similar square-shaped, feature
from room GK in Building GK, which was also attached to the east wall in this room.
It is clear that Building DU had an unusual plan, but it still generally adhered to the
tripartite layout. It had two building phases observed in its east and north portions. The
early building phase provided the most coherent plan with two floors (pis. 42,45). The
late building phase did not demolish or change the original architectural plan in any
substantial way, but instead, the newer walls were added on top of the earlier ones with
a new floor associated with them. Thus, the general plan of the building must have still
been preserved in the late building phase. It is possible that the narrow and small rooms
to the west and north may be the result of the addition of thin dividing walls inside the
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larger rooms. Such a possibility is hinted at best between rooms AT and DZ. However,
no clear supporting evidence for such modifications can be found in the available data.
The least understood part in the site lies the to the north of Building DU. Based on the
room plans, the size of the rooms, and the thick walls visible to the east and south,
another building may be identified, called BY1. It does not have a tripartite plan, but by
interpreting room BY1 as the central room, the building plan becomes bi-partite. It
consisted of the main room BY1 and the small rooms BZ and CO for its eastern flank.
At the west side, the third flank did not exist, but it was represented by an open space
BH instead. Since sufficient data is lacking, the description of this building and its
architectural data.
During the excavations, the room name BY was mistakenly given twice: to a room in
the grid 15 J and to another in grid 17 H. For that reason, the room BY of grid 17 H
received the number 1 here and is called BY 1 in this study. This rectangular room
probably represented the central room for the building. There were two floors
indicating that the room was contemporary with the early building phase of Building
DU. According to the field notes, the late floor was a renewal consisting of sandy soil
mixed with gravel. Most of the gravel was flint nodules, probably from the Euphrates.
This type of flooring had also been detected in rooms CO and CG, all of which recall
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The west wall of the room was probably buried under the baulk. The south wall may
have been a double wall because it was almost 1.30 m wide. The north wall was ca. 40
cm wide, and the east wall was only 25 cm wide, built with only one row of bricks. The
box-like 65 x 65 cm size mud-brick feature (392) was attached to the interior of the
east wall (363), suggesting a kind of container or the bottom of a storage bin. It should
be remembered here that similar features were found inside room CE to the immediate
south, the central room GK of Building GK, and the central room BC of Building BC. In
this case, the walls were about 10-12 cm wide mud-brick. Despite the crudely made
exteriors, the interior was rather smooth, with round gravel used for the surface.
Located next to the southeast comer of room BY1, room CO had two floors found at the
same levels as those found in room BY1. The upper floor again consisted of sandy soil
and gravel. The north and west walls of the room were 30 cm wide. The south and east
walls, however, were quite thick, without any signs of a double-wall construction. The
thin walls may represent the internal walls of the building, while the east and south
BZ is an L-shaped room and the only floor was at a depth of 3.30 m. It is possible that
an early floor could have existed at the depth of 3.60-3.70 m, if the excavations had
continued deeper. The west, south, and east walls were thin, but the north wall was
fairly thick, probably defined the northern edge for the building. The east wall had a
zigzag shape, meeting with the wide wall of room CH of Building GK.
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G.9.d- Room CG:
The floors of the rectangular room CG consisted of sandy soil and gravel, which fits
well with the characteristics of the other floors found inside the other rooms. The thick
walls to the east and north probably drew the northeast border of the building.
Area CZ was probably not a room. Its non-rectangular form suggests that it may instead
have been an open area. There is a possibility that its east wall was under the east
section. However, if it had no east wall, this area may have formed the west part of the
open courtyard DD for Buildings EE and GK (see pis. 28 and 39). No information is
It is unclear whether this area represents a room or an open space. Its plan as well as its
interior size is incomplete, because the excavation lines to the north and west hide its
actual form. Thus, only the south and east walls of this area were found with no floor.
This is the last area that could have been an open space because it does not seem to
have the usual rectangular form for a room. It appears that the significant part of this
area remained under the north and east sections. The excavated space had an area of
ca. 20m2. The east wall separating area BH from room BY1 was presumably under the
east baulk. The floor may be assumed to be at 3.60 m but this was never confirmed in
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G.9.h- Room BA:
BA is a very small room created by walling off a portion of the south part of area BH.
The south and west sides are actually the thick external walls of Buildings BC and DU.
The thin north and east walls were added to confine the space. Wet lumps of mud
applied by hand formed the walls that resulted in crumbly and rough surfaces. The
opening to the north was very narrow and would not have permitted any individual to
pass through. There was a mud-brick installation (314) inside attached to the south
wall. This crudely made structure was 30 cm higher than the possible floor surface. Its
small space, along with its shape, and height imply a container for keeping hay, straw,
or grain for animals. It may have functioned as a coop or a hutch in which small
Building DU, it can be recognized as a bi-partite structure consisting of four rooms: the
central room BY1, and small rooms CO, BZ, and CG. The remaining areas CZ, BO, and
BH around it probably represent the open spaces of this building where the occupants
could have carried out certain outside tasks. Since the south and east walls of the small
room BH are also the external walls of the other neighboring buildings and lack any
doors, the inhabitants of Building BY1 must have had direct access to area BH and the
tiny room BA to its south. If a wall with a door remained buried under the baulk to the
west of room BY1, then area BH and room BA could be securely associated with this
building.
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m.H- Building FD: (pi. 47)
The complete exposure of Building FD was not possible during the very last excavation
season, but the base plan of the structure appears to be bi-partite, consisting of the
central room FD and the group of side rooms on the east side. Thus, the most significant
difference of the structure from the typical Degirmentepe layout is its lack of rooms
The spatial relationship between this building and Building BC to the south is also
unclear, but the temporal difference between the two seems evident. The substantial
wall (690) of Building FD obviously sits on top of the north part of Building BC and as
a result, the Building FD can be interpreted to be a later construction than Building BC.
Probably, the later construction of Building FD damaged the northern rooms of Building
BC as well. This possibility and the temporal difference suggested for Building FD here
would have to have been tested during the excavations (also see the beginning of
Building BC below), but was apparently not pursued because of time constraints.
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H .l- Room FD:
Beginning from the south end, the floor had an unusually distinct slope down towards
the north end. This floor was adjusted to the general topography of the site, because the
mound itself sloped smoothly north towards the Euphrates in this area. Although the
preservation of the floor was not very good in the middle of the room, it met with
feature (668) where the floor depth became ca. 4.82 m. It continued at the other side of
feature (668), but the slope almost disappeared and the floor became more horizontal
at ca. 4.90-4.95 m depth. According to this sloping floor, the ceiling at the north half of
the room must have been much higher than the south half of the room. Perhaps
additional strengthening features were necessary for the north side in order to support
the higher ceiling. Although the walls of the building were not preserved particularly
high, an almost two meter long mud-brick wall was added to the exterior of the north
wall (687). This wall must have been much longer, running the entire length of wall
(687) at its exterior and probably providing the additional support needed for higher
The platform (658) was in the middle of the room. It is the largest and best-preserved
example compared to the others found in the village. It had a 1.60x1.00 m size
rectangular shape found at 4.85 m. With the extension made on its north side, it
cm lower than the floor level, may have been a basin. The whole structure was made
with mud, and it surface was carefully smoothed with mud plastering. A complete pot
found inside the basin suggests a distinct use for the platform. When the other examples
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found in Buildings FC, EE, EL, and DU are considered, the location of all these
platforms in the center of the main rooms indicates a specific purpose for this feature.
To the immediate north of this platform, the unique feature (668) was found. It was a
low structure built with mud bricks, 80 cm wide, running across the entire width of the
room. The bricks used for its construction were unusually long, standard size bricks,
with the average of 80 x 13 cm size, but a different size of brick was used for its east
side. The bottoms of these bricks were buried inside the floor, but it was not determined
how deeply they were buried. This feature had a ca. 2 m long part projecting from the
north side, also made with the long bricks. The known overall height of this feature
from the floor was only 16 cm. This low height eliminates the possible function of a
bench for sitting. Perhaps, with the use of posts, it may have been part of a support for
the ceiling, because the high ceilings compensating for the sloping floor necessitated
additional support.
This room has two benches attached to the short walls to the south and north sides of
the room. The width of the benches was ca. 30-35 cm, so they seem narrow for sitting.
Their surfaces were plastered with yellowish-white colored mud, but the plaster on the
north bench barely survived. The walls of the room had the standard thickness of 55-60
cm, preserved up to heights of ca. 40-50 cm. The interiors of the walls were plastered.
There are two doors on the east wall (688) used for entering into rooms FT and GP.
The west wall had only one entrance but it was too narrow for a person to use. Despite
the fact that the excavated area to the west of this room is so limited, the exposed area
was enough to show that no room was present to represent the west flank of the
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building. Thus, this narrow opening could only have been an entrance for small animals
The floor was not found in most parts of room GP, but the hearth (623) indicated that
the floor was probably at the depth of 4.80 m. The door on the west wall, with a width
These rooms both have similar forms with a narrow rectangular plan, indicating that
they were the twin rooms of the building. The areas of the rooms must have been
similar, but their exact sizes cannot be determined because their east sides bordered
As with the other small rooms of the building, only the three walls of the room were
found and the east wall was probably buried under the east baulk. The door, with a
width of ca. 65 cm, was in the west wall, opening into the central room FD.
It is obvious that the west and the north of the building served as open spaces: The only
direct communication was through the narrow door from the southwest comer of the
central room FD, indicating that the open area probably belonged to this building.
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III.I- Building FN: (pis. 48-49)
The limited time in the last excavation season affected the excavations in this building
so that the data related to it is very limited. It was located at the very west side of the
settlement and was only partially recovered with its north portion remaining under the
section. The building did not have a tripartite form and most of the walls survived to
less than 1 m in height (see the cross section view in pi. 48). Even though the rooms
and the division walls had an angular, irregular plan, the exterior of the building on the
west side had a round form, demarcating the borderline of the settlement at its SW
edge.
Room FN was only partially exposed. This room presumably had a rectangular shape,
running parallel to Building FC to the east. The east wall (679) was part of the double
wall structure separating this building from the other one to the east. No furnishings
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Room GO fit in between room FN to the north and Room FO to the south. The
triangular shape of this room implies that the plan of the building was prepared before
the actual construction was started; this geometric shape helped to form the curvature
along the west side, enabling the structure to adjust the topography of the mound.
Room FO at the south end of the building was built in a rectangular shape. Because of
the triangular shape of room GO to the north, its layout was not parallel to room FN but
angled with a NW to SE orientation. The north wall, for some reason, had a zigzag
shape in the middle. The south wall had three angular postholes indicating vertically
placed wooden poles. Sets of similar postholes were also recovered along the enclosure
wall at the southeastern edge of the settlement. They were 14x14 cm in size and were
placed at intervals of ca. 30 cm to support the wall. The south wall (627) ran under the
wall (683), in which there was a door leading to the west room HL.
This room is an interesting one because it shows the curvature of the west side of the
building. Because the north part of the room is missing and the west wall is curving
rather than straight, the overall room shape is difficult to extrapolate. The necessity for
the curving exterior wall, which was built in two parts, is contradicted by the generally
rectangular plan of the interior spaces. Probably they were the result of an adjustment
to the topography and the renovation process of the building. Perhaps, the builders were
several connecting wall segments. The south end of the curving wall was much wider,
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like a buttress. The L-shaped wall (684-683) sits on top of this wall and wall (627) to
the east. The north wall (682) had an entrance to room HK.
1.5-Room HK:
Only its comer area was excavated and this visible portion implies that the room had a
triangular form. This makes sense because room HK a is geometric reflection of the
triangular room GO at its opposite side, so that the triangular forms of these rooms
would have helped form the curved edge of the building to the west.
There are two interesting architectural features of this building not repeated elsewhere
at the site that allow for some discussion of the actual plan and the conditions at the
time of construction: the unexpected use of triangular room plans and the curvilinear
form of the west edge of the building. The reasons for this buildings unusual style
The excavated part of the building shows that the available space was limited and the
building plan had to fit into that space. It seems that Building FC to the east, probably
another building to the north, and the topography of the mound all restricted the space
for Building FN. The only curvature achieved with two walls was in the west side of the
building, which coincides with the beginning of the slope at this part of the mound. The
contour lines of the mound and the position of the west side of the building are clear in
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plate 4. In addition, the construction of triangular shape rooms GO and HK contributed
to the curvature of the west side within the norm of rectangular room form. Thus, the
The ownership and the rights of space use from a social perspective can be assumed to
have played a significant role in the construction of this building as well, since the
space for Building FN was restricted by other buildings to the east and probably to the
surroundings but necessary enough to fit into the limited area without disturbing the
agglutinate layout, and open spacing was always limited. The specific social reasons
remain unknown, but they must have influenced the plan of the given space. Thus, we
may say that this building was less desirable when compared with the traditional form,
but still necessary to build without disturbing the neighbors. Perhaps newcomers with
much less control of space had to take the only available space that was vulnerable to
Based on these conditions, the area of the building was probably much smaller than
those of the other buildings, even though the plans of its north portion are not known. A
reconstructed plan of the building may only be proposed by extrapolating the location
of north wall (plate 49). As a result, Building FN probably consisted of two triangular
rooms GO and HK, two rectangular rooms FN and FO, and the amorphous last room
HL that probably lost its prearranged rectangular shape because of its curving wall.
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IH.J- Building AS: (pi. 50)
mound, which was significant because it represented a later architectural phase lying
on top of the other buildings described so far. Together with the single room DA to the
south, it is the only building associated with this phase. The small room Z of the
building sits immediately on top of the earlier phase walls of room BY and BV (pi. 50).
The walls of this building had only one row of bricks preserved with ca. 25 cm in width.
The room areas were much more spacious than the other buildings rooms and the size
of the central room AS may also have been quite large. Thus, although only half of the
building was recovered, Building AS may have been more spacious than the other
buildings revealed at the site. Excavations in grid 151 to the west did not continue until
The orientation of Building AS differs from that of the other buildings too. It was built
in a NE-SW direction instead of the usual N-S direction. The walls were preserved to a
height of only ca. 25-30 cm, contrasting with the high walls of the other buildings. Such
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poor preservation may have been the result of its thinner wall structure and heavy
damage from the late periods. Based on the thinner wall width, larger room spaces and
Degirmentepe. Probably, the changing political, economic, or social needs of the time
caused modifications in the functions and activities inside the buildings, which affected
the building style while the use of the tripartite plan persisted conservatively.
It is worth mentioning the extensive damage from the intrusive activities made by the
later period occupations at higher levels. The EBA / Karaz remains together with the
Iron Age pits were recorded concurrently with the Ubaid remains in the 2.50-3.00 m
depth range. In order to show these later period intrusive activities, plate 50
purposefully depicts the EBA / Karaz post holes and the large size Iron Age pits
together with the Ubaid architecture. The activities of die Karaz culture had been
recognized through pottery and other artifacts from non-primary deposits throughout the
excavations; the only Karaz architecture encountered was in grid 15 J. The five
postholes aligned in a NE-SW direction, known as feature (214), were dug into the
Ubaid room BY. The holes had a diameter of ca. 20 cm and they may have represented
a wattle and daub structure. The Iron Age pits in this trench were not unexpected, since
the massive Iron Age outpost lay to the immediate north (Esin 1987: fig. 41-42).
Room AS is the central room of the building. It was 3 m wide and at least 5 m long
within the exposed area. The only installation was a bin in the SE comer of the room.
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J.2- Room AR:
Room AR is the only room representing the north flank of the building. Only partially
exposed with two walls, (206) and (207), the actual shape and size of the room are
unknown. Since the visible length of the walls were ca. 2.50 m long, the room must
have been covering a relatively large area of more than 5.75 m2.
J.3- Room Z:
Room Z lay on the south side of the central room and was completely exposed. The
northeast comer of the room had a ca. 1 m long, bench-like mud brick addition attached
to the wall and the door was made next to it but pits damaged it. The stratigraphic
evidence for this late building phase comes from this room. The SE comer of the room
sits on top of the west wall (359) of an earlier Ubaid building (see the section in pi.
50).
Even though no walls were found confining an interior space for a room, the room
name AE was given to the space SW of room Z to imply the possibility of another side
room there. Thus, area AE may be a misleading name. The hearth (177), preserved
with its plastered surfacing, was attached to the south of the wall (210). This hearth
may indicate that baking activities took place outside, if this area was not a room at all.
There were two Ubaid walls found to the NE of the building. The walls (208) and
(213) were not attached but built parallel to each other. They were preserved only to a
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height of 30 cm and were damaged by the Iron Age pits. It is unclear if they were
related to Building AS. Perhaps they represent the remains of another structure.
The room DA was found in the northeast comer of grid 16 J. This room was associated
with the Building AS phase because the wall heights and the floor depth of room DA
were similar to those of Building AS. Furthermore, room DA sits on top of the earlier
Room DA was probably not a single room structure, because there was an incompletely
exposed entrance on the east wall. The immediate area to the east of it in grid 16 K
was not excavated (see the master plan in pi. 4). Thus, what, if anything, existed to the
east of this room is not clear. The floor was identified according to a piece of grinding
stone at 2.70 meters, which rested on top of a large stone foundation in the northeast
comer of the room. The north and west walls were double walls, and the exterior ones
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m.K- Partially preserved structures and Sounding in 12 J:
FA 4 .1 m 2 -
BI - Maybe at 3.50-3.60 m
BP about 2.5 m2 -
CA - -
T - -
BR - -
BS - -
DS -
DR -
Cl - -
CF - -
m2
BY 8 m2 perhaps at 2.62 m
BV - -
BU - -
BT - -
HF 2.6 -
HG ca. 3.1 m2 -
GS - -
HB-EJ - -
EY - -
Area EZ - -
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Excavations also uncovered groups of rooms of various sizes that did not provide any
complete building plan. However, in rare circumstances, a possible tripartite plan may
be inferred based on the architectural forms and the rooms positions. In addition, there
seems to be a second building type at this site, called multi-room structures, included
in this section. Since the double walls indicate the separation of one building from
another, different buildings begin to emerge upon examination of these room clusters.
The rooms at the east side of the settlement show poor preservation because of the
damage done in the later periods. The master plan (pi. 4) shows only some of the
intrusive Iron Age pits, since displaying the rest of them would have obscured the
It is unclear exactly how these structures should be placed within the temporal order of
the site. The unclear physical relationship between these rooms and the tripartite
buildings described so far makes the establishment of temporal order for those rooms
impossible. Assuming that reverse stratigraphy or terracing on the mound did not occur,
any similarity in floor levels and construction techniques of these rooms with the
Most of the data concerning these rooms consists of rather simple and incomplete
these areas. When the rooms did not belong to a representative building, they were
identified with respect to the trench in which they were found. Some of the room groups
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have already been described above, such as the ones located to the west of Building
EE, because there was a possibility that they may have belonged to their respective
tripartite neighbor. The descriptions will begin with the room groups from the south part
of the settlement, and continue towards the north, including the architecture recovered
The rooms HE, GU, GV, GY, and GT to the south of Building GK have been described
earlier, when Building GK was under focus (pi. 39). It was suggested that they
represented an earlier building under Building GK that was probably still used by the
Rooms FE and FF were located at the southwest comer of Building GK. It is possible
that they belonged to the early building under Building GK, but the baulk running in a
N-S direction along their east side obscured any connection these two rooms might
have had with rooms GT and HE. On the other hand, their western double wall
The areas identified as FV and GB were found further south of room FF. Area FV was
an open space, and its north wall was the exterior of the enclosure wall with three
square shaped postholes. Two stone walls, further south, enclosed GB area, but it was
not clear if this area would have been a roofed space. These walls survived with only
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one course of stones and the floor was not found until 3.80 m, the depth where the
The rooms FJ, FA, FK, DY, FH, and FI surrounded the south end of the DU building.
They were clearly separated from Building DU by a double wall. Most likely, they
constituted a couple of other buildings, because more double walls were visible in
between some of the rooms (pis. 4 and 42). Although some parts of this cluster of
rooms remained under the south section, the general layout strongly implies that these
structures did not have tripartite plans. Instead, they seem to have consisted of a
number of various sized rectangular rooms and represented multi-roomed buildings (pi.
51). The same possibility was also observed with the set of rooms to the south of
Room FJ was defined by its east and north walls and its interior was exposed in a very
limited way. The position of these walls indicate that the shape of the room was
rectangular. The rectangular room FA, found north of area FJ, was excavated in a short
time in order to recover its plan. Excavations continued only until a depth of 2.33 m,
and the floor was not reached inside (pi. 4). Except for the partially exposed south
wall, the others were double walls with plastered interior surfaces. Since room FJ had
the double wall to the east, and room FA had double walls to its west and north, they
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K.l.c- Rooms to the S of Building DU: (pl.4,51)
Room FK was west of room FA. Its south wall was not recovered because of the
excavation limits (pi. 4). The hearth (553), in the east side of the room, with its two
phases at 2.21 m and 2.30 m, assists in estimating the rooms floor at 2.30 m. The
hearth was only partially preserved, but it showed a plastered surface. Although not
very clear, there may have been another floor at 2.82 m, because a Chalcolithic pit
(599) began to appear at this level in the west side of the room.
The names DY, FH, and FI were given to the three internal divisions made inside the
one large room further west. The room was probably a rectangular room first, but later,
two thin mud-brick division walls were added in the south half to create the three
separated areas DY, FH, and FI. The square shaped hearth (537), albeit poorly
preserved, divided the space to create area FH. It was remodeled once by adding a new
surface on top of the older one. Broken pottery pieces formed the surface of the hearth.
According to the 2.50 m depth of the hearth (537), the floor of the room might have
been assumed to be at the same level. The entire south wall of the room was quite
wide, but only the interior of it was found because it lay outside the excavation limits.
Room S, southeast of Building I, was another room belonging to this cluster. The floor
surface had dense ashy soil. The west wall, consisting of four rows of bricks, was a
double wall, separating this room from the other rooms to the west. Area AH had very
limited exposure further south and neither its plan nor its relationship with room S was
clear, but the double wall to its west again consisted of four rows of bricks. Based on
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the double walls, it seems that the room DY-FH-FI together with the room S and area
As the excavations progressed, more rectangular rooms were found under the hearth G-
131 and the nearby bins to the south of Building I. (pis. 4,15-16). The plan of those
rooms indicated that they belonged to a multi-room building and their relations with the
hearth G-131 and the bins demonstrate that this building was earlier than those
installations. If hearth G-131 and the bins were used by the Building 1 occupants as
contemporaneous features, then Building i becomes later than these room clusters.
First, both Building i and the rooms to the south were in use contemporarily, but later, a
remodeling took place. The multi-room building to the south was demolished and
replaced with the hearth and the bins for use by the inhabitants of Building i. For the
moment, this explanation looks plausible, but still cannot completely account for the
Rooms BK and BI were located to the west of room S. Their walls began to appear
after the third meter under the hearth G-131. The west wall of room Bl had white
plaster with red colored wall painting (pi. 52). As the other paintings of the site, its
pattern was poorly preserved and indistinct. There were three pits found inside room BI
beginning at a depth range of 3.50- 3.60 m, which implies that the floor was somewhere
within this depth range. The burial of a child lying on its left side was found at the
bottom of the pit (323), at a depth of 4.32 m. The wall painting as well as the pit with
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the burial suggest that of ritual practices were carried out inside this room. The
information about rooms BP, CA, T, BR, and BS was even more scant than the other
rooms. The limited excavation areas did not yield any complete plans. The shapes of
rooms BS and CA are also not clear because the gravel layer at the 1.90-2.20 m range
The areas south of Buildings GK, DU and i, that is, the south end of the settlement,
consisted of various sized multi-room buildings. The number and the size of the rooms
in each building do not show any consistent layout. There were 4 multi-room buildings
that were separated by the double walls (pi. 51). More importantly, the existence of
these buildings clearly indicates that Degirmentepe had a second building type other
than the commonly used tripartite plans. Unfortunately, the temporal relationship of this
new building type with the tripartite plans is not so clear. If there were any temporal
difference, it would have been a short period, perhaps about a decade or so.
The group of rooms to the west of Building BC belonged to another building. The
limited exposure of these rooms shows that this building did not have a tripartite plan.
Room AL-DN was located at the NW comer of Building I. The two hearths built at the
same location inside the room identified its floors. The hearth (487) was at a depth of
4.85 m surrounded with dense ash deposit at the southwest comer of the room (pi. 6,
and cross section D-D in 7). The second hearth (138) was above the first one at a
depth of 3.65 m (see cross section view B-B in pi. 15). The room turns west where the
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small area DL had been built as a compartment. The east and south walls of the room
were double walls separating the room from Buildings BC and i. The west wall was 75
cm wide at its south side; because of its relative thickness, it may have been a double
wall too.
Information about room DR is very limited. On the other hand, DT and DS, separated
by a thin wall, were suggested to be a workshop for metal production (Esin 1986c). The
hearth 509 was round in shape and located in the NW comer of room DT (pl.17). It was
similar to the smaller hearth 505 found in room DH in Building BC. Its opening to the
north was made as a long, narrow channel of 1.20 m. It began with a width of ca. 25
cm, but narrowed down to 12 cm at the end. Both the chamber of the hearth and the
channel were carefully plastered. Esin rightly suggests that the channel might have
been used for extracting the molten metal from the chamber or for air circulation. A
large stone next to the chamber in DT and a number of broken stones around the
channel could have been used as hammers and an anvil after the metal smelting was
complete. The soil deposit of the both rooms contained dense ash. Even though no slag
or metal ore was recovered in those areas, the available data strongly suggests a
Plate 15 shows the limited exposure of a late architectural phase built to the north of
grid 17 F. The two areas V and Y to the north of Building i were on top of the rooms
AP, AO, BD and central room BC of Building BC. Their significance is unclear
because those layers were heavily mixed with Iron Age deposits and pits.
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K.4- Rooms in grid 16 J: (pi. 4)
Room DB and area GZ were suggested to have been part of Building EE and they have
already been described along with Building EE (pi. 28). The other areas in this grid are
area DP and rooms Cl and CF, but it is not clear what they mean architecturally. There
were parts of walls in area DP but they do not form any clear plan. It may be concluded
that many walls in area DP are the remains of more than one structure used in different
time spans. The data for Cl and CF are minimal but they may have been rooms.
Damages from later period activities dramatically increased in grids 15 J and 151,
resulting in poor preservation and very limited data. Room DO was a large rectangular
room that survived with only its north half. Its plan recalls the central rooms of tripartite
buildings found elsewhere at the site. However, since no other rooms could be
connected with this room, it would be impossible to confirm a tripartite layout. The few
wall remains encountered in area ED did not constitute any significant space. Rooms
BY, BV, BU, and BT were another structure separated by a double wall from room DO.
Room BY was the largest in this group, but BU, BV and BT were probably narrow
rectangular rooms.
Rooms HD, HF, and HG were built parallel to each other in the south of grid 14 J. Their
similar, small plans suggest that they were used for storage in one building. No
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architectural remains were encountered to the north and east of these three rooms,
which may have been completely destroyed by the Iron Age pits.
It is certain that the remains represented in these trenches imply different building
indications will be pointed out, since the sounding in grid 12 J produced multiple
stratigraphical levels were recorded in this sounding, with Level 1 indicating the topsoil
and the Level 12 designating the sterile soil (Esin and Harmankaya 1987; 1988). The
levels from 2 to 5 above Level 6 dated to Iron Age and EBA / Karaz activities. The
uppermost representation of the Ubaid period in this part of the mound was at Level 6,
although it lacked Ubaid architecture. Level 7 was divided into two architectural sub
phases a, and b; room GR represented the later Level 7a sub-phase and the rooms in
GS, HB-EJ, EY, and EZ were the earlier Level 7b sub-phase architecture.
The rooms in trench 13 J were probably part of a building, but did not display any clear
plan. A platform made of two rows of mud brick (ca. 40x15cm) was attached to the
south wall of GR and to another wall to the east. It was not clear if this area with the
platform would have been a roofed space or not. Room GR represents the topmost
Ubaid architecture in the step trench, but its size is unclear. It may have been
somewhat contemporary with the tripartite buildings of the site because its floor might
have been at 2.80 m depth. A round shaped hearth (631), found at 2.75 m in the south
of the room, helped determine the depth of this room. The east wall of room GS ran
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under the west wall of room GR, giving a slightly earlier date for the room, Level 7b.
The shape of room GS might have been rectangular based on its exposed walls.
Area HB-EJ constituted one long room to the south. Some pottery fragments and a
grinding stone implied that the floor was at a depth of 3.90 m. A platform-like mud-
brick projection attached to the east wall divided the room into two halves. This room
was earlier than room GR, because its east wall ran under the west wall of room GR.
Area EY was partially opened as well. It had a short north wall with an opening made
in its northwest side. The space to the north of EY was not understood. This area must
have been contemporary with room HB-EJ, because the recovered walls of both had
similar heights. Area EZ was located at the east side of the trench. The floor must have
been at 4.00 m, because of the location of the hearth (580), which emerged from the
section of the first step made by the excavators. Only the north half of it was exposed.
To the north of EZ, there was a weakly preserved wall built in an E-W direction. It is
unclear whether EZ was an indoor or outdoor space. Area EZ was earlier than the room
GR but contemporary with the areas EY and HB-EJ to its west. The second step of the
trench was made alongside the north face of the wall of EZ and the layers excavated
after the second artificial step further north contained much less architectural
information.
Level 8 lay to the immediate north of area EZ after the second step. The feature (577),
of this layer was an unusual hearth; its top was at 4.85 m while the base was at 5.67 m.
Its exterior was rectangular, but the interior face had a circular shape. No floor was
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associated with the bottom level of this hearth. It has been suggested in the notes that
this feature and its surrounding area were used in metal production because some
copper slag was found inside this structure. It may also be suggested that this tall
feature may have been a large box for storage, since it lacked any opening and no ashy
debris was recorded around it. Still, further information would be necessary to identify
its function.
Level 9 was identified in the third artificial step made between 5.90 m and 6.70 m.
There were two parallel stone walls (581) and (582) in this level, but only the
lowermost course of these walls survived. They were ca. 1.40 m away from each other,
but the wall (582) to the west was better preserved and ran into the step section to the
south. The cluster of stones found to the north of this wall had probably fallen from the
upper courses. Some broken pottery found at 6.65 m indicated the floor level that was
Although no change was observed in the soil texture under these stone walls, Level 10
was arbitrarily designated as starting after 6.70 meters. Thus, Level 10 may never have
existed and Level 9 would have actually ended at the depth of 7.00 meters. The
beginning of Level 11 at 7.00 m was identified with the change in the soil texture,
described as dark brown, non-granular powdery soil. Only Ubaid pottery was
associated with Level 11 and the sounding was shrunk to a 4x4 m exposure in the NW
comer. Level 11 continued until the appearance of virgin soil at 8.10 m. Pit (584)
began at 8.00 m and it was apparently dug into the virgin soil until 9.00 meters. Level
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12 designates the virgin soil in this stratigraphy and the excavations continued for
The sounding made in grids 13 J and 12 J clearly shows that the site had multiple
architectural phases, depicted in the master plan (pi. 4). At least for the northeast
portion of the mound, there were no less than three early architectural phases
represented in Levels 8-11 under the main settlement of the site. Based on this data,
m.M ).
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III.L- Sounding In Trench 13 F:
The second sounding, opened in grid 13 F, was in the northwest quadrant of the site.
Work was initiated in a 5 x 5 m square in the NW quarter of the trench, but later, it was
diminished into a 2x2 m size area in order to save time. No architectural remains were
encountered, and the stratigraphy of the sounding was determined according to the
pottery and the changes observed in the soil texture. Because Degirmentepe pottery
has never been intensively analyzed, it is impossible to correlate this sounding with the
other areas and the building phases. However, some general statements about its
stratigraphic relationship with the other parts of the mound may be made.
The northwest quadrant of the mound had a wide, depressed area that sloped down
towards the north. The topsoil in grid 13 F began much lower than the other excavated
areas at 6.35 meters. There were four stratigraphic levels identified: the surface layer,
Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 (fig. 3.16). The surface layer, which continued until ca.
7.10 m, consisted of loose, not granular, soft soil mixed with artifacts from the Ubaid
period, EBA, and Iron Age. Level 1 was a thin layer dated to the Iron Age by its
dominated pottery content. The excavator suggested that these two levels represented
rubble from domestic activities at the higher areas of the mound that had leaked down
into this depression, a portion of which must have ended up in the area of grid 13 F.
Level 2 began at 7.40 m and continued until 8.10 m. The soil was soft, light brown, and
granular with an ashy content. Speckles of tiny charcoal were also abundant. This level
was dated to the Ubaid period based on its pottery. Level 3, below, was sterile,
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Levels Period Depth (in meters) Soil Description
Surface Layer 6.35-7.10 Brown, crumbling with pockets
of powdery content
Level 1 Iron Age 7.10-8.35 Brown, non-granular, very soft
and loose
Level 2 Ubaid period 7.40-8.10 Light brown, granular, soft soil
with dense ash and charcoal
speckles
Level 3 Sterile Soil 8.10-8.75 (work stopped) Yellowish-brown with mixture
o f sand and gravel
The sterile Level 3 sloped smoothly from the south towards the Euphrates, but a much
sharper slope was also evident in the west to east direction. This easterly slope
probably did not continue further into the eastern areas because the virgin soil in grid
12 J also started at a similar depth of ca. 8.10 m. If the surface did not undulate
that the beginning of the surface of sterile soil to the north of the mound, at least
between the grids 13 F and 12 J, was probably at a depth range of 8.00-8.20 m. The
Although it is tentative at best, the data from grid 13 F and the topography of the
mound suggest boundaries for the earliest Ubaid occupation of the site. A line passing
over the grids 121 and 15 H or 16 G designates the northwest edge of this earliest
occupation (pi. 53). Perhaps the earliest history of the settlement remained buried
beneath the east half of the mound while the west half of the mound was a large open
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space. As time went by, the population must have increased, either from family growth
The lack of architecture in this sounding may suggest that the unexcavated large
depression area in the NW quadrant of the mound was a vast open space. If the 70 cm
thick deposit in Level 2 of 13 F was really debris, it may have leaked down from this
possible open area. In addition, this large space, reaching an area of ca. 1500m2, must
have been used for some outside activities as well. The inhabitants might have carried
water from the river and used it for some of the daily activities that would have taken
place in this open area, such as drinking, cooking, and washing, or feeding and
watering animals.
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III.M- Revisiting the stratigraphy of Degirmentepe:
Excavations in sounding 12 J showed that the site had a long occupation history with
multiple architectural phases. On the other hand, the architectural evidence in areas
other than sounding 12 J was unable to show whether one building was contemporary
with another; thus, this data does not assist us in reconstructing the temporal order of
the buildings. The excavators were unable to establish architectural relationships. Only
inside of some of the buildings, the floor or wall renovations were understood. The
grouping certain areas in the site rather than being able to determine the temporal
relationships between the buildings (Esin and Harmankaya 1988; or see fig. 2.1 here),
a task that she left for later, until the analyses of architecture and pottery could be
completed.
After describing the buildings and the two soundings made in grids 13 F and 12 J in
detail, it appears now that most of these buildings were in use concurrently during one
major occupation phase. Some of the newer buildings of this phase were probably
added adjacent to the core of the settlement in areas where the open spaces were
available. Buildings FN and FD might have been such cases. In the meantime, a few
others were demolished in order to build new structures on top. For instance, the
Therefore, excluding Building AS and the building remains found in sounding 12 J, the
rest, including their phases of remodeling, may be seen as broadly contemporary within
one general architectural phase. In other words, the people who used those buildings
must have lived within the same time span and been aware of each other as neighbors,
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if not kin. Accordingly, the buildings below the Levels 7a-7b in sounding 12 J were part
of the little known earlier major phases, and Building AS with room AD to its south
belonged to the latest phase built above the major phase of the site.
the assessment of the stratigraphical order of the architecture for the entire site may be
undertaken. I suggest that there were four architectural phases in the history of the
The partially preserved buildings have been integrated into this scheme as much as
possible, but the rooms in the east portion of the site had to be ignored, since they did
not yield any physical connection with the better understood structures. It is important
to keep in mind that this analysis will be subjective, since a greater degree of accuracy
in the table given below is impossible without further test excavations or at least
The stratigraphy of Degirmentepe can be divided into three major periods, designated
with roman numerals. The Iron Age is called Period I and the EBA / Karaz activities
contaminated with Iron Age, Middle Bronze Age, and Ubaid remains comprise Period
II. Any archaeological and architectural elaboration within these two periods is ignored
here, since they are not the concern of this thesis. The last period, called Period D3,
represents the Ubaid period, and every building and room cluster described in this
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chapter as the representation of Ubaid architecture falls into this period. Four
architectural phases designated by the capital letters A through D divide this period
with the aim of setting an approximate temporal order among the Ubaid structures.
Building AS and room DA to its south represent the latest Phase A of the Period in
(see pi. 50). They were clearly built on top of the earlier Ubaid structures, which safely
represented by a few postholes dug into this level confirms that Phase A was the latest
Ubaid architecture in the settlement. The wall remains and areas V and Y found on top
of Building BC (north of Building I in plate 15) are assumed here to have been
contemporary with this phase, since they are later than Building BC.
Phase B under this phase represents the major Ubaid occupation and it was divided into
three architectural sub-phases, BI, B2, and B3, specifying different time-use for the
buildings. None of the buildings in this phase was built on top of each other, and for that
reason, the time difference between the sub-phases must not have been very different.
The Sub-phase BI includes Buildings GK and EE. Building GK was on top of an earlier
building represented only by a group of rooms at its southern half. When the early
building fell out of use, a newer tripartite construction GK with massive walls was built,
but the south part of the early building was still used concurrently to some extent. The
wall under the southeast comer of Building EE placed it into this sub-phase as well.
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Period Architectural Buildings and rooms Sounding Esins
Phases in 12 J Stratigraphy
(see fig. 2.1)
B3 South of I
C 8
D 9-11
(stone walls)
12
(Sterile Soil)
Since this earlier wall probably represented an earlier structure contemporary with
Building EL, Building EE with its unusual E-W orientation became a later structure
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built on top of this earlier one. However, the use-life of buildings EE and EL may have
overlapped and they both may have existed concurrently as structures for some time.
and walls, and its late building phase must also have belonged to this sub-phase (see
added into this phase, because its floor level is very similar to those of the other
structures in this sub-phase. Yet, its relative temporal relationship should still be
considered subjective, because this room did not have any physical or spatial
connection with those structures that are located far away from grid 13 J.
Sub-phase B2 includes the other tripartite buildings found at the site, namely Buildings
EL, 1, BC, FD, FC, FN, and the early building phase of Buildings DU and BY1. In
addition, the room clusters representing various size multi-room buildings to the south
of Buildings GK and DU and to the west of Building BC are included into this sub
phase as contemporary structures, since they share similar wall heights with those
tripartite buildings. Although Building FD seemed to have been built partially on top of
Building BC, it still does not fall unequivocally into Sub-phase Bl. The early building
phase of Building DU and Building BY1 with floor renovations belonged to this sub
phase. The rooms GS, HB-EJ, EY, and EZ of Level 7b in sounding 12 J may be
contemporary with this sub-phase too, since they are earlier than room GR. However,
the far distance of these rooms from the other buildings belonging to this sub-phase
makes this temporal correlation uncertain. Therefore, in the safest sense, the Sub-phase
B2 may be said to represent the major occupation phase of the site during which the
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Sub-phase B3 includes the multi-room building located to the south of Building I. It was
concluded earlier that this building seemed to have had an earlier use than the Building
I, since its rooms were under the G-131 hearth and the bins. The temporal correlation of
this sub-phase with the architectural remains found in the sounding 12 J remains
unclear. Phases C and D are labeled solely for the little understood architectural
features encountered below Level 7 in sounding 12 J and they coincide with Esins
levels 8-11.
As a result, the table in figure 3.17 may appear to be an incomplete and indefinite
buildings and different areas of the site are necessarily subjective because of the
limitations of the data. On the other hand, the scheme acknowledges that the Ubaid
occupation history of the site had multiple phases, represented by the phases A, B, C,
and D. More importantly, the scheme attempts to combine the architectural evidence
revealed by the excavations, and it aids the interpretation of the use of the buildings
and the modifications over their use life during one major architectural phase.
In order to investigate the existence and scope of earlier occupations under the
buildings of Sub-phase B2, it would have been necessary, and in fact ideal, to open
small soundings inside some of these buildings, but such investigations did not take
place during the excavations. However, an answer can still be provided from the
available data, which should assist in determining the location and the size of the
village during each phase. The pits found in some buildings, such as the ones in DU or
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I, showed that they were dug into sterile soil (see descriptions of those buildings). The
recovery of sterile soil layers under those buildings safely indicates that no earlier
occupation existed in the middle and west portions of the settlement. Furthermore, the
data from sounding 13 F indicated that there was no occupation in the NW quadrant,
but instead there was probably an open space in which domestic or non-domestic
activities took place on both the household and communal levels. The east and
southeast sides of the site, however, could still potentially have had earlier occupations
because the buildings did not yield any pits that extended into sterile soil. Moreover,
the early occupation of phases C and D in sounding 12 J could well have expanded all
the way south to the areas under Building EL. That is why the size and the border of the
earliest Ubaid occupations are estimated to have been somewhat oblong in shape,
located on the east side of the mound (pi. 53). As a result, the earliest occupations
below the major occupation phase B must have been confined to the east half of the
site, covering an area of ca. 0.25 ha at most (see the hypothetical reconstruction of the
early settlement size in pi. 53). As time went on, the occupants of Phase B dealt with
increasing population by adding more buildings to the western areas of the mound,
reaching the largest size of the settlement, ca. 0.6 ha. Thus, the occupation history of
In the late phase, Phase A, the occupation pattern apparently changed dramatically. If
Building AS was not the only structure, which may have been the case because there
were walls confining the areas V and Y on the west side of the village, then it is
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pattern comprising only a few Ubaid buildings separated by large open spaces between
them. Or, if Building AS was the only one in use before the occupants deserted the site
completely, then this means that the settlement had shrunk significantly and had
The time span over which the Ubaid community at Degirmentepe existed may be
estimated as follows. Perhaps, the average life of a building before demolition would
be ca. 30 years, if equated to the average span of one generation. Then, Phase A may
be estimated to have survived about 20-25 years before the last occupants left. Phase B
must have lasted much longer since it expanded towards the west side during the three
sub-phases. This phase may have been lasted around 60 years, the time span
equivalent to two generations. Even though the data about phases C and D is very
limited, the time span of at least one generation could be given to each. Accordingly,
the total life of the Ubaid settlement at Degirmentepe may have been as short as 140
years. It is important to say again that this estimate of the occupations time span is
worthwhile to consider this aspect, because the goal of this dissertation is to examine
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I1I.N- Open areas, movement, and communication routes within the village: (pi. 4)
settlement, with the buildings physically attached to each other, leaving very little
space for open areas. There were no streets or alleyways establishing communication
between the buildings. Only two areas between the buildings appear to have been good
candidates for open space. It is quite obvious that area DD and area CZ to its west were
east, and Building BY1 to the west. Interestingly, none of these surrounding structures
had direct access to this area with a door; except for the NE room CM in Building GK,
the small doorway that was sealed later. Therefore, this space was formed by the
surrounding buildings, and was not built to serve a particular purpose for one of the
households.
Although it is less clear, the second open space was probably area BH located to the
west of Building BY1. The excavation limits in this area did not permit confirmation of
the shape of this space. Perhaps the area BO belonged to this open space too, although
this cannot be concluded with its very limited exposure. It may be suggested that the
inhabitants of Building BY made use of area BH, and if there had been any door
opening onto this area, it would have been in the west wall of BY1, which was assumed
Apart from these, the immediate surroundings of the settlement must have provided
plenty of open space for a variety of open-air activities. The occupants of the buildings
forming the outside edge of the settlement, such as Building EE and EL, must have had
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ready access to those immediate areas for their outdoor tasks. The ground surface at
the south of the mound seemed to have enough space to accommodate some outdoor
activities. For instance, the areas in the vicinity of the enclosure wall must have been
used at least for casual gatherings by some of the community members. The west side
of the mound, on the other hand, may not have been as functional because of its slope,
but the largest open space was probably the NW quadrant of the mound. Its position,
located between the village to the south and the river to the north, must have provided
enough space for many outdoor activities and even some privacy. Some of the
individual or group tasks that made up the daily routines probably took place here.
Even though this area was not investigated archaeologically, the domestic animals of
the village may have been kept here. The lack of streets and entrances to the buildings
confirm that the animals were kept outside the buildings. The NW part of the
settlement would have provided enough space for the domestic animals and thus, the
simple enclosures and pens with thatch and thorny dry bushes would probably have
built here. Moreover, some of the animals may have been free to graze for most of the
It has already been mentioned that most of the buildings lacked entrances and there
were no streets within the settlement, leading one to wonder about the inhabitants
movements within and around the village. How did the inhabitants enter the buildings
and move from one building to another? How was entry into the village possible? The
agglutinative layout of the village sets strict limitations for such movements and
provides only one possible answer to these questions. Communication must have been
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over the roofs. One would have been able to access to the roofs by adding simple wood
ladders to the exterior walls, and once on the roof, a person would probably have
followed a certain route to get to a certain building. Therefore, the roofs provided the
pathways to get in and out of the buildings, even though the actual heights and the form
There has been an ongoing discussion in the literature about the roofs of the tripartite
plans in the Ubaid (Roaf 1989: Huot 1987). These discussions have concentrated on the
central rooms, questioning whether they had roofs or were open courtyards. More
importantly, if they were roofed, then the concern has been the form of these roofs. For
the cases of Degirmentepe, it can safely be stated that the central rooms of the
tripartite buildings were enclosed with roofs. The convincing evidence is the plastered
walls and the wall paintings encountered in some instances. If the central rooms were
open courtyards, those plastered surfaces and paintings would have deteriorated and
disappeared very quickly from the fluctuations in temperature and humidity, rain, and
sunlight. In addition, the two thick joist holes found on the south wall of the central
room FC in Building FC indicate a supportive structure for the roof over this central
room. In conclusion, the central rooms of these buildings were covered with roofs, and
the roofs provided communication routes for the inhabitants. The shapes and the sizes
of the roofs of these buildings as well as the social relations among the inhabitants of
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131.0- Conclusion for architectural evidence:
This chapter has described the entire architectural and stratigraphical evidence
discussion of the original data in this chapter has revealed many more architectural
facts about the site and provided insight into the functions of the spaces, certainly more
than what is visible on the surface of the site plan. This chapter also forms the
backbone of the analytical study of architecture in the next chapter. The implications of
this chapter will be summarized in the final chapter to draw conclusions about the
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Chapter IV: Spatial organization and activities at Degirmentepe
IV.A- Introduction:
Investigating the Broken K Pueblo site in Arizona, James Hill stated that the interest of
people (1968). If archaeology endeavors to answer the question of how people lived in
the past, then the architectural exposures -when considered along with the artifacts
found inside- should provide some level of reliable understanding of community social
organization. Exploring the contexts of artifacts within activity areas should shed light
on the use and purpose of the built environment. Accordingly, architectural analysis
must extend beyond the study of architectural features by including a thorough three-
constructed spatial arrangements and the activity areas within the architecture.
Focusing on the spatial organization of interiors, the locations of artifacts, and the
community in a given time and place: the life styles of the people evolving in the built
environment, the use of the built environment itself, and their social adaptations. The
wide horizontal exposure achieved at Degirmentepe allows for such a focused study.
Based on such thinking, the description of architecture aids the investigation of the
activity areas, and thus, the activities that occurred inside the buildings at
Degirmentepe, (Chapter IE), but only in an inexplicit, general sense. A fuller picture of
functional analysis, undertaken below. This effort maps the location and intensity of the
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activities as indicated by the distribution and the density of the artifacts. Since artifacts
are the only surviving clues for us, a typology linking the artifacts with their unique
functional roles presents the range of activities that took place at the site. Moreover,
listing and mapping the activities begins to speak about the use of the buildings, the
functions of the settlement, and the nature of the social organization at the
Degirmentepe village. The activities that will be observed represent the adaptive
response of the occupants to their physical and cultural environments. Some of the
social aspects to be explored in this functional analysis are: the characteristics of the
daily activities, the function of the buildings, the definition of different household types,
and an estimate of the communitys population, all of which hint at the social
organizational relationships among individuals both inside and outside the village.
IV.B- Method:
Although the analysis appears quite straightforward, Rothmann (2002) warns us that
there may be pitfalls in such a study. Products of various site disturbances create flaws
in the analysis and obscure the determination of functions both quantitatively and
qualitatively. Documenting the site disturbances and how they distorted the function of
Abandonment, the final part of the settlement history, also has an important role in
creating site disturbances and the factors shaping the abandonment process vary greatly
the culture (Tomka and Stevenson 1993). If we accept that the artifacts found on living
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surfaces are the evidence relating us to the use of the rooms, recognizing the ways that
equally important. When considering the site abandonment, the following questions
should be asked: Do the artifacts found in a context represent a space used as a regular
trash area or a place where some daily tasks took place during the settlement history?
Were the artifacts deliberately left just before the abandonment because they no longer
freed from such factors is necessary so that the artifact distributions may become
deposition processes, the choice of raw materials, and a lack of understanding the
function of artifacts are other factors in determining the contexts. The archaeologist
must focus on these issues while recording is in progress in the trench so that there
Many complete and mobile artifacts were probably looted or taken away from
the site since they were useful. For example, scavenging and removal of some
items for re-use by the last occupants would have taken place during the desertion
process or immediately after. The result is the loss of artifacts and the disturbance
of the reliability of context (Roaf 1989).
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Some artifacts may have been recycled for re-use in other activities so that its
first original shape and function is erased at the time of recovery. Certainly,
ethnographic analogy can provide critical help for such issue, but in some cases, no
resemblance may be found between the artifacts from archaeological sites and the
ones observed in the ethnographic cases.
Some artifacts in many late prehistoric site excavations are not found in-situ:
the occupants might have discarded some of the artifacts or dropped them in then-
found locations by mistake.
Over time, some artifacts may have leaked from their proveniences into other
contexts. In such cases, their original proveniences are lost and they become
contaminants for the possible activities in their found contexts. Simply, these
artifacts no longer represent their original use, and no longer help to identify what
was happening in the locus. Thus, the elimination of not in-situ artifacts from the
ones found in a reliable context is necessary.
Despite the fact that Degirmentepe had extensive architectural exposure, the site has
issues associated with the reliability of data that potentially affect the success of a
functional analysis.
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before the water level of the new reservoir rose too high. Apart from this time
constraint, the limited budget may probably be the main cause of the fast
excavations. Those unavoidable factors seem to have resulted in some
inconsistencies in the recording.
This study has no practical tool to overcome the incomplete material culture analyses
out below with these conditions in mind, although the discussion of social adaptation
the social aspects must become evident from the available data that will add
Provided in Appendix n, the general list of artifact types and the activities they indicate
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carried over many decades. Such ethnographic analogies of past activities were already
compiled thoroughly by Verhoeven (1999) in his analysis of the Halaf period site Tell
Sabi Abyad in Syria, and a shorthand version of his chart is used as a guideline in
This chart shows that applying a function to a type is a complex task because most
artifacts seem to have been produced and used for multiple purposes, while others have
functions that remain indeterminate. For example, a stone bowl may indicate the act of
displaying an object with symbolic value, or the act of consuming food, or the act of
preparing non-edible plants and pigments for use in rituals or as medicine. For this
reason, the complete analysis of each material type becomes critically important for
confirming the uses of artifacts. If such analyses are complete, specific use of a tool
type can be pinpointed and the activities that took place in a context can be determined
correctly. Since most of the material types from Degirmentepe have yet to be analyzed,
a possible solution to minimize the issue of multiple functions and find out which
activity actually occurred in a context would be the comparison of those functions with
the others present within the same locus. Assuming that the activities of a context might
the same context. In addition, considering the extant architectural characteristics and
furnishings as part of the context further defines the function of an artifact and the
activities that took place. The relationships among artifacts and their surrounding
furnishings in any given context is taken into account for each room at Degirmentepe,
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to paint the clearest picture of the types of activities that took place inside the rooms
and buildings.
It is true that the analyses of all material remains, absolute determination of their
proveniences, as well as the detailed descriptions of soil deposits from which they
came would have made a substantial contribution to decoding the activities and the
functions of the structures. Since our knowledge of the entire material remains of
study. Those inventoried artifacts had straightforward descriptions in the artifact record
list, yet a considerable number of them became weak identifications for functional
study or came from general collection areas or dry sieving. For instance, the locations
of the slag are not clear and in most cases they came from dry sieving without exact 3-
dimensional data, although their existence is unquestionably important (fig. A.4 in App.
I). For that reason, a filtering process was necessary, and each inventoried item was re
photographed, re-defined, and its provenience double-checked during the visit to the
Malatya museum in 2003. Among those, only the artifacts found on floor surfaces and
in the 30 cm height range above the floors were accepted as having come from reliable
primary deposits and representing the activities that took place inside the rooms. The
other ones that were from unreliable loci were deliberately eliminated in this process.
Consequently, this filtering work resulted in a total of 390 artifacts coming from
primary deposits.
necessary too. The artifacts found in multi-room buildings were almost always out of
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context and too small in number to indicate activities; this problem seems to have
resulted from limited time and incomplete excavations. Similarly, Buildings AS, FN,
and BY1 produced only one or two artifacts, and were accordingly eliminated from the
analysis, reducing the total artifact assemblage to 384 artifacts (see fig.4.1 for their
distributions in each building). The buildings are presented here with the same order
i^n
140 - ns
w
^ 190 -
t? 100 -
* QA _
) C
3 O
!
iff ^
O O C
^ M
1 1 I
r2 8 ! r2 8 ! oo
| | 1 i J -,
i 1 1 i 1 i 1 i
Building Building Building Building Building Building Building Building
I BC FC EE EL GK DU FD
Each of the artifacts used in the analysis is presented with a brief description and a
photo image in Appendix EH. If published by the excavator, the drawing of an artifact is
presented with its reference as well. Thus, it is anticipated that Appendix III will
provide enough data to enable the reader to test, criticize, and evaluate the degree of
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Symbol Artifact type Quantity Percentage (%)
Spoon 2 0.5
0 Stopper 28 7.3
0 Figurine 7 1.8
+ Scaper 1 0.3
* Celt 8 2.1
K Chisel 1 0.3
0 Needle 3 0.8
0 Awl 26 6.8
Q Seal 14 3.6
Fig. 4.2: Legend for the artifact types incorporated in the study and the quantity o f each artifact
type.
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Every artifact type was assigned an individual symbol and their quantity and
percentage with respect to the entire assemblage are shown in figure 4.2. The
schematic plans of the buildings show the distribution of artifacts with a legend of
particular building is in focus. Each symbol in a distribution map represents only one
count of an artifact. If more than one artifact of a type is present, the symbol
this, some rooms appear unduly crowded, but showing the quantity of artifacts is critical
to linking the activities to their locations and eliminating any subjective attribution of
an activity. Since the find spots of artifacts were listed with room names in the
recording system, the artifact locations inside the rooms are not necessarily exact. As
much as the records and publications permitted, the distribution of the burials was
The basement of Building I showed one of the densest artifact distributions at the site
with its yield of 81 artifacts. However, the twin rooms AG and AF and the narrow room
The seven spindle whorls found in Room U clearly indicate textile production here. In
addition, two hammer stones point to the maintenance or production of tools. The large
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area of the room, 7m2, would have allowed enough space for those activities. The
pestle found here was probably used for an activity other than food production since no
other artifacts linked to food processing or cooking were found in this room. Although
the other artifacts -a miniature jar, a painted bowl, and a pot stand- could be seen as
evidence as evidence for food consumption, they could also be associated with the two
burials made in this room. Unfortunately, the few artifacts recovered shed little light on
>v
Artifact type
demonstrates tool production and tool maintenance. Woodwork could have been the
other activity of the room since a celt was located here, assuming it had not been
dropped or lost. In addition, the recovery of a large stone mentioned in the field notes
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could well have served as an anvil or some kind of platform for such tasks. Storage jars,
a cooking pot, a mortar, as well as the bin placed in the NE comer of the room suggest
food storage, and thus, a domestic activity. The other domestic function of the room
may have been textile work as evidenced by an awl, needle, and a spindle whorl. As a
result, it may be concluded that this room was in use as a workshop, but the overlap of
some domestic functions must also be recognized. Room AC did not produced a
significant number of artifacts except a seal and a plain bowl. Although the particular
functions of this space remain unclear, the mud brick alignment survived in the middle
of the room may have been the result of some kind of production activity.
Artifacts found in room AD cannot clearly help us to understand how the raised surface
and a platform-like area in the south portion of the room was used. However, at least
one particular use of this room was as a burial ground. The three burials found inside
the bins prove that the bins were not only used for storage but also as a place for
burying the dead. The fourth burial was inside a cooking pot. The bins would probably
have been used for storage too before the interments were made in them. The recovery
of three plain bowls in this room might have been related with storing food items and
probably food consumption as well. Despite their single occurrences, a spindle whorl
and a miniature cup may be suggestive of domestic activity too. Two seal impressions
found here imply the arrival of imported goods. Architecturally, the location of the
room and the two doors connecting it to the central room i and room R confirms that
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Room R had five plain bowls, a portable oven, a bin, and a storage jar, all suggesting
food preparation, food consumption, and storage activities. The miniature cup may or
may not have been part of such activities. The only burial found here was inside the
bin, probably interred at a later time. The other artifacts do not necessarily represent
any distinct activity due to their single occurrences and their small size. Room P-L
produced only a seal and a seal impression, implying arrival and transportation of
goods, although their single occurrence makes this assertion only tentative. The
appearance of these artifacts in one of the dead end rooms of the building may suggest
that some economic activities might have taken place in private, and perhaps with
some secrecy. If this was the case, it is possible to conclude that only specific, or
perhaps high value exchange items would have been dealt here. Overall, the narrow
shape of the rooms R and P-L may be interpreted as unfavorable for many activities,
but, nevertheless, food production, storing goods, exchange activities were still evident.
Room i must have been used for both domestic activities and tool maintenance or
production. The hearth (268), three plain bowls, a jar, and number of bins clearly
demonstrate that food was stored, prepared, and probably consumed in this room. In
addition, spindle whorls and awls point to textile production. Hammers and the
polishing stone would probably have been used for tool making and repair. Those
activities must have been part of the same activity observed in room K, because the
door on their shared wall connects these two rooms directly. The three seals and four
seal impressions found in this room demonstrates that the exchange of goods was the
other major activity. The last function of this room seems to have been ritualistic. The
burial recovered inside the carefully built pit (149), the other carefully structured pits,
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and the wall paintings all imply some ritual behaviors, burying the dead possibly being
In conclusion, it is safe to say that Building I functioned as a house and its basement
provided spaces for food storage, food preparation, and probably consumption as well
basement was a workshop where tools were produced or repaired on a regular basis.
Room AC and AD maybe used for tool production too but this function is vaguely
implied by the interior design of the rooms, not by the artifacts. More activities must
have taken place in the second story, the most likely one being food production because
of the hearth (146) to the north of the room (see the building descriptions in Ch. IE).
Moreover, the sleeping areas and production activities requiring easier hand skills and
daylight, such as spinning wool, would probably have taken place in the second story.
The concentration of burials was in the NW portion of the building. This seems to have
been the case in buildings GK and DU as well, which may indicate a pattern in
choosing the location of the dead. It is possible that there is a meaningful correlation
between the houses and the locations of baby burials dictated by the interplay of social
rules and the actual events connected with the dead. Although the orientation of
Building EE is different, the location of the pot burial in room EC is another example of
a burial within a side room holding a comer of the building. The layouts of the buildings
show a conscious, consistent sense of direction, which must have been deliberately
chosen by the occupants when they built their houses; the locations of burials inside the
buildings must likewise have been chosen according to this meaningful orientation. The
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other burials found in the central rooms do not fit well with this observation, but may
instead have represented different causes of death, different aspects of their belief
system, family customs or temporal differences besides what has been suggested just
above.
In comparison with other buildings throughout the site, Building BC has the densest
artifact distribution (fig. 4.4). Interestingly, seal impressions are the major artifact type
in this building, represented by more than fifty specimens. Despite its area of 21 m2, the
central room BC appears empty in comparison with the side rooms, which yielded a
wealth of artifacts. Yet, the rooms to the N and NE produced the least number of
artifacts, suggesting that the later construction of Building FD to the north probably
Artifact type
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Room BC had seven artifact types, but for the most part, they were represented only
once, a factor weakening their linkage with specific activities. The seal and two seal
impressions may imply economic activities, while a hammer and a polishing stone
represent tool production or repair. On the other hand, a miniature jar and a painted
bowl related to food consumption. The function of the mud brick feature attached to the
east wall is still not identifiable, even when considered with the artifacts found inside
the room.
The stoppers and seal impressions that came from inside the rooms DC1 and DC2 point
to the arrival and the opening of goods at the end of transaction processes. The bowls in
this case might have served for distributing the items inside and around the building.
The miniature cup is difficult to correlate with those activities; however, its small size
may indicate that it was a lamp used to provide light inside. The recovery of a number
of spindle whorls and awls point to textile production, although these rooms lack
Room BD probably served as a food production area as indicated by the hearth in the
NW comer, two storage jars, and the bowls. The thick ash layer in the soil is supportive
of intense fire-related activity, which probably occurred on daily basis. The crowd of
stoppers, seal impressions, and a seal are clear evidence for the arrival and dispersal of
goods. In addition, this room was a burial ground, manifested by the two pot burials
near the hearth. Such a dense artifact recovery suggests that this room did not undergo
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On the other hand, the useful artifacts in room BM on the east side may have been
removed before abandonment because its artifact repertoire is not as rich as the latter
room described above. The plain bowl, mortar, and the hearth would usually suggest
food production, but the recovery of numerous pieces of slag scattered around the
hearth are also clear indications of metal production. In addition, some bone and shell
fragments may have been used as tools in this room during the smelting process. It is
also possible that the room may have been converted into a storage area after the door
Artifacts and the hearths in room DH were clearly linked to metal production. The two
adjacent hearths (504) and (505), the pocket-like containers attached to the west wall
(301) in room DH, and the recovery of abundant metal slag suggests this distinct
activity (see the description of this room in Ch. HI). As in room BM, the bones and
shell fragments reported in the notes may have been used as tools during the smelting
impressions in room BB as well as the absence of finished metal products from both of
these rooms point to the exportation of the metal products used for exchange with other
goods. The plain bowls as well as the storage jars found in room BB might have been
part of these trade activities. Apart from this, awls in room DH imply textile or leather
work, and the pot burial in room BB designates this room as the second burial ground
The most interesting architectural feature of the site, tunnel EF, belonged to this
building and was located to the south of the central room BC. Room AO did not show
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any significant activity based on its two artifacts but the room-hearth AU yielded
numerous seal impressions. After the hearth was taken out of use as a kiln, this room
must have become a dumping area for the seal impressions along with abundant bones,
pottery fragments, and ash. However, because of the fragments of a bin, a large
cooking pot, and two plain bowls, a short duration of storage activity may be suggested
too, which would have taken place before the dumping began. The arrowhead and the
seal found in this room may have been lost here, if not deliberately discarded.
Room AP may have been a fuel storage area for hearth AU and a dumping area too,
since it contained stoppers and a seal impression. The pieces designated as figurines in
this room were identified through their simple decorative or perhaps symbolic attributes
and their deliberately formed leg-shaped bottom parts. However, this identification is
subjective, since their long and conical form is identical with that of the stoppers, and
may in fact have served the same function as the stoppers. Moreover, the consistently
broken tops of the figurines seemed to have marks identical with those of the
stoppers. These marks may have left been from the twisting that occurred when they
were used to close the small bottle-like narrow mouths of the jars or bags. In other
distinction resulting from the process of defining the types in the artifact assemblage of
the site. They might have been used in a similar fashion with stoppers but with an
additional, leg-like simple schematic design at the bottom portions (see their images in
App. HI). If these so-called figurines were actually stoppers, then dumping may have
been the major activity for this room. The two celts and a hammer imply woodwork,
perhaps to prepare the wood for use as fuel for hearth AU.
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Overall, Building BC again represents a house because of the preponderance of the
domestic activities indicated by bone awls, hearths, jars, and bowls. For the first time,
the bowls seem to represent a second function in this building: their use along with
seals and seal impressions within exchange mechanisms. The nature of these
mechanisms is still unclear, but metal production must have been an important
component in those processes. The very elaborately built hearth G-131 to the south of
Building 1 and the hearth (509) in rooms DT and DS to the west of Building BC should
be seen as the other.possible locations in the site where the metal production took place
(see pis. 15-17; sections III.A and ELK in Ch. ID). The hearth G-131 is ignored dining
the discussion of Building I functions above, because the relationship of this hearth with
Apart from that, basic tool production, tool repairs, and use of some rooms for burials
comprise the other functions of the building. Despite the occurrence of burials, actual
rituals are difficult to confirm for this building. Since the presence of a second story
clearly was indicated in the architecture (see room BB in Ch. m and pi. 19), domestic
activities, tool production as well as sleeping must have taken place on this second
floor.
The artifact density of Building FC is not particularly high, but the types represented
are similar to those found in other buildings. Some of those types, considered with
respect to their quantity and association with each other, are once more representative
of domestic activities in a house. Storage jars, plain bowls, a miniature cup, and the
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clay bins unambiguously designate storage and food production activities clustered in
the central room as well as the side rooms to the east. In addition, the recovery of
spindle whorls and awls imply textile production, and perhaps some leather work. Tool
maintenance and production becomes evident with the recovery of a chisel and a
relatively high number of hammers. The mace head found in room ET is hard to
explain. It may have been a rare item with a high symbolic status value, and yet, its
Artifact type
The side rooms to the west were ahnost empty, despite their exceptionally large space.
The only function assignable to room GE is storage, because of its three bins. The stone
and shell beads recovered from this room came from items of jewelry, but who wore
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them, what they meant to the wearer, and whether their meaning and function had any
affiliation with the house are impossible to extrapolate. Their small size suggests that
they had been lost in their deposition context. Thus, jewelry is one of the most difficult
The exposed portion of this house lacks burials. If the afore mentioned pattern of
burying the dead at the NW comers of the houses holds true, then the unexcavated
portion to the north of the building may have contained burials. They might have been
located in the area north of room GL, or perhaps in another room just north of it, if any
existed. In any case, the burial of the dead as a religious activity is not observable in
this building. The platform in the central room FC had dry pigments in its center, and if
the pits surrounding it were not related with storage, they may have been associated
with short durations of ritual activities (see Ch. HI). The painting found in the south
wall of room FC may represent additional evidence for the ritual behavior. Even
though many of the other buildings contained numerous seals and seal impressions, this
building did not yield any such artifacts that would demonstrate the activities related
with trade.
The second story of the house would probably have been used for domestic activities.
The hearth (570), which belonged to the second story room built above room ET was
likewise for domestic use, such as cooking. A similar but much better preserved hearth
(146) in the second story of Building I confirms the idea of domestic activities taking
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In conclusion, Building FC represents another house in the site in which the domestic
activities, such as cooking, storage, and textile work were routine. Tool m aking or tool
maintenance was probably a secondary function that may not have been carried out as
intensely as the domestic activities. The ritual behaviors is weakly represented in the
0
p
Artifact ype
The buildings to the east of the settlement have a lower artifact density than the other
buildings and Building EE produced only 28 artifacts (fig. 4.6). Perhaps the low artifact
density is the result of the lower intensity of the activities that took place, or it may
have been related to occupants actions during the abandonment process. For example,
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artifacts may have been removed or left in place depending on the timeframe of the
abandonment, their portability, and their value. Otherwise, it may be said that the
activities were less intense than in the other buildings, although the types of activities
The central room EE produced only four artifacts: a net weight, a jar, a celt, and a seal.
The use of the jar should be linked with the hearth and the bin next to it, implying food
production and storage. The other artifact types cannot be securely linked to any
specific tasks, since each is represented only once inside this room. For instance, the
seal may have been dropped or lost here because of its small size. Thus, a conclusion of
economic transaction would be unfounded here. The net weight would be weakly
indicative of fishing, but it might have been used for another activity. None of the
artifacts seems to have any clear link with the use of the platform found in the center of
the room. On the other hand, the burned area noted to the NE of the platform may
imply an occasional fire affiliated with the platform. Thus, the platform itself and the
burned area near it may be related to ritual activity. The multiple layers of paintings on
the walls might have been associated with the rituals as well.
Most of the side rooms of the building were empty. Only the rooms EB, EC, and DF to
the SW of the central room had any kind of artifact density. The polishing stones in
rooms EB and EC show that some kind of production work took place here. The
cooking pot in room EC was used as a burial pot for the dead. Thus, a funerary ritual
during the interment may be deduced for this room. The spindle whorls unquestionably
imply spinning wool and producing yam for textiles. It should be remembered here that
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room EC was used as a staircase and provided direct communication between this floor
and the second story. The two seal impressions in room EB were probably dumped here
after the delivered goods were opened in the building. If the occurrence of bone awls in
rooms DF and EA was not due to loss, then textile production or leather work may have
taken place in those rooms. The plain bowl found in room DF does not imply a specific
function; without the presence of more similar artifacts, no pattern of activity can be
seen.
Room DB to the north seems to have functioned as a burial ground because there were
six burials recovered here: one in the ground, two in the walls, and the other three as
pot burials inside the room. The three cooking pots from this room are unrelated with
cooking since they contained the burials. Along with these, it is reasonable to think that
the miniature cup found here was affiliated with the burials. The jar found in this room
implies a storage function. The pestle may be indicative of food production or grinding
inedible items, such as pigment. The hammer and the sealing again only tentatively
indicate tool production or the arrival of goods due to their single representation.
The sealing and a stopper encountered in area DD imply economic activities that may
have been carried out by the residents of Building EE. Certainly, the occupants of
According to the probable domestic activities, such as food production and textile work,
this building should be identified as a house where daily routines took place. The side
rooms without artifacts may have been used for storage, among other functions. Tool
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maintenance and production were probably the other major activities, although they are
not substantially represented in this particular building. Rituals may have been an
occasional activity in the form of burning small fires near the platform; perhaps the
wall paintings have to be affiliated with such activity as well. If Room DB really
belonged to this building, it seems to have served as the burial ground for this house.
Artifact type ^
This building produced only 22 artifacts with a variety of artifact types (fig. 16).
Mainly domestic activities are evident, but the production of tools and wood working
also took place. Rooms EN, FR, and FS had jars that were probably used for storage.
Room FRs lack of a door also points to its likely storage function. However, the celt
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and a polishing stone in this room imply the possibility of wood work and tool
production; its room size of 3.6 m2 would have provided enough space for such
activities. The identical size of rooms FR and FS, along with the recovery of a storage
jar, a hammer, and a scraper imply similar activities. The only difference is room FSs
door built to communicate with the central room EL. Room EN did not have a door, but
it had a more than a meter wide hearth at the comer with two storage jars near it. For
this large room, cooking, and storing activities may be suggested, even though more
definitive artifact types, such as grinding stones, would have better supported the
Rooms EO, EP, and the area El did not produce many artifacts, but because of their
doors, they establish a direct communication with the outside. In this respect, area El
maybe seen as the entrance of the building. On the basis of the two hammers and a
spindle whorl in those rooms, tool making and textile production may be suggested as
Because of the presence of a mortar, a cooking pot, a clay bin, and the hearth to the
north of room EL, it may be said that cooking was the major activity in the central
room. In addition, seal impressions indicate unpacking of traded goods here. The
hammer also indicates some indefinite production work. Room FP had a cooking pot
and two bins that suggest cooking and storage activities. Those activities must be
related with the domestic activities evident in the central room EL, since the door
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On the whole, EL represents a building where domestic activities took place most of
the time. Also observed were tool production or maintenance activities. As a result, this
building must be seen as a house with the routines of daily life, although they are
observed only on a moderate scale. The role of the platform in the central room is
unclear, and the lack of associated artifact types or features or burials equally
unhelpful. Thus, the possibility of rituals in this house can only be supported indirectly
through analogy with the other similar platforms found in buildings FC, EE, DU, and
FD. For instance, because Building EE had a platform and a burned area next to it in
the middle of the central room, an indirect correlation could be made to say that
Artifact type
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Building GK has more artifacts (52) than the surrounding buildings and the artifact
types are proportionally richer here (fig. 4.8). However, the majority of artifacts, 43 of
them, are located in the central room GK, while the side rooms produced only a small
The knife found in Room GH should suggest the use of this area for butchering or
cutting meat, assuming its deposition in this room is not accidental. The tiny room GI to
the east of GH did not yield any artifacts, but its small space points to its use as a small
storage cell. Of the twin rooms, only room GF produced artifacts: a game piece, two
stoppers, and a storage jar. The first two types are small artifacts and may have been
lost here, but the storage jar logically implies storage as the activity for this space. The
other room, GG, did not have any artifacts. Because evidence for a staircase was found
in the similar twin rooms of house EE, rooms GF and GG may also have contained a
Room CM yielded only a ground stone and a burial made inside a cooking pot, neither
of which necessarily imply cooking activities for this room. Although it was not clearly
described in the field notes, the small area with a variation in the soil texture was
suspected to have resulted from burning. It is now tempting to interpret the fire as
associated with a brief burial ceremony that would have taken place during the
interment of the burial, although there is no direct evidence for such a scenario.
Only two flanking rooms, CH and CY to the west, produced artifacts, but with numbers
too insignificant to determine an activity. Two pot burials found in room CH and
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another in room CY seem to continue the pattern of keeping the dead in side rooms.
What other activities might have taken place in those rooms is difficult to envision due
to their lack of artifacts, but space inside those rooms would have permitted other uses,
such as storage.
Room GKs total of 43 artifacts presents a clear contrast with the low artifact density in
the flanking rooms. Despite the high number of artifacts, the activities for food
processing or consumption, such as a large hearth, cooking pots, storage jars or grinding
stones, are not represented in room GK. The six small bowls with different forms and a
bin in the SW part of the room may suggest food consumption and some kind of storage
here. If this was the case, food preparation must have taken place elsewhere and
prepared food must have been brought into the building. The miniature jar found here
may also have been used for serving. Textile production and sewing leather were other
activities represented in this room according to three spindle whorls, two bone needles,
and six awls. Three celts indicate woodwork, while two hammers and a polishing stone
are the links for the activities of tool maintenance and manufacture. The function of the
mud brick box-like feature, attached to the east wall, is not clearly connected with any
the best guess. Although only two seals were found in this room, a significant number
of seal impressions (12) represent goods opened in this room after arrival. The three
stoppers, on the other hand, may suggest the dispersal of goods linked to an exchange
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The last function to add to this building is the ritual activity implied by the four burials
recovered in the side rooms. We may conjecture that family members associated with
the building buried their ill-fated babies in here. Once the burials were made, a
meaning related with their spiritual worldview was added to the meaning of the house;
unfortunately we have no viable means to elicit this meaning. Room GKs painted wall
Is it possible to call this building a house? A conditional yes answer must be given
because of the lack of a hearth and food production; the absence of these necessary and
house. However, implicit textile work attested here is the evidence justifying the
designated domestic function for the building. As no open courtyard hearth was
available near the building, we must assume that the food was prepared in other houses
and brought into this building later. Along this line of reasoning, it is even possible to
think that this building may have been the house of elderly persons for whom the food
had to brought from other houses where the other members of the extended family
resided. According to this interpretation, the house GK may become an informal social
gathering place with the excuse of taking care of the elderly. Some domestic activities,
other than the food production, and some maintenance or tool production could have
taken place during such gatherings. The building may have been used on a daily basis
as a gathering place while daily tasks were accomplished and the elderly residents
received the needed care. The thick walls and relatively large size of the building
(148m2 with a 45m2 central room) would have been linked to dedication to the care of
the elderly, reinforcing the social function of the space and distinguishing it from the
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other usual houses. If this scenario was the case, then it is possible to designate this
building as a house, but with a social-oriented public space: Here, most of the usual
daily activities would have occurred, but it would also have been an informally
established public space functioning casually as a forum for any gossip, or discussion of
any social, economic, political, and even ritual topics. The scale of such behaviors was
most probably extended family size, but occasional inter-family gatherings must also
have been the case. The suggestion of public space for Building GK is certainly purely
conjectural and it has weaknesses due to lack of significant data. However, a house
with a social sphere embedded in it seems to be the best identification that may be
made for this building. As a result, the meaning of the public space with this building
may be developed by entwining the domestic activities with social, religious, economic
lifestyles together.
Building DU does not seem very rich with its 33 artifacts (fig. 4.9). The side rooms to
the west and to the north of the building produced less artifacts than the central room.
On the other hand, six out of the seven burials found in this building were located in
those west rooms. AY-DZ contained four burials, two of which were buried together
inside a cooking pot, the only artifact found in this L-shaped room. Since room AT is a
small cell-like room, the recovery of a miniature cup and a pot should not be taken to
indicate food consumption here. Storage instead is more likely. The function of Room
BE is not revealed by the artifacts, except again, as a burial ground, where another pot
burial was recovered. The use of this room as a vestibule is more likely because its
three doors established direct communication with the other rooms surrounding it. The
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Cluster of artifacts in Building DU
2 -
1 -
Artifact type
hearth and a cooking pot found in room DV signify the activity of cooking. The other
activity of this area might be related to trade or consumption because two seal
impressions show the arrival and opening of some goods here. The obsidian core found
here might have been lost accidentally since it was very small in size. The northern
rooms did not yield any artifacts, except one miniature cup in room BF.
The single side room EK to the east contained a mace-head, a spindle whorl, two
hammers, and two stoppers. Hammers imply tool maintenance or the production of
certain items, although this activity may not have been intense. Stoppers together with
the raised feature (667) in the SE comer of the room indicate storage. Other artifact
types, the mace-head and the spindle whorl, are not really indicative of a function
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The central room yielded the most artifacts in this building. Since no other artifacts
recovered from this room indicated the production or consumption of food, the single
plain bowl, a scraped Coba bowl, should be taken to represent something else. Textile
production should not be deduced based on the single occurrence of an awl in this
room; because of its small size its occurrence here may be accidental. The burial,
platform, and basins to the north may be linked to ritual activity. In addition, the whitish
colored plastering over the walls and some wall painting surviving at the south of the
room may be correlated with rituals. However, assuming that they happened, the nature
of those rituals remains unknowable and the extent that those actions were religious
cannot be determined with the existing data. The game pieces and figurines may have
been used as toys, unless they had some ritualistic value combined with the rites that
possibly took place. The other activity inside this room seems to have been trade-
related. The recovery of two seals and five seal impressions indicate the departure and
arrival of goods.
As a result, the consideration of artifacts together with room sizes and interior
furnishings show that the Building DU saw domestic activities such as cooking, storage,
and possibly textile production. Food production and consumption may have been
actively taking place on the roof as well. Some ritual and economic activities are also
represented. More artifacts would certainly have assisted in pinpointing the activities.
Nevertheless, based on the domestic activities observed, this building can be identified
as a house in which maintenance, tool production, rituals, and economic transactions all
took place.
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The use of Building BY1 to the north of house DU is impossible to know with one
artifact only. It is important to remember here that the star shaped engravers were
reported to have been found abundantly in rooms BY1 and BZ. Such finds certainly
guarantee the use of this building as a workshop, but still do not eliminate the
possibility of its being a house with domestic functions until the rest of the materials
L. 2
2 -
Cm
O
c
1 - I 1 1
S3
3 0 -
O'
Spoon Spindle whorl Stopper
Artifact type
This building was almost empty and only one plain bowl, two spoons, and a spindle
whorl were recovered from reliable contexts inside the central room FD (fig. 4.10). The
bowl, found inside the platform, may have once held an offering, if the platform was in
fact used for ritual activity. The spoons imply food preparation and consumption, but
this activity is not supported by other indicative types, such as plain bowls. Because the
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spindle whorl is a small artifact and was found alone without associated artifacts within
The only artifact from a side room was the stopper. Again, its small size and the lack of
it is impossible to suggest any of the activities that took place in this building based its
artifacts. Considering only the interior design of the central room, the platform, the T-
shaped feature (668) to the north of the platform, two bench-like installations on the
interiors of the short walls, and the white plastering throughout the interiors of the
walls, the building may be affiliated with ritual activities. However, the last three
installations may well be related to something else. The T-shaped mud-brick feature
may very well have been used for different functions, such as spatially dividing the
room for some purpose or as a support for the ceiling since the ground was sharply
sloping towards the north. The bench-like installations were so narrow that they would
not have allowed one to sit comfortably. The white plastering may only be related to
decorative purposes and cleanliness. If the walls had been preserved higher, perhaps
residues of wall paintings would have been found, if any had been made. Thus, ritual
activity should be ascribed to this building with caution. At the same time, had more
artifacts from the immediate outside areas of the building been found, one might have
been able to determine how those open spaces had been used and what kind of spatial
IV.D- Conclusion:
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As an experiment, this chapter undertook the analysis of the artifact data within their
contexts to elucidate patterns of use by the occupants of the buildings. The analysis
how the built environment served its inhabitants within the entire site. However, the
exact nature of the observed activities is still far more complicated than their basic
identification.
The eight tripartite buildings included in the experiment yielded numerous artifact
types, the distribution of which in each building manifested that the room spaces were
not built for a single activity. Instead, the rooms served multi-purposes. Both
quantitatively and qualitatively, the artifacts combined with some furnishings inside
many rooms consistently, and thus, conclusively demonstrate the domestic use of these
activities, then it is clear now that those buildings were houses. The Buildings BY 1 and
FD are exceptions for the moment because the lack of artifacts from these structures
does not allow interpretation of any domestic activity. The occupants of these houses
stored edible and/or non-edible items inside the bins and jars kept in the side rooms,
cooked their food in the hearths; distributed, served, and consumed the food with the
bowls; spun wool into yam with the spindle whorls; and sewed textiles or leather with
The houses provided all the necessary spaces for these activities that obviously
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constraints of their environment. Only in one case, the pattern of a house was slightly
different. The house GK displayed an unusual character since cooking, as one of the
most obvious domestic activities, did not seem to have taken place here. Accordingly,
an explanation suggesting that this house was the residence of an elderly person or
persons, the care of whom by the others provided an occasion for casual social
gathering within the house space, seem appropriate with the artifacts recovered here.
The evidence for food production observed throughout most of the houses at this site
seems to have one common issue. There is a significant lack of grinding stones
represented in the artifact types. Such a discrepancy must have been linked with the
deposition process of the artifacts. In reality, there were a number of grinding stones
reported in the field notes and recorded in the artifact list. Unfortunately, most were out
of context, and because of this, they had to be excluded from the analysis, resulting in
their absence from the artifact type table in figure 4.2. Their out of context recoveries
suggest that grinding staple food most probably took place in the second stories or on
the roofs, and the ground stones probably tumbled from their in-situ locations into the
collapsed deposits, losing their contextual value. If this suggestion is correct, the second
stories and the roofs become distinct spaces for domestic activities. Furthermore, there
is no reason not to add sleeping to the activities of those spaces. In this respect,
especially, roofs once more become socially significant. There should be analogies in
ethnographic research that suits with this view. I, personally witnessed many times that
the flat roofs, additional to front of the houses, become sleeping places during hot
summer nights in the SE Turkey. Probably this not a new fact and other archaeologists
working in the Near East had such observations as well. The other activities, including
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the use of the roofs for entering the houses as well as the movements of individuals
within the already set circulation pathways, contribute to the social dimension of the
The second pattern seen in the use of these houses is as a place for exchange. The
recovery of numerous seals and seal impressions in the houses represent the dispersed
seals and seal impressions given in Appendix HI show that the seals do not match with
the seal impressions and the backs of the impressions show mostly textile pieces tied
with string. In addition, the forms of the clay lumps indicate that tying and sealing were
always made on the necks of the pots. Accordingly, we should assign the seals as the
representation of outgoing items and the seal impressions as the indication of incoming
items; some of the storage jars and bowls must also have had a role in the
exchange mechanism established with other sites. Furthermore, the sophisticated forms
of the hearth (509) in rooms DT-DS to the west of house BC, the hearth G-131 to the
south of house I, and the hearths (505), (504), and (390) in house BC; along with the
recovery of metal slag, all indicate the export of metal products, either in the form of
ingots or objects ready for use (pis. 15-18,20, and 41). There may have been other
items exported, but no indications were found as to what they might have been. More
importantly, it is unclear what Degirmentepe received in return and from where the
imports originated.
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Some rooms of these houses served as workshops for making and repairing the tools
that were necessary in other activities, such as agriculture, building construction, and so
on. Perhaps the best examples of workshops are the west side rooms in house I and
rooms DH and BM in house BC. Polishing stones, hammers, and celts were almost
always available inside the houses. Since there were few courtyards identified near the
houses, tool production makes sense as one of the indoor activities that probably
occurred on a regular basis. Some of the artifacts analyzed in this research must have
been the ones first produced and then used for other types of production, such as a celt
that was produced and then used for wood working. In addition, others types of tools
would have been made of perishable materials that could not have survived over the
millennia and many more useful tools and other artifacts must have been taken away
The last pattern of behavior observed in those houses is their religious use. Houses
were deliberately chosen as burial grounds for the interment of the youngest members
of the families. Those interments were found inside pots, bins, or the walls of the
rooms. It is interesting to note the apparent tendency to bury the dead inside the west
side rooms. Such concentration of burials is evident in houses I, BC, GK, and DU.
Furthermore, there may have been more burials located in the unexcavated NW
portions of houses BC and FC. However, there were also a number of burials in the
central rooms and in the east side rooms as well. Choosing different locations for the
burials in the houses may well have been associated with variations of meaning or the
to the east side of the village may represent alteration of meaning. Perhaps changes in
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the choice of location were connected with slight changes in the meanings of funerary
practices over time, because house EE belonged to a slightly later building phase. It is
not clear what those deliberate choices meant to the families, but certainly, religion
was perceived strongly with the overlying concepts of household, house, baby, and
death.
Ritual behavior may also have been among the activities that took place inside the
central rooms of the houses, but the indications are rather complex and ambiguous. The
presence of platforms alone initially appears insufficient to conclude ritual use, but
when the platforms converge with the other finds recovered near them, ritual functions
become clear (see fig. 4.11 below). Even the hearths may be considered part of such
activities. The central rooms of the houses I, FC, EE, GK, and DU, all had wall
paintings. The sixth case may be the building FD, which did not yield any paintings but
showed the remains of plaster covering the walls of the entire central room. In addition
to the evidence of the plaster, platform (658) is the largest one found in the site and a
pot inside the rectangular shaped hollow area of it was recovered in-situ. The feature
(668) just to the north of this platform further suggests that this room may once have
been painted as in the other houses and have had ritualistic use. The burned area noted
near the platform in house EE suggests the occasional use of fire. Dry lumps of
pigments in the cases of houses EE and FC were in the center of the platforms. Two
basins and a deer skull were found near the platform in the central room DU in house
DU. In addition, a baby burial in the comer of this room might have had a link with the
ritual use of the platform. The wall painting found inside the room Bi cannot be
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discussed with respect to ritual aspects, because the lack of recovered artifacts and
incomplete building plan make its function impossible to determine (pis. 51-52).
Fig. 4.11: Indications of rituals inside the houses, according to the occurrences of platforms,
wall paintings, burials, hearths, and pits. Significant additional findings pointing to
ritual acts is provided in parenthesis.
Perhaps the most significant and common attribute of the platforms is their specific
locations inside their rooms. Unlike other furnishings, the platforms were consistently
placed a little off the center point of the rooms, demonstrating a deliberate choice. The
significance of their location within the rooms further supports the interpretation of the
platforms as a site for ritual use. The variations in furnishings and finds associated with
the platforms in each house may mean that more than one type of ritual activities
occurred at the site. For example, some rituals would have been regularly conducted
religious activities and others would have been dedicated to distinct events that had
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importance to society. There may even have been some rituals that were not
specifically religious in nature. If the burials found inside the houses are indeed related
with the ritualistic use of platforms, then we may assume that, in general, at least one
type of ritual was funerary. If all of the rituals were related to burials, then the
occurrences of different features associated with the rituals in each building may imply
different meanings given to the dead. As the result, Degirmentepe society displays
complex and various types of ritual behaviors. Nevertheless, the strong depiction of
As Trigger puts it, the analysis carried out in this chapter was at the smallest level, the
household level, but the use of each building also reflects a larger scale understanding:
population size as well as the nature of the household type is necessary, since these
In order to estimate population, the actual usable floor area of each house must be
determined first. Then, the formula of 1 person per 10m2 suggested by Naroll (1962),
which interestingly showed a consistent correlation with usable floor area and
This formula also seems to fit well with observations on the annual consumption of
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critique of Narolls studies made by LeBlanc (1971) should also be considered
seriously. LeBlanc, studying three different ethnographic cases, showed that Narolls
formula may not have a relevant application to archaeology unless precautions are
taken. LeBlanc warns that the standard deviation of his calculations became high in
those particular cases, and thus, calculating the total roofed area in a site may not fit
well with the constant relationship observed in Narolls test. Instead, he suggests that,
first, distinguishing the roofed dwelling areas in which the people lived, and then,
calculating the population only from these roofed areas can yield results closer to
Narolls equation. Since the Degirmentepe house plans represent completely roofed
dwelling areas where only the families lived, measuring the floor spaces of each
building and applying Narolls formula should yield much reasonable results.
Since the total space of the houses is known, subtracting the wall spaces from those
total areas is necessary to find the actual usable floor area for every house.
Therefore, the calculation of actual usable floor space in each house is:
Total area of the building - Wall area = Usable floor area (in m2)
For example, if a building has 11 lm2 total area with 42 m2 of wall .space in it,
then the actual usable space of that building becomes 69 m2:
111m2 - 42 m2 = 69 m2
The buildings AS and FN are excluded in these calculations because they did not yield
confidently measurable complete building plans. Because the other complete buildings
are not uniform in size, it is impossible to reasonably estimate the size of these two
incomplete buildings. Although houses FD and BC might have been larger than what is
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suggested in Chapter ID, the sizes given in their descriptions are accepted as the true
addition, the multi-room buildings in the south and other structures in the NE quadrant
probably represent more houses, but their status as residences is indeterminate due to
One complication in calculating the usable area of these houses is the existence of
second stories in a number of houses. We now know that at least four buildings had
second stories, although among them only House i yielded the best-preserved evidence.
In principle, calculating the floor space of the second stories is necessary to reach an
accurate population estimate. However, sound guesses for the second story floor spaces
are not possible, especially in houses EE, BC, and FC, because their second story plans
are unknown. For these reasons, only house i could be calculated with its basement and
second floor. As a result, house I appears to have had the largest occupied space
compared to other houses in figures 4.12 and 4.13, which were represented by their
basement spaces only. All of these limitations will have an impact on estimating the
population of the village so that this number will only represent the minimum number
All houses measured here are considered to be contemporary, since the sites
stratigraphy does not show any distinctively different time-use among the buildings
focused on here. Thus, the estimated population living in those houses will indicate the
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House Total Area (m2) Wall Area (m2) Actual Usable Floor Area (m2)
I 204.0 91.0 113.0
BC 150.0 86.0 64.0
FC 91.0 29.0 62.0
EE 144.0 61.0 83.0
EL 104.0 54.0 50.0
GK 148.0 65.9 82.1
DU 91.2 34.0 57.2
BY1 40.0 16.0 24.0
FD 77.0 21.9 55.1
Total 1049.2 458.8 590.4
Average 116.6 51.0 65.6
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I BC FC EE EL GK DU BY1 FD
Houses
Fig. 4.13: Actual usable floor areas o f houses given in m2. Note that House I was measured
with its estimated second story in addition to its basement.
Figure 4.12 shows the actual usable floor area for each house, with the average usable
floor-area being 65.6 m2 for the site. According to these calculations, there seems to be
an interesting balance between the wall space and the total size of a house. In most
houses, the wall space takes up ca. 40-50 % of the total size of the house, while the
remaining space is the actual dwelling area (fig. 4.13). This consistent percentage
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should be interpreted as a necessary sacrifice of space to provide enough carrying
I 113.0 11.3
BC 64.0 6.4
FC 62.0 6.2
EE 83.0 8.3
EL 50.0 5.0
GK 82.1 8.2
DU 57.2 5.7
BY1 24.0 2.4
FD 55.1 5.5
Population estimate lived in the village (fractions rounded) 58.0
House
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Now, by using the actual floor areas, the population that lived in each house and in the
entire settlement can be estimated. The table in fig. 4.14 below shows the number of
people who resided in those houses according to the 1 person per 10 m2 ratio suggested
by Naroll. The most populous house, with an estimated 11.3 individuals, is House i;
because it was a clearly documented two story building, the actual floor area of the
house became significantly larger than those of the other houses. The next most
populous houses are EE and GK, with an estimated eight individuals living in them.
Since house BY 1 was the smallest, it housed only 2.4 individuals. The minimum
Considering that there were more houses in the NE quadrant and perhaps in the
immediate south edge of the site as well, the total number of individuals that lived
during the most populous time in the history of Degirmentepe might conservatively
The households might have been the extended family type, since most seem to have
further that the families probably consisted of a parent couple, along with their children
Naturally, the infrastructure of a family must have been set by the kinship system, but
the particular kinship relations are beyond the reach of this study.
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Chapter V: Conclusion
The data presented in the last two chapters completes the analysis of the architectural
architectural characteristics of the Ubaid village and makes suggestions about social
organizational aspects of the community that derive from the data. Meanwhile, hints
concerning the nature of social complexity that the plain may have experienced and the
evidence provided by the Ubaid material culture in Eastern Anatolia are added into this
summary.
V.A- The built environment and projections for the social organization of
Degirmentepe:
According to the soundings made in grids 12-13 J and 13 F, there were at least three
distinct earlier occupation phases that existed other than the major occupation Phase B
(pi. 4). These earlier phases, now called phases C and D in the stratigaphical order,
represented with very limited exposures of rooms or wall remains (fig.3.17). Those
early phases represented much smaller settlements than the major occupation phase B
settlement and were confined to the east of the mound. A number of pits in the floors of
phase B buildings in the middle and west of the mound had been dug into sterile soil, a
solid indication that no occupations earlier than the buildings of phase B were present
The major occupation Phase B of the village consisted of fifteen buildings (pl.4). There
must have been at least three more buildings to the north of Building EE where
insufficiently preserved room plans do not illustrate any distinct building type. With the
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addition of Building AS, occupied during the last architectural phase A, the total
As a rule of thumb, buildings were separated with double walls in the agglutinant
layout. This fact alludes to property rights and rules for sharing space in terms of social
relations over the lifetime of the site, during which the layout of the settlement took its
shape organically. As the building locations and their size were not significantly
different, the social settings in the community must not have evolved very much over
time.
There were two building types: the tri-partite plan, represented with ten buildings, and
the multi-room buildings, represented with four buildings. Of the tri-partite group, the
sub-types within the tri-partite organization. Yet, the use of the central and side rooms
in those buildings remained intact and the mainstream rules in the building tradition
continued.
Although not seen in every building, the interiors were repeatedly furnished with
distinct features. These were: the platforms in the central rooms, niches in the walls,
small doorways allowing communication between the central room and smaller side
rooms, the paintings on the white plastered walls, the hearths, the number of clay bins
in each building, and the occasionally occurring clay basins and small box-like
installations attached to the walls. The consistent locations of the platforms just off the
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center point of the rooms showed that they were deliberately placed with the use of
basic geometry (pl.27). The placement of other features must also have been
intentional, but their locations apparently varied in each building. For instance, the
hearths occurred in almost every building, but they were not exclusive to the central
rooms. In addition to these features, some unusual installations appeared as the single
occurrences. The central room FD had a T-shaped, mud-brick feature in the middle and
two narrow bench-like features along the short sides of the room. Rooms EK and FZ of
Building DU had pebble-laid, high platforms that were probably for utilitarian
purposes. Room AU of Building BC was converted into a giant hearth with a 2 m long
tunnel opening into room AO to the west. It is tempting to think that it may have been a
kiln because of its large size, but apparent indicators could not be found in its artifact
contents or form. All of these features clearly showed that each building had usual and
common activities, but some must have had additional specific functions as well.
The other major building type, the multi-room buildings, consisted of rectangular rooms
but lacked any standardized room size or number. These buildings were only located at
the south edge of the settlement. None of them provided any complete building plan.
On the other hand, they all seemed to have been built according to the general mle of
N-S orientation like the tri-partite houses. It is unclear what this distinct alignment
meant to the residents. Their incomplete floor plans and the lack of sufficient artifact
data also prevent ascribing any distinct function to the multi-room buildings (pl.51).
Perhaps, each structure belonged to one family and was used for storage purposes,
although the recovery of a hearth in one of these buildings, room DY-FH-FI, implies
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activities other than storage. According to the available plans, the buildings must have
Both building types noticeably lack entrance doors. A few exceptions in the tri-partite
plan buildings were all temporary and were sealed with mud brick after being used for
some time. The doors in Buildings FC and EE were more or less normal in size, but the
ones in buildings FD and GK were unusually small and ultimately impractical. The
opening in house EL was too wide, and may not even have been a real door but rather
the result of poor preservation. Additionally, Building BY1 might have had a door
opening into the west courtyard BH that remained under the baulk. Therefore, some of
the houses had direct communication with outside for some time during their use, but
probably for different reasons, and perhaps not solely for human use. It is clear that the
real means of communication between the houses and the outside areas was through
entrances on the roofs. Probably, horizontally laid wooden hatches on the roof surfaces
A.l- Houses:
The architectural study and functional analysis demonstrate that the tri-partite buildings
served as houses in which any manner of domestic activity that one may expect
occurred. On a regular basis, food items were stored, prepared, and consumed, wool
was spun into yam to be made into textiles and probably sun-dried or smoke-tanned
animal hides were sewn with bone awls. In addition, tool production and maintenance,
indicated by the variety of tools, was an indoor activity. Some of the rooms were
workshops deliberately reserved for producing tools, such as rooms K, AC, and AD in
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house I. The most important activity was metal production, best represented in house
BC. Perhaps two other areas of the village had the same activity, the south of house i
and the west of house BC (pis. 15-17). The presence of numerous seals and seal
impressions and the lack of any finished metal products in house BC indicates that the
produced metals were exported. The hundreds of small engravers reported from BY1
also suggest that this building was a workshop and the tools were probably traded.
specializing in a certain type of production and solely engaging in the trade of their
artifact type or significant distribution of seals and seal impressions were associated
with any other building. For the moment, probably it is safe to say that perhaps some
houses began to focus on distinct craft productions, but we cannot distinguish who really
engaged in the trade. The artifact data simply cannot conclusively identify the
The third distinct function in those houses was occasional ritual activities. The
platforms, associated with occasional burning activity, or the pits nearby them are the
evidence of ritual. In addition, the numerous infant interments point to the use of the
basements as burial grounds and alluded to the ceremonies at the time of burying the
dead. It is plausible that the paintings made on the walls were connected to the rituals
and may even have resulted from them. However, the nature of ritual behavior seems
neither uniform nor straightforward in each house. The types of findings associated
with ritual are similar but not all of them were present in every house. For example, the
carefully built pits related to ritual were only found in House I, but no platform was
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found there (compare ritual related findings in fig. 4.11). Perhaps, different
combinations of ritual related findings in every other house indicate different types of
rituals. These rituals represent complex beliefs loaded with strong symbolic values and
it is difficult to distinguish the types of rituals with the available data. On the other
hand, it is safe to state that the burial ceremony was one of the distinct ritual types due
to number of infant burials made in those houses. Although speculative, platforms may
have been used and wall paintings might have been made during or after the burial
ceremonies.
In a broader sense, I suggest that the houses with platforms also functioned as shrines
used exclusively by the same household members. The rituals were probably practiced
regularly in addition to occasional ceremonies required for burials. I imagine that the
platforms are the representations of ritual perceptions, and, perhaps in the sense of
praying, the household members occasionally carried out rites by using those platforms.
For that reason, calling these houses house-shrines seems to make sense. As a result,
rituals with a strong depiction of symbolic values were a characteristic feature of the
Degirmentepe houses and the inhabitants perceived their houses with strong religious
beliefs.
I also suggest that there may be a correlation between the presence of the platforms
and the types of households in the village. There are five houses found with platforms
and each of these platforms might have represented one household or the residence of
the head of the extended family. The families of a house without a platform might have
been tied through their kinship relations to a house with a platform where the head
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family or the head of the extended family resided. If this was the case, the extended
family groups may have constituted a larger household tied together by their kinship
relations. Accordingly, five larger household groups may be identified in the village,
but linking the families without platforms with a specific house where a platform was
available is impossible. It is conceivable that the ties of the lineages were organic and
evolved gradually over time through the marriage and economic alliances to establish
these large extended families (for houses with platforms see pi. 62). In conclusion, the
house at Degirmentepe was the center of daily life. The meaning of the house was
formed through its use, which was developed by the co-existent relationships of
The most significant discovery for the houses is their two story structures. Four of the
houses, I, BC, FC, and EE, had a basement floor with low ceilings and the upper story
on top. The most clear indications for the presence of a second floor came from a wall
with a two doors and beam holes in room K of house I. Furthermore, a hearth on the
second story had collapsed into the basement room I after the abandonment (see pis. 6-
16). House EE yielded well-preserved evidence for a staircase inside one of the twin
rooms, clearly revealing the means of access to the upper story. The other two
buildings, BC and FC, also displayed enough evidence to infer the existence of a
The other buildings without direct evidence about the upper story probably had the
second stories as well. Having the staircase in the twin rooms in house EE suggest that
the identical plans of twin rooms in other buildings point to the means of
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communication with the second story. Such rooms were found in six of the houses (fig.
5.1). However, relying only on their plans indicates the use of staircase but it cannot be
known if these buildings had upper floors. Staircases may have existed in those rooms
but they may have only been for going to the roof. Thus, the plans of twin rooms alone
I believe there is another convincing implication in explaining that all the tri-partite
plans of the site were two-story buildings. This centers on the way the room deposition
processes occurred inside the houses. The more than six thousand year old walls of the
buildings were preserved unusually high and remained more or less intact at 1.30 m
height. It seems that this fact is closely linked with the way the buildings collapsed and
the rooms filled with deposits. It is likely that the site was not deserted quickly, because
there is no evidence for a sudden catastrophic event, such as fire. If so, then the
occupants would have packed their portable goods and prepared to leave in a slower,
more organized process. Just before departing, the residents may have deliberately
demolished the roofs and second stories of the buildings in order to remove the beams
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from the ceilings for re-use. Some ethnographic examples are analogous to this
behavior in which the occupants removed the beams from their houses before they
moved out to a new location because the wood beams were considered among the
valuable items of the household and were not easily replaced (Roaf 1989; Koyunlu
1982). This intentional dismantling of the roofs must have happened at Degirmentepe
too, and the roofs must have been deliberately demolished to remove the beams. Such
intentional, human interference in the collapse of the buildings may have resulted in
the rapid collapse of the roofs and upper floors. The collapsed debris probably filled the
basement room spaces within a couple of days and immediately began preserving the
basement rooms and the walls. This process explains well why the implications of the
second stories are absent on almost each wall and how the basements and their high
walls were preserved. Thus, if this interpretation is valid, then it is possible to conclude
that the other tri-partite buildings at this site were also two story buildings.
A.l.a- Basements:
It is clear from the evidence that the lower floors were basements rather than
comfortable living quarters. The use of this term here is deliberate because those
basements were not built high enough (about 1.40 m) to move around with ease. The
designation of the first floors as basements also comes from the fact that these spaces
were dark and airless because they lacked windows. The limited light and air
circulation must have presented a challenge to the inhabitant with regard to carrying
out any activity. None of the basements had any openings on the preserved walls
sufficient for either air intake or daylight. Because of this, the niches found on some of
the walls are interpreted as the locations for candles, which probably gave dim, but
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apparently adequate light. The absence of windows on the walls is understandable
because the buildings were actually attached to each other, leaving no space for open
areas. Despite the low heights of the ceilings and insufficient light and oxygen intake,
the basements were probably used for many tasks on a daily basis. The pots, bowls,
hearths, and bins, for instance, indicate the storage of food items and food preparation
in the basements. These tasks could be performed while seated, although requiring
more than one individual and perhaps some assistance from children. These rather dark
and uncomfortable places also served as burial grounds and spaces for ritual, probably
It is unclear if the term basement should indicate that they were subterranean. The
outside area DD, used by the occupants from houses EE and GK, might have had its
floor on a level similar to those of the adjacent houses. However, the surfaces of the
small open spaces to the east of house EE and north of house BY1 were unclear.
Furthermore, the ground levels of the immediate outside areas through the south edge
of the settlement were also unknown. In this situation, it is impossible to judge whether
the basements of the buildings were subterranean or built at a similar level as the
outside surfaces.
There is no significant data about the sizes, shapes and numbers of rooms built for the
second stories. The only evidence, which is fairly limited, comes from Building 1.
Based on this building, it may tentatively be suggested that the second stories might
have had tri-partite plans that were almost identical with the plans of the basements.
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Probably a central room was copied from the basements, but the size and shape of the
In terms of the functions of the second story rooms, there is insufficient data to visualize
any activity. On the other hand, it is reasonable to suggest that the activities lighter and
perhaps cleaner than the basement tasks might have taken place in the second story
rooms. There must have been small windows located on the higher ends of the walls as
well, providing enough air and daylight for the activities that took place there. Although
socializing, and hospitality for the guests were probably the common activities. For
example, at least textile production activities, let us say spinning wool or weaving,
must have been one of the tasks to have taken place upstairs, since it requires many
hours of work and the upstairs would have been truly more comfortable and bright.
The roofs of the buildings must have been flat since there was a need for enough space
to facilitate the movements of the occupants throughout the site. Because of this, not to
mention the lack of daylight in the basements, the roofs with flat spaces must have
served as the third level of the buildings that provided opportunities for a variety of
activities. During the daytime, some food production activities may have been carried
out on the roofs. As can be seen today in the villages with vernacular architecture,
laying edible items for drying, simple cooking or boiling, or preparing mixtures in
containers for fermentation or other desired taste were probably the parts of the food
preparation process took place on the roofs. Child minding may have been another
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activity that took place on the roofs while the other tasks were in progress (personal
ground stones were rarely found undisturbed in the good contexts of the basements,
although many were recorded in the debris. Supporting the idea of domestic activities
on the roof spaces, I had suggested earlier that they may have been used on the second
Perhaps seasonal changes were a factor deriving the shift of activities within the three
levels of the houses. The cold and snowy winters as well as the rainy days of spring and
fall must have prevented any outside activity, while the hot and dry summers were more
welcoming for the use of the roof spaces. Thus, daily activities would have taken place
mostly in the basement and on the second floors during the winters and the rainy days of
the year, while these activities, or at least the some of them, would then have shifted
upward to the roofs during the warm and dry seasons. Thus, this hypothesis suggests that
the domestic life in a house was a cycle moving between the basement, second story, and
The communications around the site were set in two ways. An individual who wished to
go from one building to another, or who entered the site, possibly from the west, would
have either walked around the site or walked over the flat roofs of the houses until
he/she reached the building that he/she wished to enter. After reaching the roof by
means of a wood ladder, walking over the roofs must have been quite practical. There
must have been frequently used pathways that functioned as streets, providing the most
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efficient circulation movements for the community members. In addition to these main
routes, there must have been minor pathways branching out from those major ones
leading to the entrances of each particular house. The suggestion of minor routes is to
imply that they were significantly smaller and narrower paths that would have been
used primarily by the household members who lived under the roof, while the major
ones would have been open to anyone for more common use. It can be imagined that,
for safety reasons, not only the activity areas but also the communication routes on the
roofs would probably have been located away from the edges of the houses.
Considering the fact that the mud-brick houses of contemporary societies do not have
one single flat roof covering the entire building, the roofs at Degirmentepe would
likewise not have had one flat roof. Instead, the houses must have had sections of the
roofs with different heights reflecting the form and the use of the interiors below. As a
result, the varying roof heights would have been compensated for with ladders set on
the necessary locations of the pathways. In addition, the height differences of roofs in
each house would have provided another advantage: enough space to place small
windows on the high ends of the walls, providing enough oxygen intake and sunlight
into the second stories. In the meantime, the small windows must have been safe
enough without diminishing the carrying capacity of the walls and risking the collapse
of the roofs.
Although it was not excavated, the large open court in the NE quadrant probably served
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group activities. Since this area was large enough, any kind of gathering, whether
social, political, or economical at the communal or individual level, could have taken
place here. The water for drinking and cleaning must have been brought in from the
river by using this area. If the river was used in transportation, the processes of import-
export might have taken place anywhere around this open space as long as the
archaeological evidence for this area, the nature of any such potential activities is
impossible to discern.
The appearance of the east and the west sides of the settlement is not so clear.
Probably, three more buildings were located to the north of building EE, because of the
cluster of various types of room remains. If no other buildings existed to the north of
building FN in the west of the settlement, most of the unexcavated west side of the
settlement was probably open and would have been used to enter the village before
reaching the houses. Based on this scenario, the layout of the village at the peak of the
occupation history was probably in a reversed L-shape; starting from the building FN
from the west and continuing to the east until building EL and then turning up north
Additionally, the agglutinative settlement layout of the site is unique, when compared
with the architecture known from other Ubaid sites (pi. 4). When there have been
broad enough architectural exposures, Ubaid sites always tended to show open spaces
used for outside activities in addition to streets and alleys. For instance, the well
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exposed levels 1-3 settlements of Tell Abada in Hamrin had wide-open spaces
between the buildings. (Jasim 1985; 1989). Thus, the insular and compact appearance
its back to the plain and faced towards the river. It appears that the sites posterior was
to the south and was bounded by positioning the enclosure wall as if concealing the
village from the other neighboring communities in the plain. The square beam holes,
the characteristic feature used in the enclosure wall, found in the south wall of Building
FN at the SW comer of the site, imply that the very long enclosure was continuous
throughout the entire south edge of the settlement (pis. 4 and 51). As a consequence,
the enclosure wall may have been for isolating the village, not necessarily for the
purpose of military defense, but rather some kind of village size social insulation.
The possible large open area in the NW quadrant and the N-S orientation of the
buildings give the impression that the village looked towards the Euphrates. Of course,
the river may have been more picturesque than the plain, but also, this river was the
major means of communication with the southern regions for transportation and trade,
and Degirmentepe may have become more concerned with the activities taking place
on the river rather the other communities nearby. The general worldview of the
occupants may not have been so different from the concepts in the South
Mesopotamian Ubaid, but the socio-political relations in the plain perhaps had some
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Once such a dense spatial order emerged, the built environment probably had the
reverse effect on the community, which had to constantly interact to reorganize the
rules of the society. While being socially protective of each other on a communal level,
the individual and household level relationships, already formed by the complex and
influential kinship relations, privacy, and ownership (Watson 1979; Kramer 1982),
must have re-adjusted to the new compacted village layout. In return, the built
environment must have been influencing the relations again to reorganize them in this
continuous cycle.
Unfortunately, the full implications of this self-reinforcing cycle between the spatial
organization and social organization of the society are still beyond any reasonable
guess. However, one area where the mutual influences of the dynamic interactions and
changes in social relations can be exemplified is in the use of the spatial arrangements,
that is, the access routes and the overall use of the roofs. Since a house is a private and
owned space, the circulation paths on the roofs to go from one building to another must
have been shaped according to ownership, privacy rules, and the kinship system in the
village. In fact, as set by kinship relations, the locations of houses must have already
represented a few social clusters in the community and the use of the roofs must have
been grouped accordingly. The members of the same kin group carried out their
activities and used the pathways for access to their houses on their own roof space. As
long as there were no conflicts within neighborhood relations, the neighbors could have
used the same routes on the roofs for access to their own roofs and houses, but probably
much less intensely. The same rules must have been in place in other families or social
clusters. The web of relations was dictated the layout of activity areas and access
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routes over the roofs. Changes to these spatial arrangements would have occurred with
a marriage or death among the same kinship members, or conflicts between the social
groups. In addition, changes in the population and economy would have had permanent
effects on social relations, and the intensity and the ways in which roofs were used
were probably fluctuated over the long term. Furthermore, there is no reason not to
think that the same causes were also responsible for changes in the ways the interiors
of houses were used, modified, and even the ways the new building were built.
The population of the site was hypothetically measured with the formula of one person
per 10m2. My measurements suggested that the population of the village at the peak of
its occupation history was conservatively about 80 individuals (see the end of Ch. IV).
This number includes the tri-partite houses during Phase B2 as well as the three other
tri-partite buildings assumed to have existed to the north of Building EE. The data
about other buildings, such as the multi-room buildings, was not sufficient for a
population estimate because their function is unknown and their floor spaces are
incomplete. If the tri-partite houses are accepted as two story buildings, then according
to this formula, the population would certainly have been more than 80 individuals. For
instance, House I was calculated to have housed 11 individuals. If second floors in each
house represent an average of three more individuals, this would add 24 more
individuals to the entire population (additional to House i). In this case, the total
number of people would have reached as many as 104 at one point of time.
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Certainly, the population of the site was dynamic and the number of households must
have changed over time. While new babies were bom and other relatives arrived for a
long term stay or to settle down, some number of the babies also died during their
infancy as seen in the high number of infant burials in the houses, some of the elders
passed away, and some adults left the site to settle down elsewhere. These birth, death,
and migration factors must have caused shifts in the population as happens today.
Since the houses seem to have accommodated at least 5 individuals, the proposed
household type for each house in this settlement is that extended family, consisting of
two adult couples and their children or relatives varying between 5 to 11 individuals.
Based on kinship ties, the families made up larger households. If the presence of
ritually used platforms in some houses is linked to the heads of the large families, then
there must have been clusters of five larger families in the village that were bound by
Evidence suggests that the site did not meet with a catastrophic event causing the
abandonment of the village. The limited fire that took place in the south portion of the
Building 1 is the only exception and did not extend to the other buildings. Although the
annual flood in spring and early summer may have posed a serious threat for anyone in
the plain, the catastrophic one was documented only above the last Ubaid occupation
layers. This disaster probably struck after the last Ubaid occupation Phase A. Thus, the
flood would have been responsible for demolishing the poorly built architecture, which
was probably wattle and daub style, and the other material culture of the early third
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millennium B.C. culture. The recovery of mixed contexts above the Ubaid layers is
In the absence of evidence of a natural disaster, I suggest that the desertion of the site
occurred as a much slower, more gradual process. The best indication of such a process
is the change of settlement size between Phases B and A. The village shrunk to a
hamlet at the end of Phase B when most of the population moved out and only one or
two buildings remained, including Building AS and perhaps a second one to the west of
the mound. The portable economic, religious, and personal items of value were taken
away, but most of the utilitarian tools of lesser value were left behind. Thus, the artifact
The representation of Ubaid material culture at other sites in the Elazig-Malatya region
was already presented in Chapter II. Located just a few kilometers south of
Degirmentepe, on the west bank of Euphrates, Pirot Hoyiik had Ubaid material coming
from a very limited area under the 8 meter thick cultural deposits of later periods
(Karaca 1985; 2003). Two walls built with stone foundations and mud-brick courses
above represented the architecture of this small area. The most significant discovery
was the wall painting preserved on the lower portion of one of these walls. The red
colored circles of this painting are identical with the patterns seen at Degirmentepe, but
the other designs are not comparable. Small finds reported from this limited exposure
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included Ubaid pottery, a seal, and a few bone tools implying that the Ubaid activities
More evidence for Ubaid traits was identified at four Keban sites located to the
immediate north in the Elazig plain. Limited amounts of Ubaid pottery were reported
from Tepecik, Tulintepe, Korucutepe, and Noruntepe; additionally, the latter had a
painting of an animal on a wall amply proving the presence of Ubaid cultural traits
(Esin 1972; Ozbaaran 1992; van Loon 1978; Hauptmann 1976,1982; Giilgur 1988).
There are probably more Ubaid materials at sites away from the river, but they may be
buried under the deposits of later periods. Unfortunately, these site are not comparable
with Degirmentepe, since they lack significant architectural data. As a result, we can
conclude that the Ubaid material culture at Degirmentepe was not a single occurrence
expansion process into to the Elazig and Malatya plains. For the moment,
B.2- Arslantepe:
There is evidence from Arslantepe VII and VIA occupations indicating a strong cultural
continuity in the area following the disappearance of Ubaid traits and the desertion of
Degirmentepe. The architecture of Arslantepe level VII, dating to a much later time
range (3900-3400 B.C.) than the Late Ubaid, displays two building types with close
formal similarities to those of Degirmentepe buildings: the bi-partite structure and use
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The bi-partite Building XXIX in period VH, consisting of a main room (A900) and
smaller rooms to the east, was monumental. This building was more than 20x16 meters
in size, built with mud-brick walls much wider than 1 meter. The altar in the middle of
the central room A900 was very large (ca. 4x2 meter) with a hollow area in the center
this platform and the burning activity was evident in building EE (pis. 28 and 47). The
additional features of Building XXIX included, two large niches made on the south
wall, at least three wide doorways on the long walls with recessed edges, and a wall
painting preserved in the central room (A900) of better design quality than the ones
The stacks of hundreds of pots in the central and side rooms were mass-produced local
productions found together with numerous clay seal impressions. Although the pots
have close similarities with Coba ware, they probably developed from the Coba
tradition and they certainly represent a locally produced, later variety. Thus, the
architectural features of this building convincingly indicate that the building had a
religious ceremonial function and that the contents were the traces left from
administration and redistribution activities. Thus, the use of Building XXIX was for
The second building type of Arslantepe VII consisted of thick walled, long and
considerably narrow room spaces dating to the later phase of period VII. The artifact
repertoire, especially pottery, was identical with that of Building XXIX. Frangipane
suggested that these long-rooms were storage structures perhaps intended for non-
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domestic use (2000). Then one may ask, is it possible to see the multi-roomed
The answer is maybe, since the multi-rooms of Degirmentepe have more spacious plan
During period VIA, the Buildings III-IV and the temples A and B of this period formed
sized rectangular rooms and the street, but the temples again were bi-partite in plan
with a central room and a group of small rooms located to one side of the main room.
the earliest but scant appearance of Kura-Araxes components, and the seals and seal
impressions, when combined with the thick walled buildings and the street, make these
structures one palatial complex used for administrative purposes. As a result, the bi
partite architecture of this site continued in use until the radical change in the
occupation history occurred with the intrusion of the Kura-Araxes material components
in 3000 B.C.
On the whole, there are two conclusions that may be drawn from the comparison of
these two sites. One is the confirmation of the ritual function at Degirmentepe houses
with platforms; these houses seem to have been a prototype that developed into public
structures in the later centuries in the region. The second conclusion is that the
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houses, but at Arslantepe VII, it seems that the religious concepts were pooled into one
lineage they belonged, might have found the opportunity for ritual practice. It is worth
noting here that the houses of Arslantepe VII are as yet unknown, and thus, it is
impossible to see whether a house of that site would have had any similar building
plans with interior design and any ritual activity comparable to those of Degirmentepe.
As of today, the ongoing excavations have concentrated on Periods VII and VUI, but it
is known that Arslantepe has thick Ubaid occupation layers below Period VII. Perhaps,
the uppermost Ubaid layers might represent the Period IX within the Arslantepe
center as seen during the later Periods VII and VUI. Explanations for the changes in
aspects of cultural continuity in this plateau may be provided when the earlier layers of
Since the built environment has the power to express the worldviews and cultural
identity of the inhabitants, the Mesopotamian tri-partite house type, the multi-room
buildings, and the interior features of the buildings at Degirmentepe all strongly suggest
that the occupants had close cultural affiliations with their southern counterparts. The
community might have constituted an Ubaidian group that intruded and settled in the
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plain. The limited occurrence of Ubaid pottery at a few other sites in the region also
supports the idea that the intrusion process was not a coincidence or a one-time event.
If the settlers were Ubaidian migrants, then it is important to know who the locals were
and what local meant in this region. Yet, the definition of local in this region has not
been made in the archaeological record. The concurrent occurrences of Coba Ware,
best known from the Sakagdzii sites (Weachter et. al.1951), with the Ubaid material
culture may be an indication of indigenous groups. However, Coba type pottery as well
as related materials has been very little studied, and what this type of pottery should
Hoyiik may be the representation of other localized culture groups within the
Sak?ag6zu area.
Based on the discovery of seals and seal impressions at the site, but without emphasis
on the identity of the inhabitants, the excavator of Degirmentepe suggested the well-
known idea of trade mechanisms opening the highlands to the people of south (Esin
1986; Esin, Harmankaya 1987; 1988). She seems to imply that the occurrences of
DFBW and Coba wares are the equivalent of local traits and she rightly notes that the
residents were engaged in trade with the southern regions because of the numerous
seals and seal impressions found at the site. However, she does not comment on the
In these circumstances, Degirmentepe alone may not provide complete answers, but
with the support of architecture it may be asserted that the occupants were not locals
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but arrived from the Northern Ubaid cultural sphere to exhaust the natural resources of
the highlands for trade with southlands. They exploited metallic ore resources and
perhaps the riverbed for stones to produce chipped tools as well. During their stay in the
plain, they needed to develop strategies to interact with the locals. The materialistic
representation of the locals might be the occurrences of DFBW and Coba wares in the
pottery corpus, although as of yet, no apparent correlation may be made between these
The newcomers from the south could not have lived independently as Ubaidians but
would have had to face the hybridization of their cultural traits with local traits, an
apparent form of architecture, painted Ubaid pottery, seals and seal impressions as well
as with religious rituals, they retained their southern identity and probably even
identified themselves by a southern name. In all likelihood, they adopted some local
qualities, although not strongly. While unclear, the DFBW and Coba wares may have
held some meaning with reference to these traits. The locals, for their part, slowly
adopted the forms of religious values and architecture from the south in a manner not
noticeable for these times but apparent in the later periods, such as the Arslantepe VII
and VIA periods. During these times, the Ubaid in North Mesopotamia progressively
faded as well. The ongoing communication with the south, where the Ubaid cultural
traits were progressively eroding for unknown reasons, must also have diffused those
processes into the highlands, and concurrently participated in the hybridization of both
the Ubaid rhigrants and the locals (fig. 5.2). In the case of Degirmentepe, the
abandonment of the site may have been caused by those external southern influences
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that resulted in an interruption, leaving the ongoing progress of hybridization
incomplete.
Timeline
ca. 5000 BC. -ca. 4000 BC
Ubaid intrusion to Co-existence and Locals and Ubaid Late Chalcolithic 1-3
Anatolia begins hybridization via groups hybridized (Rothmann 2001) in
interactions begins both culturally and Greater Mesopotamia
materially
Fig. 5.2: The suggested scheme for the hybridization process of the Ubaid groups in Anatolia
with the indigenous groups. Legend: Vertical ovals are the Indigenous Anatolian
groups, horizontal ovals are the North Mesopotamian Ubaid groups, small circles are
the migrating Ubaid groups, curved arrows are the movement of people and double
sided straight arrows are the continuous interaction o f between the North
Mesopotamian and the migrant Ubaidians.
C.2- Communication with the south and the seasonal use of routes:
The Euphrates, running to the south, must have been the most obvious route guiding the
first Ubaid settlers to go north, and later, the traders. This route can be tracked easily
from Malatya-Elazig down until the Balikh valley in North Syria. The other route might
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have been set southeasterly, passing from Degirmentepe to Hazar lake to Diyarbakrr to
the Mosul area, and perhaps finally reaching Tepe Gawra. This hypothetical line is
geographically passable and Tepe Gawra provides a wide range of Ubaid material
remains within its long and continuous strata. Esin, already correlated the
Degirmentepe seals and seal impressions with the ones from Tepe Gawra based on
stylistic similarities (Esin 1994; Tobler 1950; Rothman 2002). In addition, the animal
figurines and other stylized figurines of Degirmentepe seem to share formal similarities
with the Tepe Gawra gaming pieces that came from different strata (compare
specimens in App. Ill in pp. 309-375 with the ones from Tobler 1950: pi. LXXXIV).
Although those finds may establish ties between these two sites, conceivably connected
by plausible routes of travel, the implications for interaction are still weak and there is
no data for the presence of Ubaid stations located along these routes. It is likely that,
there were additional minor inland routes located near key resources throughout the SE
Anatolia. Future research may reveal these routes and the locations of other Ubaid
assemblages.
Seasonality must have played an important role in the timing of trade and
communication. The weather conditions and the temperature must have set the
schedules for the transportation of goods throughout the year. Traffic along these routes
would have ceased due to low temperatures, heavy snow during winter, and then heavy
rainfalls during spring. The goods probably delivered by land and water in both
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C.3- The level of complexity: Was Degirmentepe a chiefdom?
In the brief summary of Ubaid research given in Ch. II, several lines of evidence
showed that social complexity at Ubaid sites reached the chiefdom level. Surveys in
Ubaid 3 phase and a two-tier settlement hierarchy in Ubaid 4 with Eridu and Ur being
the town centers surrounded by clusters of smaller sites. The recent surveys in Iraqi
Jazira (Wilkinson 1990; Wilkinson and Tucker 1995) also found the same hierarchy in
which Tell-al Hawa kept the upper level by being the largest site and controlling the
region compared to their smaller contemporaries scattered around it. The finds from the
stratification in the society that consisted of an elite group with more prestigious status
architecture, perhaps as early as in Ubaid 1 (Safar et. al. 1981). Later, similar
architecture emerges from Tell Uqair too (Lloyd and Safar 1943). Jasim (1985) asserts
that a one-tier settlement hierarchy was evident in the Hamrin region during the Ubaid
2-3 phases. In his scheme, Tell Abada stands on the top level while the other sites
comprise the second level. He defines Building A at Abada as the residence of elites
with a high status in the society. Indications included the size, plan and location of
buildings relative to each other, as well as the recovery of numerous burials and some
distinct artifacts from Building A, such as grave goods and mace heads, that were not
found in other buildings at the site. Additionally, other Hamrin sites did not have such
architecture and the artifact contents in the buildings were undifferentiated and mostly
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utilitarian. So far, a contextual study in search of possible high status-artifacts is not
available from anywhere else in Mesopotamia. Yet, the hundreds of graves associated
with the temples found at Tepe Gawra seem to be strong evidence for the site being a
As a result, the evidence from these sites indicate that the Ubaid societies were socially
and politically stratified chiefdoms spreading into the vast areas of Mesopotamia.
pp.41). He asserts that the economical, political, and Social organization of the Ubaid
elites were based on exercising water, land and labor management combined with a
seen in the cases in the New World. Throughout the processes of irrigation-dependent
fanning and ritual elaboration, the Mesopotamian elites gained economic wealth and
political power, and used these in consolidating their area of occupation in the region.
How can the complexity at Degirmentepe be defined and can it be fit into this
Malatya or south of Adiyaman, where a paramount chief or an elite group may have
resided. Even though the data sufficient for visualizing any settlement hierarchy
outside of Degirmentepe does not exist, the data from the site itself is suggestive of its
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being the satellite of a central authority. The most important indications of a chief or an
elite group are missing at Degirmentepe. In terms of architecture, the house sizes and
plans are quite similar to each other; none of them had a more distinguished location
than the others and none of them were really monumental. The artifact assemblages in
the houses were all utilitarian, moderate in quality, and not particularly different in
quantity or density. Any possible prestige items distinguishable from others by their
quality are also missing. Centralized religious rituals could not be assigned to any
building, but rituals were exercised more or less in the same way in each house by the
members of the household. Storing activities seems equally distributed in each house. If
the multi-room buildings served as storage space, they were probably owned by
different extended families and the goods would have been pooled separately into each
one of those buildings by each family. Accordingly, redistribution may have been made
only among the members of the same household, not on a communal level. There
seems to have been a concentration on significant craft production. I believe that metal
production was a specialized craft practiced by one or two families; likewise the
numerous engravers point to the specialized production of another family in the village.
However, I do not see these concentrations of craft work as conveying privilege that
would give the producing families power and distinguish them from the other families.
Instead, I imagine that the other families focused on the production of other crafts that
were not detected archaeologically, and that these engagements in production did not
give any status or any economic differentiation to the household. I believe the
distribution of seals and seal impressions in almost every house supports this view of
the production system in the village. The heavy concentration of seals and seal
impressions in one specific location, that is house BC, is probably not an indication of
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the greater wealth of the house BC residents but more intense production and
exchange. They had to produce more goods, perhaps metal ingots, not to increase their
wealth but because of their obligation to produce more by the center; to this end, even
other household members may have helped by participating in the production process.
Even if there was any social conflict in the community, it was probably not from
competition for better economic wealth but instead from the other social disagreements
Thus, there was no chief or elite group living at Degirmentepe and the community
looks truly egalitarian in itself. The families had no differences from each other in
terms of economic wealth, social status, or political power. Considering that chiefly
societies existed in a regional scale during the Ubaid, this picture of Degirmentepe
implies to me that the site was probably a satellite belonging to an undiscovered center
located perhaps in Malatya or further south. Since elite groups are invisible at this site,
the controlled surplus mobilization within the site must also have been absent in the
village. In spite of this, control of surplus mobilization could be thought to have taken
place at the inter-site level, between Degirmentepe and the unknown center. It is
conceivable that in return for the exported items, the occupants may have received
staple items to support themselves. Coercion is probably too strong a term for the
means by which the center solidified its hold over its satellite and instilled in it a sense
of economic obligation.
In the meantime, close interactions with locals, even though they are not clearly
identifiable from the records, would have been intense. Both sides would have
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influenced each other either subconsciously or deliberately, leading to the
world views. Probably, the religious meaning was so powerful for Degirmentepe
residents that it became fused into the house plan. The occupants equated their identity
with their southern homeland through religion by the most intensely used space, the
life gradually and peacefully merged with the identity of being local that became
One may ask the whereabouts of this center, since the site is interpreted to be a
satellite in this explanation. Perhaps the unexcavated Ubaid layers at Arslantepe would
represent a center with authority, if the centralized political structure of the later levels
VII and VIII continues to those earlier dates. If the center were not in the Malatya-
Elazig area, then Samsat in Adiyaman to the south, excavated by Dr. Nimet Ozgii? as a
salvage project until mid-1980s, would have been a likely candidate because it is the
closest and large site to Degirmentepe. We know now that Samsat has a significant
amount of Ubaid pottery5. Although these sherds cannot establish the actual size of the
Ubaid occupations at Samsat, they may have extended from the eastern slope of the
mound. Accordingly, Samsat could well have been the center of the region, residing at
I have to conclude this chapter with a critique of a recent study. Helwing (2003),
adopting the idea from various essays from Dietler and Hayden (2001), proposed that
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feasts or festivals were used as political tools, during which power of the chiefly
institution was emerging, and such events were used as jurisdiction to justify and
maintain the chiefly institution in the community. She asserts that some buildings at
a satellite that focused providing goods to its center on an inter-site level, I have to
disagree with her feast hypothesis asserting that Degirmentepe was a ranked society
research seems to verify that feasts may have provided powerful scenery and played
2001). Feasts may have been used for aggrandizing the power and economic wealth of
certain individuals over the commoners, and become part of the process of increasing
social complexity, that is, the legitimization of inequality within the group while
2001). Competition, conflict, and coercion seem to have been the critical factors seen
in different accounts of chiefdoms around the world and feasts occurring as part of the
redistribution process and gaining surplus may be the tool used to overcome social
tensions without aggression or oppression. The end products of these actions would be
the accumulation of wealth by the elite as prestige items along with stored surplus. As
Stein (1994) argues, a prestige financed economy does not seem to fit the Ubaid period
of the Near East. Instead, the staple financed economy seems to have been the case, at
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At Degirmentepe, evidence suggests that, first, there was no chief-like entity at the site
regulating feasts whether for legitimization of his status or for accumulating wealth.
Second, there was no temple where any large scale ritual feast would have been
carried out with hidden political agendas. This does not mean that the community at
Degirmentepe did not belong to a chiefdom. I would expect that such events would
have occurred only at the centers where the elite group or family would have resided
and where the religiously distinguished spaces would have prepared to display power
and exploit the religious values. On the other hand, I am certainly not asserting that the
feasts never took place at the site, but if it ever happened, assuming that a feast is a
community scale activity, it probably took place outside at the NW portion of the site.
However, this area was not excavated. Without the recovery of mass amounts of
animal bones that would truly point to a single event involving large scale meat
consumption, or the pottery used for cooking, serving, and consuming the food during
the feast, it is impossible to suggest that any communal-size feast took place. The field
notes occasionally point to the recovery of bones inside the houses, but they may very
well have been the result of regular food consumption that accumulated in the
pottery have been completed to verify any such activity. Thus, I believe that ritual
oriented feasts never took place in the houses. I am more inclined to imagine that any
small scale, informal gatherings inside the houses must have been for socializing only,
and that the rituals were meant to be a kind of regular practice performed by each
individual household. If there was any practice of eating food as part of the burial
ceremonies during or after burying the dead, it may have served to reinforce the bonds
of family identity. The feasts with elite involvement must have occurred at the ruling
: 267 :
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center. Consequently, my interpretation of the chiefdom model at Degirmentepe is a
Nevertheless, there are components in my explanation that certainly require more solid
evidence to understand the social organizations better, after which the necessary
archaeologically? Was the Ubaid intrusion really for the exploitation of the resources?
If co-existence with locals was the case, how did the emulation process of Ubaid values
occur and how did the locals adopt the Ubaid values for their part? What were the much
larger scale factors within Mesopotamia that caused the Ubaid traits to die out? Were
the chiefdoms of Anatolia a one-tier settlement hierarchy or did they contained middle
stations that held more wealth than Degirmentepe-like sites but less than the centers?
For the moment, Degirmentepe provides only provocative hints and the picture is far
from being complete. Any explanatory answers to these broader questions require more
research.
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APPENDIX - 1: Excavation history of the site
The series of water dam projects initiated by the Turkish government in the 1970s led
Keban dam, the decision was made to build the Karakaya and Atatiirk dams to improve
the water supply for agriculture and provide sufficient hydro-electric energy in the
region. The series of surveys carried out by archaeologists preceding the excavations
highlighted the antiquity of these areas and Ozdogans reconnaissance surveys along
the banks of the Euphrates yielded numerous sites dating from the Paleolithic to the
Islamic era (1977). Degirmentepe was one of the sites discovered during these surveys
The site was located 24 km. east of the Malatya city center and ca. 50 meters south of
the Euphrates (Esin 1980; Esin et. al. 1987). It was a low, ca. 1-hectare mound with a
more or less round shape. The top of the mound was fairly flat but the NW quadrant
had a quite wide depression. With the direction of Ufuk Esin of the University of
Istanbul, salvage excavations were carried out between 1978 and 1986 seasons.
The base point, or the highest elevation of the site, was at the NE quarter of the mound
at 650.80 m above sea level (pi. 4). Following the preparation of the topographic map
of the mound, trenches with 10 x 10 meter gridlines were laid out. Each trench was
designated by numbers on the horizontal axis and capital letters of the alphabet on the
vertical axis. Thus, a trench named 14 G indicated the quadrant where the horizontal
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\w
D egirm entepe
P .50/7
E S K i MALATYA
MALATYA
10 Km.
Fig. AI.l: Malatya Basin and the location o f Degirmentepe. The area with hatches indicates
the limits o f the reservoir.
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line of number 14 and the vertical line of the letter G met over the mound. Excavations
were carried out within these 10x10m size trenches, but additional trenches with
smaller squares and rectangles were also opened, whenever it was felt to be
The trench supervisors consisted mostly of students who were responsible for record
keeping in their own trench and organizing the jobs given to workers. As a result, each
trench kept its own field notes, sketch plans, and listings, but the site directors still
Each architectural feature was given a number starting from 1 and each room was
named with capital letters starting from the letter A. Following the last letter Z, double
letters were used, such as the room AA, AB, AC and so on. The representative central
rooms gave the name to a building when the identification of such feature was certain,
e.g. Building GK. The architectural features were described and sketched in the
logbooks and later, prepared for photography. Each architectural feature was briefly
described in a separately kept feature list book, in which the features find spot was
identified by means of its coordinates within the trench and the building, and, if known,
its depth and size. Architectural drawings were made either by skilled archaeologists or
a professional draftsperson, if one was available. The scale of plans used was 1:20.
Artifacts were given a find number and listed in the artifact inventory book. Each
artifact was numbered with the excavation year in which it was found, followed by a
find number starting from the number 1. For instance, the inventory number of D.82-49
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might have been given to a bone awl for which the letter D stands for Degirmentepe,
82 indicates the year it was found, and the number 49 represents the find number of
that particular bone awl. In this way, the inventory list for artifacts began with the
number 1 in each excavation season. The burials were also treated as artifacts and
If artifacts were not to be recorded as finds, they were collected in buckets. There were
three types of material treated in this maimer: pottery, bones, and chipped stones. Each
bucket was tagged and listed in the bucket list book indicating the trench name, the
coordinates of the collection area, its depth, and, if known, the stratigraphic level of the
collection area. When the excavation of a collection area was completed, buckets were
sent to the base camp for washing. Within the allotted time, a draftsperson drew as
many diagnostic pieces as possible. The excavator has published a good number of the
diagnostic pieces together with the finds (see App. HI). No detailed analyses have
been carried out on the materials so far, with the exception of the preliminary studies
made on seals and seal impressions, lithics, and burials, which are published (Esin
1994; Balkan-Ath 1995; 2002; Ozbek 1986a; 1986b). The room fill deposits were
sieved in order to find small artifacts, particularly seals and the seal impressions. On
the other hand, no soil samples seem to have been taken for archaeo-botanical studies
The base point was in use for the depth measurements of the collection units, features,
and artifacts. It was considered as zero meter and any reading of depths in the trenches
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represented the depth from this zero point. For example, a 2.38 m reading implies a
depth of 2.38 m below the zero point, or the base point of 650.80 m.
With this recording procedure, salvage operations were initiated in two areas of the
mound: at the NE quadrant where the base point was located and at the west part of the
mound. The excavation areas were enlarged in all directions over the following years
in order to track the architecture. This strategy was implemented to understand the
Ubaid horizon with as wide a horizontal exposure as possible while recording the
This section reports the artifacts found in the Ubaid layers to give a brief orientation for
the artifact related character of the site. What is ignored here is the architecture that is
this site to the Late Ubaid Period. The Ubaid wares consist of Painted Ubaid and Plain
Ubaid. They were handmade, but a significant number of examples showed the sign of
slow wheel use. The paste was always light in color, but the well-known greenish
colored paste from Mesopotamia also appeared in some numbers. The forms generally
6 The data was compiled from Demirci 1985; Esin 1980; 1981; 1983a; 1983b; 1984; 1985a; 1985b;
1986a; 1986b; 1989; 1994; 1998; Esin and Harmankaya 1986; 1987; 1988; Esin et. al. 1985; Kun? et.
al. 1984; Ozbek 1986a; 1986b; Tiirkmenoglu et. al. 1985 (see the references). The pottery section,
however, is based primarily on my observations of the inventoried artifacts at the Malatya Museum in
addition to the material published by Esin.
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consisted of bowls and jars. Naturally, their size varied, but the smaller range of bowls
and the small to medium-range jar types seemed to predominate. The bowls had both
flat and ring bases with conical or slightly S-shaped body forms. The jars had
hemispherical body forms and convex bases with flaring necks. Painted decoration was
done with brown or light red colors. The bowls seemed to have typical designs: linear
geometric patterns, horizontal bands near the rim, or floral motifs spread over the
exterior. The painting on the jars seemed limited to simple horizontal bands near the
neck and rims. There were number of light colored, unpainted jars also.
The other significant ware group is known as flint scraped Coba ware. This plain
ware has a light buff or orange paste and scraping made with a hard tool on the lower
half of the pots exterior. They were always characterized as bowl types and as slow
wheel productions. Some of them bear distinct potters mark. These attributes indicate
that the Coba bowls were standard products. They were abundant at the site and were
found side by side with the characteristic Ubaid pottery (Esin and Harmankaya 1986;
1988). The parallels of this group were documented at Sakgegozu sites (Plat Taylor
at.al. 1950; Waechter, et. al. 1951), at Noruntepe in Level 10 of J/K-18 (Hauptmann
1982; Giilfur 1988), at Mersin XIH-XIIA (Garstang 1953) and at Hammam et-
Turkman IVC-VA (Akkermans 1988a; 1998b). More importantly, this ware became the
identifier in the following Local Late Chalcolithic period. Trufelli (1995:247) asserts
that the huge quantities of mass-produced pottery, the wide-spread use of the potters
wheel and the high level of standardization in terms of technological and formal
features; all these aspects are designed to reduce production times and increase
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productivity for the new needs of ranked society, a well-documented trend at
Arslantepe VII.
The last ware group of the Chalcolithic period was the Dark Face Burnished Ware,
the identification of which was based on comparisons with the Amuq D-E sequence and
the Mersin XVI-XII assemblages (Braidwood and Braidwood 1960; Gastang 1953).
This ware was hand made and primarily took the jar forms. The quality of the jars
depended on the amount and the size of the temper and the temperature during firing,
but most were well made and hard textured. Most jars were slightly burnished and self
slipped over the heavy tempered, well-levigated clay. Temperature may have been
controlled during firing. However, there are some crudely made pots too. Some sherds
showed grits larger than the wall thickness that had ripped the clay and come up to the
surface. Heavy, large size temper also seems to be the reason for the occasional holes
and cracked areas seen. The jar forms had round bases and globular bodies with simple
rims. Two, four, or five lugs were always applied near the rim, the attribute most
significant for this group. Some DFBW was used for burying the dead.
data, their distribution inside the buildings, and their function cannot be determined for
the time being. There have been brief analyses done towards clay sourcing the ware
groups, but no substantial results are available yet. The preliminary study made on
some limited samples implied that the same clay resource was in use for both the Coba
and the Ubaid wares. This provokes the idea that pottery production might have been a
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local endeavor, although any further elaboration on the nature of such local production
I.3.b- Stone and Bone Tools and Other Finds: (App. ID)
Various sizes and forms of stone tools were found during the excavations. These
pounders, polishing stones, and a few chisels and mace heads. Although scarce, some
stone beads were also found. A few stones with holes have been suggested as weights
The bone tools consisted of numerous needles and awls recovered from various
contexts. In addition, shells found near some of the hearths with metal slag suggest that
The clay artifacts consisted of many spindle whorls, a few animal figurines of unclear
species, some stoppers, and numerous seal impressions. The seal impressions were
made on very clean, unbaked clay lumps. The impressions consistently showed that the
pottery, reed baskets, leather bags, and possibly wooden boxes were in use for
transportation and storage. There were also a few long, tube-like clay stoppers that
The most significant stone artifact group for the site is undoubtedly the seals. Soft
stones were used for their production, referred to by Esin as soapstone. The designs
made on the surfaces were diverse. Apart from the predominant geometric designs,
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animals, plants, and anthropomorphic figures, such as the bird- man, were also
depicted. Almost all of the seals were round in shape, except for a few that were
rectangular. Their dimensions vary from 2 cm to ca. 5-6 cm, but the smaller sizes are
the most common. The comparisons with the designs from the seal impressions show
The chipped stone industry from Degirmentepe requires attention since some analyses
were conducted on the lithics. The assemblage consists of both flint and obsidian with
the total of 23,298 pieces weighing 358,730 grams. Despite the large horizontal
exposures at the site, the lithics industry cannot be considered well developed. Analysis
indicates a very crude and expedient industry, the predominating material was flint
Flint:
Flint was probably found locally in the form of small, water-wom pebbles, and the
riverbed of Euphrates has been proposed as the most likely source. Cores were poorly
worked and flakes were probably taken out with a percussion technique. Irregular flake
cores are significant, demonstrating low to moderate level flaking performances. The
abundant pieces of primary core preparation indicate that the knapping process took
place within the site. The recovery of a high quantity of debris also supported this idea.
The most commonly produced flint tool was the multi-tipped perforator, many of which
were found in rooms BY1 and CZ (fig. AI.2). The concentration of the same type of
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tool apparently supports Arsebiiks hypotheses that room BY1 was a workshop and that
some perforators were used for making the designs on the seals while the others were
exported (Arsebiik 1986). The perforators were made from flakes, and their size is
uniformly small, even though a variety of size was evident within this small size range.
The number of points produced in each piece varies from one to six points. Six point
perforators are rare, whereas perforators with one point or more are usual occurrences.
The point tips were generally made by retouching. The distribution of points on a
perforator are generally uneven, but without disturbing the consistency in shape and
size. This homogeneity implied to Balkan-Ath that the tool production was
Fig. AI.2: A sample o f flint engravers. Since the total number and the reliability o f the deposits
where they came from cannot be established, they are not included in the functional
analysis.
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standardized, or certain individuals were engaged in production at the site (1995). The
tools other than the perforators consisted of some scrapers, notched and retouched
flakes, as well as small number of sickle blades but they were represented only in
Layers 6 7 8 9 10 11 Total
Un-retouched P ie c e s--^
Cores 14 682 48 9 5 758
Blades 2 206 3 4 3 218
Flakes 136 3862 486 25 46 4555
Debris 464 7825 1036 64 35 2 9426
Sub-total 616 12575 1573 102 89 2 14957
Retouched Pieces
Microliths 9 9
Scrapers 2 39 39 1 81
Sickle Blades 2 40 2 1 45
Steep Retouched Blades 33 33
Perforators 269 4684 2313 51 13 7330
Retouched Blades 14 1 1 16
Retouched Flakes 68 8 2 2 80
Notched Blades 3 3 6
Notched Flakes 64 24 88
Denticulate Flakes 2 1 3
Burins 1 1
Chipped Discs 1 1
Utilized Blades 1 1
Utilized Flakes 14 3 1 18
Sub-total 273 4964 2400 59 16 7712
Total o f flint tools 889 17539 3973 161 105 2 22669
Fig. AI.3: Distribution o f the flint assemblage by layers (prepared from Balkan-Ath 1995).
Obsidian;
As was the case with the flint, obsidian artifacts consisted mostly of small cores and
flaked pebbles, which, again, were proposed to have been brought in from the banks of
the Euphrates. When compared with the form of the other pieces, the small number of
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blades implies that they were imports (fig. AI.4). The size of the nodules was small,
averaging 2.5-3.0 cm in diameter, or they were knapped to form very small cores.
Layers 6 7 8 9 10 Total
Local Obsidian
Pebble Industry \
Cores 5 98 17 1 1 122
Initial Cortical Platform Flakes 5 5
Initial Cortical Flakes 8 1 9
Cortical Flakes 1 42 8 51
Flakes 3 109 18 130
Bladelets (?) 4 1 5
Pebbles 2 2
1/2 Pebbles 1 19 3 23
Debris 4 43 13 2 62
Total 14 330 60 4 1 409
Fig. AI.4: Distribution o f the Degirmentepe obsidian assemblage by layers (from Balkan-Ath
2003).
The chemical composition of the obsidian found at Degirmentepe suggests that the
sources were Bingol A and B. However, the samples attributed to Bingol A also recall
Nemrut Dagi sources, because of the chemical similarity of the obsidian between these
regions (Yeginligil and Liinel 1989). On the other hand, the macroscopic observations
by Balkan-Ath indicated that some pieces may have come from Central Anatolian
sources. For her, that is interesting because more significant connections with East
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Anatolia. Related with the location of the site and East Anatolian resources, she finds it
also surprising that the representation of the obsidian assemblage throughout the site is
considerably small and shows poor technology. Furthermore, she reiterates that the use
of obsidian has not been rare at all since the Neolithic period, and it began to take on
more functions and became a social status item during the Halaf and Ubaid periods;
but, for the Ubaid period, Degirmentepe provided a poor obsidian assemblage. As a
conclusion, she points out that the sourcing of Degirmentepe obsidian is still not clear,
I.3.d- Metallurgy: (compiled from Esin 1986c; Esin and Harmankaya 1986)
Evidently, metal production was a significant activity that took place at the site. A few
locations at the site had clear evidence for such activity. For example, the hearths 504
and 505 in Room DH in Building BC had a dense ashy soil deposit and abundant slag
with small bowls (see Building BC, hearth G-131 to the south of Building I and rooms
Most metal specimens came from dry sieving. They were recorded only two-
dimensionally, and their depths or the reliability of the deposits where they come from is
unclear (fig. AI.5). Some of them were analyzed to understand their chemical structures
and the production process. The samples were generally copper slag but rarely iron was
also found. The residues in the samples implied that at least two resources were
exploited and one of them might have been used more than the other. The temperature
during smelting seems to have reached up to 1100 C, because the residues of silicon
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dioxide (Si02) and calcium oxide (CaO) found in the slag samples could only have
found above that temperature. The amount of copper in most of the slag samples was
consistently less than % 0.0001 -100 parts per million. Having so little copper in the
slag implied that the smelting was made twice to purify the copper and improve its
Fig. AI.5: Some o f the metal related items found inside the buildings. They are out of context
(from Esin 1986c).
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quality. There were two pots with some amount of copper fused into their interior
I.3.e- Burials:
Degirmentepe excavations found numerous burials inside the buildings. Ozbek (1986a;
1986b) studied and published them in terms of their physical anthropological aspects.
Esin (1986b) states that his studies included only the burials encountered in the 1979-
1983 seasons, totaling 24 interments; this number increased with further recoveries
made in the following seasons, reaching 34 burials (fig. AI.6). Most burial numbers and
their 3-dimensional locations are unclear in the records and publications; these
uncertainties are reflected by the gaps and only 2-dimensional locations for each burial
in fig. AI.6.
All the burials belonged to infants and children, except one adult. Having only one
adult burial found in such an extensive horizontal exposure implies that the adult
burials were made outside of the site, a behavior characteristic of Ubaid period burial
practices. Interments were made in various ways: inside pots, bins, within walls, and
under floors. Physical analyses showed that the causes of the death were miscarriages
and stillbirths. Ozbeks (1986b) studies of the 24 burials from 1979-1983 seasons
showed that seventeen of the burials were between 0-2.5 years old age, indicating a
The skulls from the burials showed significant deformations that were not the results of
any biological reasons but were caused by a deliberate treatment made on the babies
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Find No: Location: Explanation:
D.84-75 Room DU in 15 K Pot burial. Pot was DFBW
- Room CF in 16 J Pot burial but the pot type is unclear.
- Room CF in 16 J Placed into a wall or in a niche. Bad preservation
Burial 32 Room DB in (EE) Pot burial.
Burial 33 Room DB in (EE) Not a pot burial. Found next to Burial 32.
Burial 64 Room DB in (EE) Pot burial. Body in flexed position. Found at SE comer
of the room.
- Room DB in (EE) Pot burial. Placed inside the wall.
Burial 61 Room DB in (EE) Not a pot burial. Found inside the wall.
Burial 62 Room DB in (EE) Not a pot burial. Found to the south of Burial 64.
- Room CM in (GK) Pot burial but the pot type is unclear.
- Room EC in (EE) Pot burial. Pot was DFBW.
Burial 18 Room CH in (GK) Found inside the E wall. Belongs to a child.
Burial 19 Room CH in (GK) An infant burial found inside a bin.
Burial 20 Room CY in (GK) Found inside the N wall. 11-12 years old. Represented
by skull, teeth, and some long bones.
- Room AU in (BC) 12 months old. Found in front of S wall.
D.81-137 Room AY in (DU ) Pot burial made into floor. Pot was DFBW with four
lugs. Two babies buried inside. Same family members?
Room AY in (DU ) Not a pot burial. Found next to the twin burial D.81-137.
Belongs to a baby.
- Room AY in (DU ) Not a pot burial. Found next to the twin burial D.81-137.
Belongs to a baby.
D.81-113 Room BE in (D U ) Pot burial. Pot was light color plain ware. Burial was
flexed but in a sitting position.
- Room DU in (DU ) Only fragments of skull, lower jaw and some long
bones. 3 years old. Found inside the wall.
Burial 27 Room BB in (BC) Found S of the room under the floor. Represented by the
skull and some long bones. 13-14 years old.
- Room DV in (DU ) Highly disturbed in antiquity. Only skull and teeth.
D.84-93 Room U in (I) Pot burial. Pot was DFBW with two lugs. Found to the N
o f the room in front of the door.
- Room U in (I) A child buried under the floor at SE comer of the room.
Burial 86 Room I in (I) Found inside the pit (149).
Burial 229 Room R in (I) Found in bin (292). It is a stillborn baby.
Burial 69 Room AD in (i) Pot burial. Pot was DFBW with two lugs. Stillborn. Only
skull and some long bones.
Burial 227 Room AD in (i) Found inside the bin (289). 1-2 weeks old. Only skull
and some long bones.
Burial 226 Room AD in (I) Found inside the bin (290). A 4-5 months old.
Burial 228 Room AD in (!) Found inside the bin (291). In flexed position.
- Room BK in 18 F Found in a pit.
Burial 286 Room BD in (BC) Pot burial.
Burial 292 Room BD in (BC) Burial pot. Pot was DFBW. It was a baby burial.
Total number o f individual burials recovered: 34
Fig. AI.6: Human burials from Degirmentepe. The data was gathered from the field notes and
relevant publications (Ozbek 1986a; 1986b). Because o f their young age, the gender
distribution of the burials is unclear.
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(fig. AI.7). Ozbek suggested that such skull deformations should be seen as a
correlation with the belief system and social aspects of the community, since there is
addition, he refers to some ethnographic practices that are analogous and in support of
Fig. AI.7: Infant skulls showing deformation, (prepared from Ozbek 1986a).
of the bones and the soil samples collected from the site were shown to specialists. The
soil samples contained more barley than wheat. Some of the animal bones were
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identified as domesticated dog, sheep, goat, pig, and cattle. Horse and donkey were
also represented in the assemblages, but whether they were domesticated or not is
unclear. (Esin and Harmankaya 1986). Thus, the evaluation of faunal remains is far
from complete and does not go beyond the intermittently carried out identification of
species.
Esin argued that the site was a proto-urban center involved with intense trading with
North Mesopotamia. The seals and seal impressions indicated that there were private
She also suggested that the buildings were temples. The central rooms with distinct
features, especially platforms, were used for religious purposes and the smaller rooms
were domestic areas, workshops, and storage areas. She interpreted the wall paintings
found in some rooms as related to religious activities. Therefore, for her, the
Degirmentepe community was organized with a proto-urban political structure and the
practicing agriculture and animal husbandry (especially see Esin 1994; and Esin and
but they are rather generalized views only based on the observations made during the
excavations instead of results from detailed studies of the entire material culture. For
instance, if the occupants were traders, there is no way to envision whether everyone
was a trader or the trade was practiced only by a certain number of individuals in the
community.
286
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APPENDIX II: Activities, functions, and artifact types:
This appendix correlates possible cultural activities of the later prehistory with artifacts
by which they may be represented. Four major activity types are identified in this
list is adequate for the purpose of this functional analysis, but at the same time, it is
probably incomplete or may need adjustments on case-by-case basis. The most artifacts
are for multi-purpose, and only their correlation with others and the nature of context
where they found can signify the type of activity. The use of artifacts and relevant
ethnographic analogies are discussed in detail in Verhoeven 1999 (pp.: 67-105 and
287
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C a te g o ry o f m a jo r a c tiv ity : E n c o m p a s s in g these In d ic a te d b y these a r tifa c t
ac tiv itie s : types:
288
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C a te g o ry o f m a jo r a c tiv ity : E n co m p as sin g these In d ic a te d b y these a r tifa c t
a c tiv itie s : types:
289
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C a te g o ry o f m a jo r a c tiv ity : E n c o m p a s s in g these In d ic a te d b y these a r t if a c t
a c tiv itie s : types:
- Childrearing ?
290
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Category o f major activity: Encompassing these Indicated by these artifact
activities: types:
Fig. AEL1: A list o f activities and possible artifacts associated with them that may be found at a
late prehistoric site excavation.
291
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APPENDIX III: Artifact Types From Degirmentepe:
The artifact types included in the analysis are listed below. The index of artifacts and
their descriptions follows thereafter.
Fig. A in .l: Artifact types recorded during the excavations and their English translations.
292
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Index of Artifacts and Their Descriptions:
The inventoried artifacts recovered from Degirmentepe excavations are presented here
with brief descriptions, photos and illustrations where available. The illustrations come
from publications and they are provided with references here. If artifacts do not have
photos, that is, they were not inventoried in the excavations and in the Malatya
Museum collection I studied, then they are only represented by their published
drawings here. Apart from these, there are a few artifacts that were neither studied by
myself at the museum, nor published. Such finds are mentioned in Chapter IV within
the relevant building descriptions. Their black and white photo should be available in
the extensive black and white photo archive at the laboratory of Istanbul University,
The identification of an artifact includes brief but relevant information: the name of the
artifact type, its inventory number, its dimensions, and the location from which it was
recovered. It is worth mentioning once more that only the artifacts from primary
deposits are included here. Their locations are presented with the name of the building
in parentheses, followed by the room name from which they were recovered, such as
(EE) Room EA. The artifact descriptions consist of brief explanations based on my
excavator. Since none of them have been systematically studied yet, the entire
according to artifact type and raw material, such as pots, stone artifacts, seals, sealing,
etc. The pottery assemblage consists of complete pots and their typology is grouped in
accordance with their size and form with the objective of their function and use.
293
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POTTERY:
BOWLS:
Name: Plain Bowl Find No.: D.83-207 Location: (BC) Room DC1
Dimension: Rim diameter 16 cm; Height 9 cm; Base diameter 6.5 cm
Description: Coba bowl with conical form. It has the same attributes as the above bowl, except grit
temper is abundant and chaff was visible. It has a thin film of self-slip. Flat base. Well fired. Made on
slow wheel and lower half of the exterior was scraped with a hard tool horizontally.
294
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2 3 4 5 O7 3 9 lil3 2 3 4 5 6 1 S
D. 84-70
D.84-20 D.86-144
Name: Plain bowl Find No: D.84-20 Location: (BC) Room AU near EF tunnel
Dimension: Rim diameter 16 cm; Height 10 cm; Base diameter 7 cm.
Description: Coba bowl with conial form. It has the same attributes as the above bowl but the paste is
lighter buff color. Bottom half of the exterior was craped with a hard tool horizontally.
295
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D.86-72 D.86-208 D.84-71
(drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1988) (drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1986)
296
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D .84-73 D .86-199
(drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1986) (drawing Esin, Harm ankaya 1988)
Name: Plain Bowl Find No: D.84-73 Location: (BC) Room DH
Dimension: Rim diameter 20 cm; Height 9 cm; Base diameter 6,5 cm.
Description: Coba Bowl with conical form. Its size is wider than the others in the plain bowl group. Paste
is buff color with grit and some chaff temper. Well fired. Flat base. Made on slow wheel. Most of the
exterior was scraped with hard tool. Scraping was rough and deep resulting with uneven exterior.
D.83-180 D .84-72
______________________________(drawing Esin, H arm ankaya 1986)
Name: Plain Bowl Find No: D.83-180 Location: (BC) Room BD
Dimension: Rim diameter 16 cm; Height 9 cm; Base diameter 8 cm.
Description: Coba bowl with almost conical for. Belly area has convex shape. It has pinkish paste color
with grit temper and some chaff inclusion. Well fired. Very slight flaring rim area. Made on slow wheel
and lower half of the exterior was scraped with a hard tool.
297
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Name: Plain Bowl Find No: D.81-42 Location: (BC) Room AU
Dimension: Rim diameter 17 cm; Height 8 cm; Base diameter 5 cm.
Description: Coba bowl with conical form. It has buff paste with both grit and chaff temper. Well fired.
Flat base. Rim area widens with simple pronounced simple lip. Made on slow wheel. Lower half of the
exterior and the base were carefully scraped with a hard tool. Scraping was made in horizontal direction.
298
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D.84-57 D .81-429 D.85-125
(drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1986)
(draw ing Esin, Harm ankaya 1986)
_______________________ (drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1987)
299
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D.86-73
(drawing Esin, Harm ankaya 1986) (drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1987)
300
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D.81-370 D.80-31 D.80-164
301
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D.82-21
D.80-133
(drawing Esin 1984)
Name: Plain Bowl Find No: D.82-21 Location: (BY1) Room BY1
Dimension: Rim diameter 24 cm; Height 15,5 cm; Base diameter 7,5 cm.
Description: Coba bowl, but its size, form and paste color remind painted Ubaid wares. Buff paste with
heavy grit temper. Well fired. Flat based with convex body and flaring rim. No wheel use sign.
15 cm
D.82-40 10 cm
D.84-66
(draw ing Esin, Harmankaya 1986) (drawing Esin 1984)
D.83-181
(drawing Esin 1985a)
Name: Plain bowl Find No: D.84-66 Location: (BC) Room BD
Dimension: Rim diameter 19 cm; Height 13 cm; Base diameter 7,5 cm.
Description: Plain, light color and large size bowl. Further information is not available.
302
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D.79-75
D.81-21
(drawing Esin 1987) (drawing Esin 1986a)
303
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D.83- 197
(drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1986)
Name: Plain Bowl Find No: D.83-197 Location: (BC) Room DC2
Dimension: Rim diameter 13,5 cm; Shoulder 16 cm; Height 8,5 cm; Base diameter 5 cm.
Description: Coba bowl. Pink color paste with grit temper. Well fired and hand made. Lower half is
conical but shoulder was inverted to have closed the rim area. Flat base. Near the base area is scraped
with a hard tool.
D.80-163 D.81-76
304
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D.81- 399 D.86-211
(drawing Esin 1986a)
mm
itili
305
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D.79-141
(draw ing E sin 1980)
0 1 2 1 < ion
D.81-428
(draw ing Esin, H arm ankaya 1988)
Name: Plain Bowl Find No: D.79-141 Location: (I) Room K
Dimension: Rim diameter 15,5 cm; Height 10,5 cm; Base diameter 4 cm.
Description: Unpainted straight sided bowl. Probably Ubaid. Pikish-buff color paste and grit and some
chaff temper. It was well fired and made on slow wheel. Exterior was smoothed probably by hand. Small
flat base. Lower body is round but upper body is straight sided. Small and simple lip widens slightly.
306
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D.80-136 D.81-78 D.81-78
Name: Painted bowl Find No: D.80-136 Location: (BC?) Room Y/BC
Dimension: Rim diameter 18 cm; Height 15 cm.
Description: Painted Ubaid bowl. It has buff color paste with fine and dense grit temper. Well fired.
Round base with conical body form. Self-slipped and hand smoothed exterior. Brown color paint but not
thick giving impression as fugitive, light color. Maybe made on slow wheel.
D.84-74
(drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1986)
Name: Painted Bowl Find No: D.84-74 Location: (I) Room U
Dimension: Rim diameter 17.5 cm; Height 12 cm; Base diameter 8 cm.
Description: Painted Ubaid bowl. It has pink color paste and fine clay. Maybe levigated. Heavy but fine
grit temper. Well fired. Ring base with sinuous sided body form. Rim area widens slightly. Painting was
dark brown color made mostly on the exterior. Only the lip area on the interior was painted. Maybe
made on slow wheel.
307
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JARS:
308
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D.84-19
(drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1986)
D .7 9 -1 9 3
309
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D.85-121
(drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1987) (drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1987)
Name: Plain Jar Find No: D.85-81 Location: (I) Room P-L
Dimension: Rim diameter 16,5 cm; Belly diameter 21 cm; Height 20 cm.
Description: Plain jar with spout. Buff color paste with fine grit and chaff temper. Well fired. Round
base and globular body with slight carination. Exterior smoothed. Short and flaring neck. Cylindrical
spout with widening end.
310
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D.83-202 D. 85-152
nu oZb
c cm. 0 i i i ,t i
> a10cm.
*----------- ------------ 1________i i
311
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D.86-150 D.85-169
(drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1988)
312
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Tv&iWwly.
D.-86-I9& D.83-33
(drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1988) (drawing Esin 1985a)
313
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(drawing Esin 1986a)
D .86 -10 0
314
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
D.85-122 D.81-99 D.86-155
315
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Q86-?
D.85-164 (draw ing Esin, H arm ankaya 1988)
(draw ing Esin, Harm ankaya 1987)
316
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
(drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1987) D .8 5 -165 D.83-183
(drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1987)
317
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D .85-93
(drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1987)
D.83-203 D.83-76
(drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1987)
318
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f t '"
D .8 1 -1 3 7 D .8 4 - 1 3 D .8 6 -1
(d r a w in g E sin ,
H a rm a n k a y a 1 9 8 8 )
319
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Miniature cu p s:
Q 8 S -167
( d r a w i n g E s in , H a r m a n k a y a 1 9 8 8 )
( d r a w in g E sin , H a r m a n k a y a 1 9 8 7 )
D.80-46 D.80-169
320
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in?ji n !J Hj ;i^|n
i'G ^ l 4 3
D. 8 5 - 1 1 2
(drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1987)
Name: Miniature cup Find No: D.86-55 Location: (FK) Room FK
Dimension: Rim diameter 8 cm; Height 4 cm.
Description: Miniature cup with handle. Brick-red paste color with heavy grit temper. Hand made. Both
interior and exterior have rough surface. Round base with bent handle. It may be a scoop or spoon, but it
seems too wide and its handle is too short. Tentatively, it is identified as a lamp here.
Name: Miniature cup Find No: D.82-45 Location: (BC) Room DC1
Dimension: Rim diameter 6 cm; Height 3 cm.
Description: Miniature cup. Red paste color with heavy grits. Hand made. Surfaces were not treated
well and remained rough.
321
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Name: Miniature Cup Find No: D.81-259 Location: (DU) Room AT
Dimension: Rim diameter 2,3 cm; Height 5 cm.
Description: Dark faced cup. Black-dark brown paste with heavy grit temper. Hand made. Round base
and narrowing body form.
322
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D.81-429 D.80-30
Name: Miniature jar Find No: D.81-429 Location: (BC) Room BC
Dimension: Rim diameter 6 cm; Carination 10 cm; Height 10,5 cm; Base diameter 3 cm.
Description: Unpainted Ubaid jar. Made with buff color paste with grit temper. Self-slipped exterior.
Well fired. It may have been made on slow wheel but available body pieces can not assure this. Rat
base, bi-conical body and short neck with flaring rim.
D.85-83 D.86-209
(drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1987)
Name: Miniature jar Find No: D.85-83 Location: (EL) Room FR
Dimension: Rim diameter 6 cm; Carination 8 cm; Height 7 cm; Base 3 cm.
Description: Plain Ubaid jar. Made with buff color paste and grit temper. Self slipped. Well fired. Made
on slow wheel. Rat base with bi-conical body. Short neck and flaring rim area.
323
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D.86-74
D.83-2 D.81-402
(drawing Esin,
(drawing Esin 1985a) (drawing Esin 1986a)
Harmankaya 1988)
324
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D.85-145 D.85-146 D.79-175
325
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Small Artifacts:
_______________ D.81-37___________________
Name: Clay object Find No: D.81-37 Location: (I) Room R
Description: U shaped clay object. Buff color paste with heavy chaff temper. Two pointy ends broken
and the entire piece has slight curvature towards back. It may have been die part of a two-piece mobile
oven carrying pots on the pointy ends because of the blackened areas, which may have resulted from
firing activity.
326
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F ro m left to rig h t, top row :
Name: Spindle whorl Find No: D.86-43 Location: (FC) Room FC
Description: Made with very fine clay without any temper. Bi-conical shape.
Name: Spindle whorl Find No: D.83-109 Location: (BC) Room DC1
Description: Made with very fine clay without any temper. Bi-conical shape.
Middle row:
Name: Spindle whorl Find No: D.85-111 Location: (FC) Room ES
Description: Made with very fine clay without any temper. Bi-conical shape.
Bottom row :
Name: Spindle whorl Find No: D.86-103 Location: (GK) Room GK
Description: Made with very fine clay without any temper. Bi-conical shape.
327
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
D .8 5 -1 0 4 D .85-41
(d ra w in g s E sin, H a rm a n k a y a 1987)
0 5cm.
!*K3
Name: Spindle Whorl Find No: D.83-107 Location: (BC) Room DC1
Description: Made from pottery fragment. Circular shape was made by breaking the edges.
328
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Name: Spindle Whorl Find No: D.85-13 Location: (1) Room U
Description: Made from pottery fragment. Circular shape was made by breaking the edges.
329
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
FRONT BACK
D.86-83 D.84-61 D.86-104
D.84-28 D.83-163 D.83-168
330
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
r:
0 ,8 3 -3 6
(d ra w in g E sin 1985a) 0 .8 3 -1 6 5
(d ra w in g E sin 1 985a)
0.84 "44
0 83 115 (d ra w in g E sin , H a rm a n k a y a 1986)
(drawing Esin 1985a) Q 1 2 3 U 5_____________ 10cm .
331
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
I I iiii.'iT^iliriii.iiiiiiiilinJiiiil'niiiiiiliif.iiiiifeiiiiiiilmUliiiiitlm1) ill tu tu iWilmiwfe
332
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
D.81-59 D.81-18 D.81-18a D.81-18b D.81-12a D.81-12b
Name: Stopper Find No: D.81-59 Location: (BC) Room AP
Description: Made of clay. Bottom end, which was probably getting into the mouth of a jar is broken.
333
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
D.86-25 D.85-67 (drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1986)
m m
......l I >, |{ 2,
2^3 4 5 6 7
D .81-126
D.85-108 D.85-154
(drawings Esin, Harmankaya 1987)
Name: Large arrow head Find No: D.85-108 Location: (EL) Room EL
Description: Chert. Brown color. Leaf shaped and complete.
334
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
D.85-151 o 5cm.
D.85-150
(drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1986)
D .8 5 -3 1 D .8 5 -19
5cm .
335
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Top row:
D.82-7 D-86'3 D-86'5 D.86-4 D.83-75 D.81-123D.79-104-1
Bottom row:
D.86-164 D-86-54________________ D.79-104-5 D.79-79 D.79-104-6
Name: Polishing Stone Find No: D.82-7 Location: (BC) Room BM
Description: Almost circular shaped and shiny. Both faces as well as the edges were used for polishing.
336
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
D. 86-85 (drawings Esin,Harmankaya 1988) D.86-77
Name: Pounding stone/Hammer Find No: D.82-12 Location: (GK) Room CY
Description: Basalt stone with oval shape. Bottom edge was for hammering and perhaps for grinding.
337
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
rs_a.4'.i'd'7 si(:lj
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9ffl]l 2 3.<
^ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
338
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
D.79-86 D.84-90 D.85-2 D.82-5
Name: Axe Find No: D.79.86 Location: (1) Room K
Description: About 30 cm long, greenish-blue stone. Long edges and top end were chipped either during
giving its shape or use. Probably used as a cutting wood. It may also have been used for a kind of mulling
with its top end, or for chopping rather soft items by its long edges, such as chopping bones.
D.83-75 D.83-177
(drawings Esin, 1985a)
339
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D.83-80 D.79-43 D.79-42 D.79-4I D.86-70 D.86-124
Bottom Row:
D.80-24 D.81-17 D.80-9 D.85-5 D.85-99 D.85-155
Name: Hammer Find No: D.83-80 Location: (EE) Room DB
Description: Round shaped hammer stone probably used by hand without addition of a handle.
340
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
^ 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 W (Jl 2 3
D.86-20
(drawings Esin, Harmankaya 1988)
Name: Mace head Find No: D.86-20 Location: (FC) Room ET
Description: Made from marble. Conical shaped top and flat bottom or vice versa.
341
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
4.-V
8057166710688331
Name: Pot stand fragment Find No: D.86-121 Location: (GK) Room GK
Description: Made of clay. It is a part of a ring shaped stand. It has triangular shaped section with soft
comers. A similar and more complete piece (D.79-175) is presented above at the end of pots.
342
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
D.86-161
(drawings Esin, D
Harmankaya 1988)
Name: Needle Find No: D.79-87 Location: (I) Room K
Description: Bone needle. Broken at the hole area. Less than 3 cm long.
B '0
D.85-144 D.86-167 D.86-60 D.83-103 D.86-39 D.80-43
(drawings Esin 1985a; Esin, Harmankaya 1987;1988)
Name: Awl Find No: D.85-144 Location: (DU) Room DU
Description: Bone. Made near the joint part of a bone.
343
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
D.84-5 D.86-180 D.84-6 D.86-30 D.83-108 D.86-105
(draw ings Esin 1985a; Esin, H arm ankaya 1986;1988)
Name: Awl Find No: D.84-5 Location: (GK) Room GK
Description: Bone. Made near the joint part of a bone.
344
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
D.84-63
345
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
D.86-102 D.86-181 D.86-31
,\
D.86-31
(drawing Esin, Harmankaya 1988)
346
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Seals and sealings:
347
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
D.85-79 N-->" D
D.85-74 D.86-172
(drawings Esin 1994)
348
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
D.81-152 D.81-63 D.81-266 D.81-272
Name: Sealing Find No: D.81-152 Location: (BC) Room BB
Description: Group of animals. Rows of string impression at back.
W W M
349
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
D.79-136 D.80-14 D.81-274 D.81-276
Middle:
D.81-100 D.81-199 D.81-280 D.81-193
Bottom Row:
D.81-355 D.81-161_______ D.81-103_____________________________________________
Name: Sealing Find No: D.79-136 Location: (I) Room I
Description: Front: Incomplete seal impression with a geometric design. Back: Robe impression.
Name: Sealing Find No: D.80-14 Location: (I) Room i
Description: Front; Incomplete seal impression with a geometric design. Back: Impression of basket.
Name: Sealing Find No: D.81-274 Location: (BC) Room AU
Description: Front: Incomplete seal with impression of geometric design. Back: Two rows of string
impression.
Name: Sealing Find No: D.81-276 Location: (BC) Room AU
Description: Front; Multiple impressions of a same seal with geometric design. Back: One row of string
impression.
Name: Sealing Find No: D.81-100 Location: (BC) Room BB
Description: Front: A large size seal with squares filled with crosses. Back: Unclear.
350
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
V V 'ly r' -
*- / i\ : <*n*
**s*.-<*<#uf
4T Ai *<\ * >r
% **f
Vi* v .
V'i 1v ' \ f r u'' - J ' . ,"' >!
>* > * \ "L\ . r ,f - n;^v* - s '
' ' * ''
' a w l - : I :'& *
, yf- 5 , SS'c* */* - r 1 .
* s t " J w w-* V
1 i I 1\ 1
f ,, . ' i.l, 1 it I, < ^X$* a
^TtC'ijv, ' *l*
1 r, L '
- Au ,
*' 4f *J
Top Row:
D.80-59 D.80-60 D .81-62 D.81-339
Bottom Row:
D.81-342 D 81 -366 D.81-201 D.81-196
351
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
FRONT:
352
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Name: Sealing Find No: D.81-90 Location: (BC) Room BD
Description: Front: Probably round seal with animal design. Back: Impression of string lines are visible.
The sealing may have been attached to the rim area of a pot.
353
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Name: Sealing Find No: D.81-296 Location: (BC) Room AU
Description: Front: Round shape seal with bird (eagle?) design impressed twice. Back: Impression of
string lines visible.
354
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
trtC
'v. >v
IK
355
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
083-116 D.83-142 D.83-151 D.86-152 D.86-187 D.84-27
356
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Name: Sealing Find No: D.83-150 Location: (BC) Room DC1
Description: Front: Round shape seal with schematized human design with other geometric designs.
Back: Impression of string lines is visible.
357
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Name: Sealing Find No: D.83-140 Location: (BC) Room BD
Description: Front: Two seal impression one with plant the other with geometric design. Back:
Impression of a string line is visible.
358
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Ctn
_______________(drawings Esin, Harmankaya 1986)__________
Name: Sealing Find No: D.84-17 Location: (GK) Room GK
Description: Front: Round seal with figurative animal design. Back: Impression of string lines is visible.
D.81-229
D.81-217
D.80-68'
359
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
D.85-20
D.85-53 D.85-62
(drawings, Esin Harmankaya 1987)
999999
D.86-89 D.86-118
D.86-23
10 cm
D.86-190 D.86-195
D.86-192
(drawings Esin, Harmankaya 1988)
Name: Sealing Find No: D.85-20 Location: (DU) Room DV
Description: Front: Seal with schematized human design (eagle man?). Back: Impression of string lines
as well as the wrinkled textile is visible.
360
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
PLATES
361
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Eridu^ ~
JaersianJ
Plate 1: Map of Mesopotamia and Eastern Anatolia (image: Landsat-7 circa 2000, NASA).
362
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Plate 2: Elazig and Malatya plains in Eastern Anatolia (image: Landsat-7 circa 2000, NASA)
363
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
LEGEND FOR PLANS LEGEND FOR SECTIONS
FLOOR F LO O R
B IN B IN
DOORW AY/
P IT PASSAGEWAY
d^ d c j Cd
T o o c
M U D -B R IC K WALL NICHE
D HORIZONTAL
STONE WALL POST HOLE
DOORWAY /
PASSAGEWAY
NICHE
V E R T IC A L
POST HOLE
C O M P LETE POT
364
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
DEG1RMENTEPE
CHAICOUTHC BULtVCS \ \ \.uu
365
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
C -C '
Plate 5: Section views of the settlement. Top: A-A section. Middle: B-Bsection. Bottom: C-C section.
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
c-c
ection.
366
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
>D ;
ES
ET
100*3
10 9 ' 3 20
>D'
Grave! Itywjabove
the Ubakl room*
Plate 6: Plan of the basement of Building I. For cross section views, see plate 32.
367
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
HEARTH i
FeiFftT
487
e - e'
PASSAGE
5m
F-F'
368
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced
with permission
of the copyright owner.
136
Further reproduction
COLLAPSED HEARTH
146 OF UPPER FLOOR
107
BIN
prohibited
P late 8: Cross section view o f ea st w all (120) with w all paintings and the collapsed h earth (146) a t left.
I.
of room
east w a ll (1 2 0 )
on the
found
9: W a ll p ain tin g
Plate
370
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
i.
of room
east w a ll (1 2 0 )
of the
end
south
at the
found
10: W a ll painting
Plate
371
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
219
229
121
P l a t e 1 1 : C ro s s s e c tio n v i e w s o f th e n o r th w a l l ( 2 2 9 )
a n d t h e e a s t w a l l ( 5 1 7 ) in r o o m U . T h e e a s t
w a l l h a d th e b e a m s h o le s , w h ic h c a r r ie d th e
c e i li n g o f th e r o o m a n d th e f l o o r o f th e s e c o n d
s to ry .
372
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
a c z K - .
r-D O O O .
O c D .
111
109
BIN -----------------------
ROOM K (B U IL D IN G I ) L O O K IN G EAST W ALL
P la t e 1 2 : C ro s s s e c tio n v i e w o f e a s t w a l l ( 1 1 0 ) in r o o m K .
373
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
BIN
5.0 5.0
ROOM AD ( BUILDING I) LOOKING EAST WALL
- t i i '( " , i
I,'1! ' 1 ' / I' l'
/ I I I, 1 | 1 M
Mud-brick platform
5U
ROOM AD ( BUILDING I ) LOOKING WEST WALL
374
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
damaged u5
375
A-A
B-Bf
Plate 15: Plan of the second story of Building i. Room O was built on top of the
basement rooms AC and AD. Hearth (146) belongs to the second story
room built above the room i, but it collapsed into the basement room i.
The plans of the other rooms in the second story are unknown. They
probably had room plans similar to the ones found immediately below
them.
376
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
20
10
35
A -A
tu C-C'
Plate 16: South exterior area of Building i showing the hearth G-131, bins
(N), (M ), (130), (202), and the gravel layer that was preserved
above these Ubaid features.
377
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
a< ;
:o
'.O H
193
AG
A-A
378
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
NICHE POSSIBLY USED HEARTH 505
AS A SHELF RELATED STRUCTURE SEVERELY
WITH THE HEARTH SOL BURNED
5 RENOVATED 5
ROOM DH ( BUILDING B C ) LOOKING W EST WALL EXTERIOR VIEW
379
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
CM
to D
< <
LU TO
CO
C3
S
2
iC m
O CQ
O CO
E
o
O
CD 2
O <0
z &
Q Itx
_J o
CD
S3
&
4 -
O cd
O
o
JS
-fa*
4-
o
o
o St
ce .2
>
c
.2
*4o-*
o
CO
GO
o
Vn
U
6\
o
cs
s
CM in
380
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
312
353
DAMAGED
315
HEARTH 390
BADLY DAMAGED
Plate 20: Cross section views of east and north walls of room BM.
381
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
MUDBRICK
DOOR S T E P
3.5
HEARTH 455
DOOR
DOORWAY
HEARTH 4 5 5
MUDBRICK
DOOR STE P
382
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced
with permission
of the copyright owner.
613
557 E5.
612
702
GO GE
703
FO 700 i
v5-08
704
Further reproduction
679
ET'
FM
$70
00
17F [17 E 17 E j 17 D
prohibited
without permission.
GO
a -A
Plate 22: Plan of Building FC. Hearth (570) in room ET is deliberately added into this
plan to indicate the second story. Also see the text and the cross section
view in pi. 46.
2.5
X D O
611
700
PINKISH W HITE PLASTER
OCCASIONAL RED PAINTING
I---- 1
JC J
611
BIN
Plate 23: Cross section views of the south wall of the room FC (top), and the
south wall (678) of the room GE (bottom).
384
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
2.5
3Z Z
700
5.0
ROOM ER (BUILDING FC) LOOKING SOUTH WALL
700
704
Plate 24: Cross section view s o f the south wall (top) and the
north wall (bottom) of the room ER.
385
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
ROOM ER AND ES (BUILDING FC) LOOKING EAST WALL
X2
700 704
Plate 25: Cross section views of the east wall (704) of the rooms ER
and ES (top), and the north wall of the room ES (bottom).
386
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
P IT ?
UPSTAIRS'
DOOR?
703
POST HOLES
CD
o
70 L
700
Plate 26: Cross section views of the west wall (700) and
the north wall (703) of the room ET.
387
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Building EE Building EL
Building FC
Building FD
Plate 27: Reconstruction of the floorplan of the room FC based on the locations of
platforms and the proportions of the central rooms in other buildings.
388
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
T7IjITJ 1 7 J - J - I7 K
^ ^ W .
2
tfr'
3
389
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced with permission
of the copyright owner.
Further reproduction
652
W H IT E P IA S T E R
Plate 29: North wall (532) of the room EE with the door at left and the large niche at right.
without permission.
Reproduced
with permission
N
of the copyright owner.
f *
Further reproduction
CO
VO
prohibited without permission.
R O O M EE (BUILDING EE)
SOUTH WALL
10 20 30 40 50 cm
Plate 30: W all painting found on the interior face of the wall (529) in room EE. Probably more than one layer of
painting is represented here.
529 524
P la te 3 1 : E a s t w a ll ( 5 2 5 ) an d th e door.
392
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
529
Aft:*.*'*.&</' 524
ROOM E B (B U IL D IN G E E ) L O O K IN G E A S T W A LL
393
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
2
So
529
DOOR ST E P BEAM
HOLES
521.
529
BEAM
H OLES
U
ROOM EC (B U IL D IN G E E ) L O O K IN G W E S T WALL
Plate 33: Top: East wall (527), the door communicating with room EB, and the
beam holes of the staircase remaining on the walls face.
Bottom: West wall (528), the sealed door between rooms EC and DF,
and the beam holes of the staircase remaining on the walls face.
394
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
GRAVELS
DG
35
AREA DD AND ROOM DG ( BUILDING EE) LOOKING NORTH \AALL
395
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
]AB A ! B C | D ! E F J G H 1 K j L M N 1
1
1 ; | ^ r
i
2 : 1
~ s IK ----ft T A n D IR
10 /V r
11
rT
12
MUNZUROGLU KOYU ft
3 iBRAHiM TEKEVi a
14
m m > .
1.1 KESlTl I-I SECTION II - U KESiTi II - II SECTION
ib ra h im T e k e v i. a d ev resi, plan, c e p h e ve k e sltle ri
Ib rahim T e k h o u s e . P e rio d V . Plan, facade an d s e c tio n s
396
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
v lO O
v !3 0
DB
(2 0
v 3 .1 1
(50 CC
3m
i
Plate 36: Plan o f room DB.
397
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
S2S
A-A
398
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Q
co co
C
uO
CO
UJ 0
5 O
TS
O O
z
X. *
o
o <D
4-t
T3
UJ C
o S
2
Q si
bfl
CD c
UJ
9
2
O PQ
O C4H
cr o
cn
M-
u->
s
-M
o
66
CO
o
M
S
Oh
o
cm'
399
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
EK
GY
i - j - 181
t
2
3
BALK I
A-A
400
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Plate 40: Wall painting found on the interior face of the east wall (466) in room GK.
401
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
ROOM CM (BUILDING GK) INTERIOR V IE W O F TH E NORTH W M L U64
Plate 41: Cross section view o f the wall (464) in room CM.
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
cz
cn
FH
FA
FK
G - f - 'B H
BALAK
W HEARTH
Plate 42: Plan of the early building phase of Building DU and Building
BY1 to the north. The late building phase of DU did not provide
sufficient evidence to produce a complete plan.
403
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
50 cm
Plate 43: Wall painting found at the south wall (506) in room DU. The
painting was made over thick, white colored plaster.
404
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
REDOISH PLASTER
W HITISH PLASTER
W ITH ASH
4.0
ROOM DU ( BUILDING DU) LOOKING EAST WALL
RED PA IN TING
OVER W H IT E PLASTER W H IT E PLASTER
40
ROOM DU ( BUILDING DU ) LOOKING SOUTH WALL
P late 44: Top: Cross section view of the east wall in room DU and the
door.
Bottom: Cross section view of the south w all (506) in room
DU and two niches.
405
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced
with permission
of the copyright owner.
' CHALCODTHfC
C D FLOOR
CJC3
oo
Further reproduction
O C ROOM
CD
ROO M
DU AY
RO O M B E
ROOM
CD CD AT
FLOOR CD CD
C O CDCD
FLOOR
CDC
OO
305
2 63
prohibited
D.81-113
POT BURIAL
D.81-137 GRID 17 G
POT BURIAL
SOUTH SECTION
V____
1981
A SH PIT 332
without permission.
k h 9 f e d c
P l a t e 4 5 : S o u th s e c tio n o f g r i d 1 7 G s h o w in g r o o m s D U , B E , A Y , a n d A T . T h e to p f l o o r w it h t h e u p p e r
w a l l b e lo n g s t o t h e l a t e b u i l d i n g p h a s e , a n d t h e t w o l o w e r flo o r s r e p r e s e n t t h e e a r l y b u i l d i n g
phase.
i25
C )
'3.0
I'
II
l)
" i i . '* *. ZSZZS
: > > o > > ii :" I-
.v . O0 ?
. e
308 4.0
GRAVELS
GRAVELS
BF
AV
I 308
GRAVELS
GRAVELS
Plate 46: Top: Cross section view of the rooms BR and AV with two floors
and late phase walls. Looking south.
Bottom: Cross section view of the same rooms. Looking north.
407
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
66?
556.
F0
FG
160 I 156
4
5 PLATFOR M
667
A-A
P la te 4 7 : P la n o f B u ild in g F D .
408
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
vl.57
HL
JB26
FO
627
660,
: FN
HK
HL
664 OUTSIDE
baulk
GL
OF THE
SETTLEMENT
Dm A-A
409
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Unexcavated area
Plate 49: A reconstruction of the north portion of Building FN. The location of the exterior
north wall is speculative, but the form and the size of Rooms FN, HK, and HL
is extrapolated by extending the walls already excavated.
410
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
\7 a
BU
EG
15J|16J
BAULK
Ar&
Plate 50: Plan of Building AS and the single room DA to the south representing
the later architectural phase at the site.
411
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced
with permission
of the copyright owner.
Further reproduction
0 5 10 15 20m
Plate 51: Multi-room buildings at the south end of the settlement. Each building was separated from
its neighbors by double walls. The buildings are distinguished by thick lines and two tones
of gray for clarity.
Plate 52: Wall painting found on the interior of the west wall of room Bi.
413
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
DEGIRMENTEPE
Chalcolithic Buildings
Estimated edge
Hypothetical edge
EEEH
Plate 53: An estimation of the location and size of the earliest Ubaid occupation
at Degirmentepe.
414
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Plain Bowl K Hammer
o Painted bowl * N et weight / Loom weight
A Jar & Celt
A Cooking pot e Mano / Metate
Miniature cu p /jar Game piece
Pot stand m Awl
* Portable oven s Needle
Spindle whorl Q Seal
# Polishing Stone Sealing
415
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Plain bowl # Polishing Stone
O Painted Bowl * Net weight / Loom weight
A Jar * Celt
A Cooking pot Mortar
Miniature cup / Jar JC Hammer
Spindle whorl m Awl
0 Stopper Q Seal
Figurine Sealing
O Arrow head Burial
416
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Plain bowl Sickle blade
Jar n Hammer
Miniature cup / jar X Chisel
* Pot stand + Macehead
Spindle whorl Bead, pendant or shell
m Awl
417
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 m
418
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 m
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Plain bowl 71 Hammer
A Cooking pot & Celt
A Jar Game piece
R Miniature cups / Jar Pot stand
Spindle whorl & Bead, pendant,
Stopper El Needle
Knife . . m Awl
* Sickle Blade n Seal
# Polishing Stone 'V Sealing
Si- Burial SS Ground stone
420
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
cz
BY1
CH
667.
vflB A K : 593
FA FE
FK
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10m
1--- ---------- UMIIU IWIIW----- mim-----"mm
Plain bowl x Core Burial
A Cooking pot U Hammer 1
Miniature cup / jar 4 Macehead f
Spindle whorl > Game piece l
O Stopper El Awl
Figurine 2 Seal
Sickle blade 4 Sealing
Plate 60: Distribution of artifacts found in Buildings DU, BY1, FA, and FK.
421
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Spoon
Spindle whorl
9
O
Plain Bowl
Stopper
]
Plate 61: Distribution of artifacts found in Building FD.
422
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
d e SI r m e n t e p e
CH4LC0UTMC BUIOWSS
sgi
423
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced
with permission
^IPPl
of the copyright owner.
Further reproduction
prohibited without permission.
Plate 63: An experimental reconstruction of the village. Only House I is shown with a two story plan; the others
are imagined as single story. The multi-room buildings at the south edge of the village are not
reconstructed because of poor preservation.
References:
Alkim, H. 1979.
Gedikli (Karahoyuk) anak-omlegine Toplu Bir Baki, Tiirk Tarih Kongresi VIII.
Tiirk Tarih Kurumu Yayinlan, Ankara, pp. 135-142 (in Turkish).
Alkim, U. B. 1962.
Tilmen Hoyiik alimalan, Belleten 26, pp. 447-499 (in Turkish).
Akkermans, M. M. G. P. 1988a.
The Period IV Pottery of Tell Hammam et-Turkman, in Hamman et-Turkman I. ed.
by M. N. van Loon, Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut Istanbul, Leiden,
p p .181-285.
Akkermans, M. M. G. P. 1988b.
The Period V Pottery of Tell Hammam et-Turkman, in Hamman et-Turkman I, ed. by
M. N. van Loon, Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut Istanbul, Leiden, pp.
2857-349.
Akkermans, M. M. G. P. 1988c.
An Updated Chronology for the Northern Ubaid and Late Chalcolithic Periods in Syria:
New Evidence from Tell Hammam et-Turkman, Iraq 50, pp. 109-145.
Akkermans, M. M. G. P. 1989.
Tradition and Social Change in Northern Mesopotamia during the Later Fifth and
Fourth Millennium BC, in Upon This Foundation: The Ubaid Reconsidered, ed. by E.
F. Henrickson and I. Thuesen, Museum Tusculanum Press, University of Copenhagen,
pp. 339-367.
Ardos, M. 1984.
Tiirkiye Ovalanmn Jeomorfolojisi, Istanbul Universitesi Edebiyat Fakiiltesi Yayinlan,
No: 3199, Istanbul, pp. 150-162. (in Turkish).
Arsebiik, G. 1986.
An Assemblage of Microlithic Engravers from the Chalcolithic Levels of
Degirmentepe (Malatya), Anadolu Arastirmalan X. pp. 131-142.
425
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Aizt, J. M. 2001.
Excavations at Tell Ziyadeh, Syria: The Northern Ubaid Reconsidered. Unpublished
Ph.D. Dissertation, submitted to Yale University.
Balkan-Ath, N. 1995.
A Preliminary Report of the Chipped Stone Industry of Degirmentepe, an Ubaid
Settlement in Eastern Anatolia, Readings in Prehistory: Studies Presented to Halet
Cambel, Graphis, Istanbul, pp. 127-148.
2003.
Use of Obsidian at Degirmentepe: An Ubaid Settlement in Eastern Anatolia, From
Village to Cities: Studies Presented to Ufuk Esin, ed. by M. Ozdogan, H. Hauptmann,
and N. Bagelen, Arkeoloji ve Sanat, Istanbul, pp. 373-384.
Boivin, N. 2000.
Life Rythms and Floor Sequences: Excavating Time in Rural Rajastan and Neolithic
Catalhoyiik, World Archaeology 31, pp. 367-388.
Breniquet, C. 1986.
Nouvelle hypothesise sur la disparition de la culture de Halaf, in Prehistoire de la
Mesopotamie, Editions du CNRS, Paris, pp. 231-241.
Breniquet, C. 1989.
Les origines de la culture dObeid en Mesopotamie du nord, in Upon This
Foundation: The Ubaid Reconsidered, ed. by E. F. Henrickson and I. Thuesen, Museum
Tusculanum Press, University of Copenhagen, pp. 325-338.
Brown, G. H. 1967.
Prehistoric Pottery from the Antitaurus, Anatolian Studies 17, pp. 123-164.
Byrd, B. F. 1994.
Public and Private, Domestic and Corporate: The Emergence of the Southwest Asian
Village, American Antiquity 59(41, pp. 639-666.
Byrd, B. F. 2000.
Households in Transition: Neolithic Social Organization within Southwest Asia, in
Life in Neolithic Farming Communitites: Social Organization, Identity, and
Differentiation, ed. by I. Kuijt, Kluwer/Plenum Publishers, New York, pp. 63-98.
426
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Cameron, C. M. 1993.
Abandonment and Archaeological Interpretation, in Abandonment of Settlements
and Regions: Ethnoarchaeological and Archaeological Approaches, ed. by C. M.
Cameron, and S. A. Tomka, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 1-7.
Carter, E. 1996.
The Kahramanmara Archaeological Survey Project: A Preliminary Report on the
1994 Season, XHI. Arastirma Sonuglan Toplantisi, pp. 289-305.
Clarke, D. 1977.
Spatial Information in Archaeology, in Spatial Archaeology, ed. by D. Clarke,
Academic Press, London, pp. 1-32.
Demirci, . 1985.
Bazi Arkeolojik Toprak Omeklerinin ve Seramiklerin Yapisal Analizi, Arkeometri
Unitesi Bilimsel Toplanti Bildirileri V, Tiibitak Publications No: 613, pp. 69-76 (in
Turkish).
Eissenstat, . 2004.
Ritualization of Settlement: Conditioning Factors of Spatial Congruity and Temporal
Continuity During the Late Neolithic of Southeastern Anatolia, Unpublished Ph.D.
Dissertation, submitted to University of California Los Angeles.
Esin, U. 1972.
Tepecik Kazisi, 1970, Keban Project 1970 Activities, Middle East Technical
University Series I, No:3, TTK Publications, Ankara, pp. 139-147 (also in English).
1976.
Tiilintepe Kazisi, 1972, Keban Project 1972 Activities, Middle East Technical
University Series I, No:5, TTK Publications, Ankara, pp. 119-133 (also in English).
427
R eproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
1980.
Degirmentepe Kazisi 1979, II. Kazi Sonuclan Toplantisi. pp. 91-99 (in Turkish).
1981.
1980 Yili Degirmentepe (Malatya) Kazisi Sonuclan, HI. Kazi Sonuclan Toplantisi.
pp. 39-41 (in Turkish).
1983a.
Degirmentepe (Malatya) Kurtarma Kazisi 1981 Yili Somujlan, IV. Kazi Sonuclan
Toplantisi, pp. 39-48 (in Turkish).
1983b.
Zur Datierung der vorgeschichtlichen Schichten von Degirmentepe bei Malatya in der
ostlichen TUrkei, Beitrage zur Altertumskunde Kleinasiens. Festschrift fuur Kurt
Bittel, ed. by R. M. Boehmer, H. Hauptmann, Mainz am Rhein, pp. 175-190.
1984.
1982 Yili Degirmentepe (Malatya) Kurtarma Kazisi, V. Kazi Sonuclan Toplantisi,
pp. 71-80 (in Turkish).
1985a.
Degirmentepe (Malatya) Kurtarma Kazisi 1983 Yih Raporu, VI. Kazi Sonuclan
Toplantisi, pp. 11-29 (in Turkish).
1985b.
Some Small Finds from the Chalcolithic Occupation at Degirmentepe (Malatya) in
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