TUMULUS AT ASKERTEPE

Year 2010, Issue: 36, 149 - 178, 01.05.2010

Şahin Yıldırım

https://doi.org/10.1501/andl_0000000376

Abstract

Askertepe tumulus is located in the village of Beyoİlu which is 30 km far from the center of şarköy town in Tekirdaİ, at northwest Turkey. The tumulus and its chamber had been almost destroyed by illegal excavations before the salvage excavations were carried out by the TekirdaİArchaeological Museum in July 2007. The excavations carried out here unearthed the upper covering blocks of the ceiling of the tomb chamber. It was revealed that after the construction of the tomb chamber, the ceiling above the vault was covered with big stone blocks and almost every stone was connected to each other with iron bars. Upper cover stones were connected with iron clamps and between the iron clamps and iron bars, melted lead was poured. On the ground of this area where dromos is located, an area was found where probably the funeral ceremony took place. In this area the horses of the hearse were sacrificed by cremation. The heads of the horse appear to have been lied down carefully on the ground after the cremation. Since the body bones of the horses were cremated completely, no traces were found. Four broken East Greek Amphoras dated to the second half of fourth century B.C. were found in the ceremonial area. At the west part of the dromos, near the skull of the horse was found a terracotta oil lamp. Chamber building was destroyed by rob excavations. In the chamber, among the kline stones was found an ashy layer which probably belongs to the owner of tomb. While this ashy layer was being removed, a piece of golden leaf was found adjacent to the northern wall of the kline

Keywords

Eastern Thrace • Tumulus • Tomb chamber • Tholos • Dromos

ASKERTEPE TÜMÜLÜSÜ

Abstract

-Özet: Tekirdaø ùli, úarköy ùlçesi’nin 30 km kadar uzaøındaki Beyoølu Köyü’nde bulunan
Askertepe Tümülüsü’nde, 2007 yılında yapılan kurtarma kazısı sonucunda, Helenistik Döneme tarihlendirilen bir mezar yapısı ortaya çıkarılmıûtır. Oldukça iyi bir taû iûçiliøine sahip olan, tonozlu bu mezar yapısının dromos’unda, Trakya Bölgesi tümülüslerinde sıkça rastlanılan bir ritüel’le karûılaûılmıûtır.
Buna göre, büyük olasılıkla mezar sahibinin cenazesini taûıyan bir çift at karûılıklı olarak yatırılmak suretiyle yakılarak kurban edilmiûtir. Yine dromos’un içinde M.Ö. 4. yüzyılın son çeyreøine tarihlendirilen
dört adet Doøu Yunan Amphora’sı, bir adet piûmiû toprak kandil ile çeûitli içki kapları parçalanmıû
halde ele geçmiûtir. Mezar odası soyulmuû olup, mezar envanterinden parçalanmıû halde birkaç ufak
obje ile çeûitli tip ve boyutlarda kaplara ait seramik parçaları günümüze ulaûabilmiûtir.

Keywords

Dolu trakya, Tümülüs, Askertepe