Kilise Tepe in Rough Cilicia before the Late Bronze Age: An Overview of the Architecture, Pottery Traditions, and Cultural Contacts

Abstract

Kilise Tepe, Türkiye’nin güneyinde Göksu Vadisi’nde, Hellenistik Dönem öncesi katmanlara sahip kazısı yapılmış tek eski yerleşimdir. Yerleşimdeki arkeolojik çalışmalar Tunç ve
Demir çağlarında yerel kültür ve bunun komşu bölgelerle olan bağlantıları hakkında paha biçilmez veriler sunmuştur. Bu makalede 2007 ve 2011 yıllarında Erken ve Orta Tunç Çağı
katmanlarında gerçekleştirilen kazıların ön sonuçları stratigrafi ve ilgili seramiklerin genel bir değerlendirmesiyle birlikte sunulmuş olup bunu Erken Tunç Çağı II Dönemi sonunda Kilise Tepe’de gerçekleşen yıkım ve sonrasındaki kültürel değişimlere odaklanan kısa bir tartışma takip etmektedir. Çalışmada yerleşim ve vadi sakinleri daha önceden çevre bölgelerle kültürel bağlar geliştirmiş olsalar da alanın bölgesel ticaret ağına daha ziyade Erken Tunç Çağı III Dönemi’nde büyük ölçüde entegre edildiği savunulmaktadır.

Keywords

• Kilise Tepe
• Erken Tunç Çağı
• Orta Tunç Çağı
• Göksu Vadisi
• Mersin
• Dağlık Kilikya
• Kilikia Tracheia

Kilise Tepe in Rough Cilicia before the Late Bronze Age: An Overview of the Architecture, Pottery Traditions, and Cultural Contacts

Abstract

Kilise Tepe is the only ancient settlement with pre-Hellenistic levels in Göksu Valley in southern Turkey that has been excavated. The archaeological work conducted at the site has produced valuable data about the local culture and its links with the neighbouring areas during the Bronze and Iron Ages. This article presents the preliminary results of the excavations of the Early and Middle Bronze Age levels conducted in 2007 and in 2011, with a general evaluation of the stratigraphy and related ceramics, followed by a brief discussion focusing on the destruction at Kilise Tepe at the end of the Early Bronze Age II period and the cultural changes that occurred subsequently. It is argued that, although the inhabitants of the settlement and the valley had developed cultural ties with the surrounding regions earlier, only during the Early Bronze Age III period the area became substantially integrated into the regional trade network.

Keywords

• Kilise Tepe
• Early Bronze Age
• Middle Bronz Age
• Göksu Valley
• Mersin
• Rough Cilicia
• Cilicia Thraceia

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