 Alaca Höyük | |
  Alaca Höyük Shown within Turkey | |
| Location | Çorum Province,Turkey |
|---|---|
| Region | Anatolia |
| Coordinates | 40°14′04″N34°41′44″E / 40.23444°N 34.69556°E /40.23444; 34.69556 |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Periods | Chalcolithic, Bronze Age |
| Cultures | Hittite |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1907, 1910s, 1935–1970 |
| Archaeologists | Theodor Makridi Bey, Remzi Oğuz Arık, Hamit Zübeyr Koşay |
| Condition | In ruins |
Alacahöyük orAlaca Höyük (sometimes also spelled asAlacahüyük,Euyuk, orEvuk) is the site of aNeolithic andHittite settlement and is an importantarchaeological site. It is situated near the village ofAlacahüyük in theAlaca District ofÇorum Province,Turkey, northeast ofBoğazkale (formerly and more familiarly Boğazköy), where the ancient capital cityHattusa of theHittite Empire was situated. Its Hittite name is unknown: connections withArinna, Tawiniya, andZippalanda have all been suggested.[1][2]
The mound (Turkishhöyük) measures 310 meters by 275 meters with a height of about 14 meters. The mound features cone like rises at the south and northeast ends. It has 14 occupational layers with 9-14 being Chalcolithic, 5-8 being Early Bronze Age (royal tombs), and 2-4 being Hittite. The uppermost layer shows elements of Phrygian, Roman, and Ottoman times.
Layers 14-9: Alacahöyük was a scene of settlement in a continuous sequence of development from theChalcolithic Age, when earliest copper tools appeared alongside the use of stone tools.
Layers 8-5: During theEarly Bronze Age, the mound was the center of a flourishing culture connected to the Anatolian Trade Network. It has been continuously occupied ever since, until today's modern settlement in the form of a small village.
Fourteenshaft-grave "Royal Tombs" (2850–2450 BC) date to the same period as the Royal Tombs ofUr and theTroy excavation level II. The tombs of typical shaft design, about 1.5 meters in depth, sealed by wooden beams, They contained the dead with folded legs facing west. The heads and legs of bulls were placed on platforms and the dead were richly adorned with goldfibulae, diadems, and belt buckles and repoussé gold-leaf figures. Seven metal figurines were found in the tombs with four being made of bronze and 3 of silver.[3]
Many of theartefacts discovered at Alacahöyük, including magnificent gold and bronze objects found in the Royal Tombs, are housed today in theMuseum of Anatolian Civilizations inAnkara. Among these artefacts are gold andelectrum standing cups and other vessels. The most unusual are theAlaca Höyük bronze standards;bulls orstags on pedestals whose purpose remains the subject of debate. The standards are cast in copper, many in the form of flat circles, half-circles or squares that are filled with anopenwork network of cross bars, central crosses, and swastikas.Leonard Woolley[4] found that the Royal Tombs "seem to belong to the end of a period, as marked by a stratum of destruction and the burning of the citadel. The culture which the tomb objects illustrate does not continue into the next historical phase, that ofKültepe".
A gold-handled dagger was found at Alacahöyük, and it is now in the collection of the Ankara's Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. It was excavated from grave K (find No. Al.K.14) and may be dated as early as 2500 BC. Japanese scholars have issued a preliminary report about the composition of the dagger in 2008, and they concluded that the dagger was probably made from meteoritic iron.[5][6]
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Layers 4-2 Hittite period: The standing and distinguishing remains at Alaca Höyük, however, such as the "Sphinx Gate", date from theHittite period that followed the Hatti, from the fourteenth century BC.
Two Hittite cuneform texts (A1.d164) mentions the city Arinna and the sun-goddess.[7] One letter states: "Zuwa says: Arinna which was inherited by us from our grandfathers has a golden sun disk which represents the Sun Goddess". The letter may have been sent from or to this site, indicating that the city Arinna can be identified with this site or was nearby.
During the reign of kingTudhaliya IV (c. 1245-1215 BC) drought devastated the country leading to the construction of a series of dams throughout the Hittite Empire. The king also imported grain from Egypt to avoid famine. TheGölpınar dam, located 1.5 kilometers to the south of Alaca Höyük, was dedicated to the goddessHebat. It has been excavated since 2002 and made usable again in 2006 because the water source was located inside the reservoir. In the late 13th century BC, drier climate conditions ultimately led to theCollapse of the Bronze Age.
Modern assessment[8] finds that the site continued as a flourishing community to the end of the Late Bronze Age. There was also a sizable occupation inPhrygian times.
The site was probed by George Perrot and Ernest Chantre in the late 1800s and drawings of the remains published.[9] In 1907, the Ottoman archaeologistTheodor Makridi Bey carried out brief explorations here for two weeks.[10] In the 1910s, German teams discovered royal tombs dating to the third millennium BC, as well as aHittite town of the second millennium BC. The impressivesphinx gate surrounded by stone reliefs marked its entrance.[11] The town was heavily fortified with walls and towers due to the frequent raids of the Kaska people living in the mountainous region to the north.Excavations by theTurkish archaeologists Remzi Oğuz Arık andHamit Koşay resumed in 1935 under the personal instructions ofAtatürk who contributed from his own budget.[12][13][14][15] In 1968 the work was under the direction of Mahmut A.[16] The work, which continued until 1970, revealed considerable local wealth and achievement even before the time of the Hittites, with the earliest occupation dating from the 4th millennium BC. Tombs of the 3rd millennium BC feature metal vessels, jewelry, weapons, and pole finials of bulls, stags, as well as abstract forms often interpreted as solar symbols. Excavation at the site resumed in 1994, and is now directed by Dr. Aykut Çınaroğlu.[citation needed]
In the excavations of 2002, 2003 and 2005, four new hieroglyphic Luwian documents were uncovered, a clay sealing, two vessels with seal impressions, and a stele fragment.[17]
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