NIT Research Project
Early Farming Communities in the Eastern Marmara Region
How
did the first farming communities develop in northwest Anatolia, more
than 8000 years ago? How did these people make a living, in what kinds
of settlements did they live, how did they treat their dead, and with
which communities nearby and far away did they interact? And, at a
broader temporal and regional scale, what was the role of northwest
Anatolia in the spread of farming from the Near East to Europe in the
Neolithic Age?
These
are some of the central questions of the long-term research project
Early Farming Communities in the Eastern Marmara Region launched by the
Netherlands Institute for the Near East (NINO) and the Netherlands
Institute in Turkey (NIT) some 20 years ago. For a better understanding
of the westward spread of agriculture, the study of the Marmara region,
located on the geographical boundaries of Asia and Europe, is of key
importance. Yet, this region has long remained a blank on the map of
prehistoric archaeology.
At
the beginning of the Early Farming project stood the excavation at
Ilıpınar, launched in 1987 by Jacob Roodenberg. This was the first
systematic attempt to find out when and how the alluvial valleys of
this region were colonized by early farming communities. It was
discovered that the site, which could be dated back 8000 years, had a
full-fledged farming economy. The mound of Menteşe was studied as a
second step in the Early Farming project in order to be able to
evaluate the evidence from Ilıpınar in its regional context. This site
had begun to be occupied in the second half of the seventh millennium,
making its initial settlement several centuries older than Ilıpınar.
Both Menteşe and Ilıpınar predate comparable finds in Southeast Europe.
A third mound, Hacılartepe, was investigated because of presumed links
with nearby Ilıpınar. This site yielded only Early Bronze Age material,
however.
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| The NIT Excavations at Barcın Höyük (2005-)
The
third step in the Early Farming project was the launch of excavations
at Barcın Höyük in 2005. The site is located 5 km west of the town of
Yenişehir along the road between İznik and Bursa. This mound, with
evidence for occupation in Byzantine, Roman, Early Bronze, Late
Chalcolithic, and Late Neolithic periods, promised finds perhaps even
predating the oldest phases excavated at Menteşe and Ilıpınar. As the
research continues, it is hoped that a thorough study of the Neolithic
layers will provide significant information on the earliest phases of
settled life in the area. This in turn will help elucidate the role of
the Marmara region in the processes of Neolithization of northwest
Anatolia and southeastern Europe. |
[map source:
http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=16065]
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History of research at Barcın Höyük
As
with so many prehistoric sites in Anatolia, Barcın Höyük first entered
the literature through the work of James Mellaart and David French. The
site was included in the surveys of Mehmet Özdoğan in the 1980s. No
further study was undertaken until 2005, when excavations were begun by
NIT/NINO under the direction of Jacob Roodenberg and (in 2005 and 2006)
under the auspices of the İznik Museum. The site, hitherto known as
Yenişehir II was renamed Barcın Höyük after the village in the
vicinity. Excavations continued annually since then, since 2007 under
the direction of Fokke Gerritsen of NIT. The 2005 and 2006 seasons
aimed at establishing an initial stratigraphic sequence and gaining a
first idea of the location and distribution of the Neolithic levels. In
2007 the work on the central part of the site continued, with work in
four trenches investigating a Byzantine cemetery, and occupation levels
mainly of Late Chalcolithic and Late Neolithic date. In two of the
trenches the excavators were able to reach Neolithic layers around 3 m
below surface level. Radiocarbon samples taken from the upper levels of
the Neolithic settlement confirmed them to be more than 8000 years old.
This makes it one of the oldest known settlements in the wider region,
and yet again emphasizes the importance of Barcın for the spread of
early farming in Northwest Anatolia and beyond.
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| The 2007 campaign
The
2007 campaign has shown that the occupational levels of Barcın Höyük
consist of a number of occupation phases separated by significant
periods of time. The earliest level has not yet been encountered. In
one of the trenches possible remains of a Late Neolithic dwelling were
found, however poorly preserved. Within its walls four infant burials
were found. Once larger exposures can be excavated, a village plan may
hopefully be revealed. In another trench was found several phases of
Late Chalcolithic occupation. Here the most important find was a ca. 3
m wide ditch, which could have been used either to contain water or as
boundary between areas of the site (as in nearby site of Aktopraklık). Neolithic
flint and obsidian artefacts recovered from Barcın Höyük display strong
similarities with finds from nearby Ilıpınar and Menteşe as well as
with Fikirtepe and Pendik in the İstanbul region. |
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| A
cemetery dating to the Middle Byzantine period was dug into the Late
Chalcolithic levels. Parts were initially exposed in 2006 and
excavation in 2007 continued excavating and documenting the graves. The
inhumations always lie on their back, with the head towards the west.
Often, the grave is covered by a gabled roof of large ceramic tiles,
one or two pairs for children, three for adults, Grave goods from this
Byzantine graveyard were rare, but included bronze jewellery, small
bells and (found in 2006) a bronze reliquary holder which would have
been worn as a pendant. This cross-shaped box was engraved with
depictions of Mary and Christ. |
The 2008 campaign
In
2008 a short season was held which focused on analyses of the 2007
finds, including the chipped stone, pottery and human bone. In the
field, excavations concentrated on the Byzantine cemetery, of which a
further 14 burials were excavated. Many of these were found underneath
graves excavated in previous years and appear to represent the oldest
graves in this part of the cemetery.
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| Outlook
Ongoing
agricultural use has limited the area of current excavations to a
single parcel in the North-South direction over the highest part of the
mound. It is hoped that in future seasons representative samples can be
taken from different parts of the mound yet unexplored. The integrity
of the upper layers of the site has been significantly compromised by
continuous agricultural activities as well as destruction by rodent
burrowing. The lower deposits of the mound, object of our continuing
work, have been spared this destruction. It is anticipated that
sustained in-depth research of the Neolithic levels of the site will
bring to light more information on architectural traditions, settlement
layout, and subsistence practices in this transition zone between
Anatolia and Southeast Europe. | The 2009 Campaign
The
2009 field campaign of the Barcın Höyük Excavations Project comprised
of excavations and geoarchaeological studies at and around the site.
Analyses of the ceramics, faunal and human remains took place at the
same time at the excavation house in the nearby town of Yenişehir.
The
2009 season resumed the work done in excavation trenches that had been
opened in earlier seasons. In one of these trenches, the oldest of the
Byzantine graves were documented and removed, several ovens, floors and
fragments of mudbrick walls of a Late Chalcolithic house were
excavated, and finally, below that the latest remains of Late Neolithic
occupation were exposed. In the other trenches, less time depth was
covered, but the results were no less significant for our understanding
of the Neolithic settlement. Its inhabitants lived in rectangular
houses built of a combination of loam slabs and wooden posts. Fragments
of such houses were encountered, together with informal indoor and
outdoor surfaces. In all trenches there are still deeper and hitherto
unexcavated levels; a major goal for the 2010 season will be to
investigate these in at least one trench, and to complete the
stratigraphic sequence. By then, we will hopefully also be able to
confirm or refute our current idea that the settlement was comprised of
built-up lots separated by open areas. Over time, it appears now,
abandoned houses became leveled and turned into open lots, and open
lots became built up again. | | 
|  | | The
open areas between houses were used, among many other purposes no
doubt, for the burial of the dead. The dead were buried on their side
with legs tightly folded in front of the chest. Burying grave gifts
with the dead was not common in the Neolithic of northwestern Anatolia,
and the graves at Barcın Höyük are no exception.
The
inhabitants of the Neolithic community become visible not only from
their houses and the spatial organization of their settlement, but also
from their artefacts and even the refuse from their meals. Analyses of
the faunal and botanical remains and of the ceramic and chipped stone
finds are ongoing. One of the most eye-catching small finds is a clay
figurine of a female that appeared in the burnt rubble of a house,
standing about 10 centimeters tall. Such figurines are rare (although
this lady has the company at Barcın Höyük of several whole and
fragmentary fellow figurines), and little is known about their function
and meaning. Much more common are utensils made from animal bones, such
as spoons, awls, needles, spatulas and even belt hooks. They were
generally made with much care and were highly polished. Handles of
spoons which had broken were often turned into pins. Stone was also
shaped to make tools such as axes, bowls and very small beads. | Geoarchaeology
In
order to collect evidence for a landscape reconstruction, Michiel
Künzel and Hüseyin Bakmaz, both students in the VU University
Amsterdams Geoarchaeology Department participated in the 2009
campaign. By manually extracting cores from the sediments around and
below the site, some going as deep as 5.80 metres below the modern
surface, they could identify layers of fine clay, silts and more sandy
sediments each indicative of different hydrological conditions. Once
all this evidence is put together a schematic landscape history of the
direct surroundings of the settlement can be drafted. Initial
indications are that the mound did indeed border on swampy ground to
the south. | | 
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Lipid residue analysis of Neolithic ceramics
When
a ceramic vessel holds dairy or meat-based products, tiny amounts of
fats (lipid) will be absorbed in the pores of the baked clay. In the
last couple of years techniques have developed that make it possible to
collect and identify the residues of these lipids, even from pottery
that is thousands of years old. This possibility enables investigations
of what individual vessels were used for.
With financial support
from Tübitak (the Scientific and Technological Research Council of
Turkey) we have now started a follow-up project. The aims are to 1)
confirm the use of dairy products at Late Neolithic Barcın Höyük; 2) to
date the beginning and further developments in the use; and 3) to
investigate the relationship between milk products and the shapes of
the vessels that held them. During the field season 150 sherds were
selected for analysis and brought to the Archaeometry Research Center
of Boğaziçi University in Istanbul. Hadi Özbal and Ayla Türkekul-Bıyık
are in charge of the chemical analyses, Laurens Thissen carries out the
ceramic analyses.
Core Team of the Barcın Höyük Excavations
Fokke Gerritsen (Netherlands Institute in Turkey, Istanbul): Excavation Director
Rana Özbal (Boğaziçi University, Istanbul): Co-Director
Hadi Özbal (Boğaziçi University, Istanbul): Archaeometry
Laurens Thissen (Thissen Archaeological Ceramics Bureau, Amsterdam): Prehistoric ceramics
Ivan Gatsov (New Bulgarian University, Sofia): Chipped stone
Petranka Nedelcheva (New Bulgarian University, Sofia): Chipped stone
Alfred Galik (University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna): Faunal remains
René Cappers (Groningen University): Botanical remains
Jessica Pearson (Liverpool University): Human remains
Anestis Vasilakeris (Boğaziçi University, Istanbul): Byzantine periods
Publications regarding Barcın Höyük Alpaslan
Roodenberg, S., 2009: Demographic data from the Byzantine graveyard of
Barcın, in T. Vorderstrasse & J. Roodenberg (eds), Archaeology of
the countryside in Medieval Anatolia, Leiden (PIHANS 113), 169-175.French, D., 1967: Prehistoric Sites in Northwest Anatolia: I. The İznik Area, Anatolian Studies 17, 49-100.Gatsov,
I., P. Nedelcheva, R. Özbal and F. Gerritsen, in press: Prehistoric
Barcin Höyük: 2007 Excavations and Chipped Stone Artifact Analysis, in
F. Drasovean (ed.), Ten Years After: The Neolithic of the Balkans as
Uncovered by the Last Decade of Research, Timisoara, Museum of Banat
Publications.Gerritsen,
F., R. Özbal, 2009: Barcın Höyük Excavations, 2007, 30. Kazı Sonuçları
Toplantısı, vol. 3, 457-464. (pdf version)Mellaart, J., 1955: Some Prehistoric Sites in North-Western Anatolia, Istanbuler Mitteilungen 6, 53-88.Korsvoll,
N., 2008: Protection in This World and the Next. The Function of
Byzantine Grave Goods, unpublished Honours Thesis, University College
Utrecht. Özdoğan, M., 1986: 1984 Yılı Trakya ve Doğu Marmara Araştırmaları, Araştırma Sonuçları Toplantısı 3, 409-420.Roodenberg,
J.J., A. van As and S. Alpaslan Roodenberg, 2008: Barcın Hüyük in the
Plain of Yenişehir (2005-2006). A Preliminary Note on the Fieldwork,
Pottery and Human Remains of the Prehistoric Levels, Anatolica 34,
53-66.Roodenberg,
J.J., 2009: The Byzantine graveyards from Ilıpınar and Barcın in
Northwest Anatolia, in T. Vorderstrasse & J.Roodenberg (eds),
Archaeology of the countryside in Medieval Anatolia, Leiden (PIHANS
113), 154-167.Support and FinancesThe Barcın Höyük Excavations are carried out with permission from the Culture and Tourism Ministry of the Republic of Turkey. The
Barcın Höyük Excavations gratefully acknowledge the financial support
from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) and the
Netherlands Institute for the Near East (NINO).
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