ÇATALHÖYÜK 2002 ARCHIVE REPORT
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South Area Shelter
Shahina Farid
Directed by: Shahina Farid
Team: Meral Atasagun, Serdar Cengiz, Bleda During, Vahit Dursun,
Brigid Gallagher, Catriona Gibson, Alptekin Ihkan, Husseyin Kamalak,
Asli Kutsal, Jonathan Last, Sinan Mellaart, Slobodan Mitrovic, Tatiana Stefanova, Burcu Tung, Ali Turkcan, Candemir Zoruglu.
Abstract
The South Area shelter, which has been in the planning for the past few years is now two-thirds complete and will be ready for the new phase of excavations in 2003. The 45m x 27m shelter designed by Atölye Mimarlik, a team of architects from Istanbul, drops from a ground level of 1014.9m AD (meters Above Datum) over the Summit Area to the east, down to 1006.9m AD to the west in the South Area (Fig 18). The design strategy had to fulfill a number of site specific requirements. These included foundations which would not hugely impact the archaeology, adequate load bearing on a site of variable compaction, extreme weather conditions with high wind uplift, heavy snow load, and consideration to the air flow during the hot summer months of excavation. The result was a continuous reinforced concrete plinth with a steel-frame truss system superstructure. The roof and sides are of a translucent polycarbon material with removable panels (Fig. 19). The foundations cut through a range of building levels and activities and were excavated to different height requirements throughout. Structural loads are located at the corners and at two central points to the north and south. These load bearing foundations are 1.5m wide and linked by 0.5m wide connecting trenches at each end to form a continuous plinth. Drainage channels to carry rainwater off site, were excavated around the perimeter, extended to, and cut through the 1960's spoilheap to the west.
Figure 18 South Shelter area from Summit
Figure 19 South Area Shelter under construction. from west
Özet
Son üç yıldır planlanmakta olan Güney Alanı Koruma Çatısı Projesi'nin uygulamasına nihayet son bir yıldır yönelinmiştir. Tamamlanmak üzere olan bu koruma çatısı, kazıların 2003 sezonunda başlayacak olan yeni aşaması için hazır olacaktır. Çatı, 1996-1998 yıllarında Selanik'ten bir ekibin kazdığı Zirve Bölgesi'nde yaklaşık 45 X 27 metrelik bir alanı kaplamaktadır ve doğuda 1014.9m AD'luk bir zeminden güneyde 1006.9m AD'luk bir zemin düzeyine düşmektedir (m. AD = meters Above Datum)
Koruma çatısının tasarımı İstanbul'dan Atölye Mimarlık tarafından yapılmıştır. Kerpiç mimari, farklı toprak sıkışıklıkları ve extrem iklim koşulları gibi karmaşık gereksinimleri olan bir arkeolojik yerleşmenin üzerini kapatmaya yönelik olarak ortaya konan tasarım yaklaşımı, derinliği ve genişliği torağın yapısıyla yük taşıma durumuna göre değişen kesintisiz beton bir baz yapılması yönünde olmuştur.
Bu sebeple, kazılan temeller pek çok tabaka ve aktiviteyi kapsamıştır. Doğuda höyüğün tepesindeki klasik dönem aktiviteleri; kerpiç yapılardan oluşan genel olarak homojen bir dolgu. Doğu kısmının büyük kısmı III. ve IV. tabaklar civarındaki Neolitik çöplük dolgusudur ki buluntularımızın en güzellerinden bazıları burada bulunmuştur. Bu açmanın hem kuzey hem de güney uçlarına doğru, olasılıkla V. tabakaya ait yapı kalıntıları kazılmıştır. Doğudan batıya doğru sekiz metre alçalan kuzey temeli, VIA'dan VIII. tabakaya kadar bir dönemi kapsamıştır. Doğuda bir dizi çöplük ve duvar bulunmuşken, merkez ve batı 1960'ların kazısı tamamlanmamış VII. tabaka yapılarının kalıntılarından oluşmuştur. 1963 planındaki VII. tabakanın 18 nolu evinde 77 parça iyi işlememiş obsidiyen el baltasından oluşan bir grup bulunmuştur. Burada ayrıca iki yetişkin gömüsü ortaya çıkmıştır. Batı temel açması 1960'ların kazı toprağının atılmasıyla oluşmuş olan tepeyi yararken, güneye doğru açmanın derinliği yaklaşık olarak IV. ve VIII. tabakalar arasında değişmiştir. Bir fırınla ilişkilendirilen iki tüm çömlek, güney açmasında olasılıkla V. tabakaya ait bir yapıda bulunmuştur.
Foundation Excavations
The 25m eastern trench ranged from 1014.9m AD to 1013.8m AD. The neolithic strata was overlain by erosion and overburden with some classical activity. Located towards the centre of the trench was a corner mudbrick wall, which cut into the underlying midden. The fill of the room/building, was homogenous and sterile with no indication of use or function. Also dotted along the trench was the occasional refuse pit.
To the north the Neolithic deposits were typical 'midden' of finely laminated ash and debris. It was from these deposits that some of the more interesting artefacts were found (Figs 20, 21,22).
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This sequence sealed a burnt horizon where just above formation level a few stretches of wall were revealed, that had been discoloured by heat penetration and buried within burnt collapse and debris. These walls do not appear to correlate to the Level VIB which was recorded as a large scale burnt horizon in the 1960's excavations, but based on their location are possibly associated with Levels IV or V. To the south of the trench, below the overburden, were another sequence of walls forming parts of rooms with their associated floors. East-west aligned Wall 1077 had a central dividing wall 1078 that created two spaces. Only the eastern space had floors surviving, one of which was cut by the burial of a neonate or child burial 1079. The central area was removed by a large pit (5722), of classical date but the structural sequence continued further south where 1073 was a north-south aligned wall running along the western section with two parallel walls 1074 and 1075 aligned eastward from it. A similar sequence of floors as those associated with walls 1077 and 1078 was found. A number of artifacts were imbedded between floors one of which was a deer horncore which, on field inspection only, appeared to have been cut by metal. Dating these structures to the neolithic sequence therefore awaits analysis of all the artifact assemblage. At the southern corner of the trench and south of wall 1074, there was an area of disturbance, which removed the relationship of two further parallel walls 1076 and 1072. These were east west aligned and, if contemporary to 1074 and 1075, formed a set of four parallel walls. No associated deposits or floors were found so close to the top of the mound.
The southern stretch of the foundation trench stepped from 1013.8m AD to the east down to 1006.9m AD to the west. Steep ledges were stepped down to meet required formation levels. The highest stretch to the east was c.5m in length and was the location of walls 1072 and 1076 as reported above. These walls lay at a similar horizon to Building 10 in the Summit Area, correlated to Level 5, but as walls were in alignment with the sequence of 1073/1074 and 1075, their dating depends on results of the artefactual analysis. This upper ledge stepped down to 1009.3m AD over a c. 5.5m distance where a stretch of 6m was cleared of erosion accumulated since the 1960's over Level VIA walls. Very little needed to be excavated to in this area to reach formation horizon.
A central ledge of roughly 6m ranged in height between 1010.21m AD to 1009.57m AD and had to be excavated to 1009.3m AD. The trench cut though a building of Level IV or V, Space 202 that was defined by a double wall to the east, walls 1071 and 826, which had a return along the southern section wall 827 (Fig.23). An oven 828 cut into this wall and showed several phases of use. Evidence of a shallow platform 845 was just visible in section in the northeast corner and a series of superimposed floors were excavated across the whole area.
Figure 23: Space 202
Placed within cuts through the floors and located just to the northeast of the oven, were two ceramic vessels, the earlier (5430) was rimless and buried once out of use whilst the latter (5417), was complete (Fig. 24). A small pit/scoop (5725) was also found close to the oven containing 14 ground stone fragments.
Figure 24: Vessel 5417
This area was stepped westwards down to 1006.9m AD over roughly a 5.5m distance to meet the required formation level. This part of the foundation trench of c.11m cut through House 3, Level VIA that had been excavated down to the floor horizon in 1963 (Fig 25).
Figure 25: Section through House 3 and Space 205
Excavation of the floor sequence defined an underlying Space 205, defined by walls 831 to the north and west, this was only partially excavated of its infill to reach formation level.
To the west and contemporary to it, was Space 211. This too had been excavated to the floor level possibly as House 4 Level VII on the 1963 plan. Defined by bonded walls to the east, north and west, an adult burial 1111, was located in the western most corner. The remaining area along with the western foundation trench cut through the 1960's spoil heap under which archaeology was defined at formation level in the form of wall alignments excavated in 1963 and correlated to Houses 4, 5, 6 and 12, Level VII.
The northern stretch of the foundation trench was highest to the east at an average height of 1014.9m AD over a distance of c. 5m. The strata consisted of midden and burnt wall stubs as described along the eastern trench. From this upper ledge excavation was stepped to 1010.7m AD over a distance of c. 6m. The lower ledge was an average height of 1011.52m AD, 7m in length, and had to be reduced to the required height of 1010.7m AD. This was at the top of a complex sequence of midden and walls which was then stepped from 1010.7m AD to 1006.9m AD over a further distance of. 7m (Fig. 26).
Figure26: Excavation of the north step trench through walls and midden deposits
A total of 10 walls sections were excavated ranging through Levels VIA, VIB and VII. Only at Level VII, correlated to House 34, were the associated deposits of an internal nature, all others were middens. On the basis of the little that was excavated the sequence can be interpreted as 'midden management'; enclosing or revetting walls, as oppose to domestic buildings. Also, seen in section only, were cuts relating to the construction of these walls, possibly further indication of 'management' of midden areas. Burials were also excavated, three upper burials associated with a building and it's infill and three lower in the sequence associated with Level VII.
At the eastern end the step trench reached formation level at an infill horizon within House 34 Level VII excavated in 1963. This building was one of a row in this 11m stretch of foundation trench, which cut through Houses 34, 18, 20 and 17, Level VII with remnant Level VI walls at the western end. These had generally been excavated to floor horizons, although not consistently. Some features had also been partially removed and all had suffered through weathering. The average height of this area was 1007.9m AD excavated down to formation horizon at 1006.9m AD, much of the archaeology excavated therefore, was Level VII walls, and infill within the underlying Level VIII structures.
House 34, renumbered Space 212 was defined by walls 1107 to the east, 1085 to the south and 1084 to the west with a party wall 1086. To its west, House 18, re-numbered Space 208, was defined by walls 834 to the east and 836 to the west. Traces of floor were present only as weathered plaster laminates through which two adult burials, skeletons (5658) and (5774), were cut, as well as the largest obsidian horde (5665), found to date. This was in a small shallow scoop containing 77 pieces of obsidian 'rough-outs' (Fig 27). The placement of the pieces indicate they had been in a container and the small flakes present were from crushing as oppose to in-situ knapping residue. The underlying Level VIII walls were in the same alignment as Level VII.
Figure: 27 Obsidian horde (5665
House 20, renumbered Space 209, defined by walls 838 and 841 to east and west, again had little survival of floor deposits but remnants of features were found at either end. To the west were very disturbed remains of basins whilst to the east a bench-type feature was modelled over the protruding wall of the earlier building. Level VIII, defined below Level VII was on a slightly different alignment in that a c.0.4m gap lay between it and its neighboring building, Space 209 in Level VII therefore gained extra space.
House 17, Space 206, defined by walls 1056 and 821 to the east and west, only required wall reduction to reach formation horizon. The last structure, Space 213 located at the very corner of the northern foundation trench, continued south along the western trench. Defined by walls 1057 to the east and 1061 to the north, only the wall alignment was defined at Level VII. Remnant Level VI structures over Space 213 formed the corner junction of four rooms. Spaces 203 and 204 were part of one building divided by a party wall 820, with wall 819 to the north and 817 to the east.
Both spaces had badly surviving plastered floors and wall faces and four infant burials, (5745), (5747), (5750), and (5726), cut through Space 203.
To the north a further building was represented by wall 818.
The excavations began on 20th June and finished on the 4th September, one day before concrete was poured. Steel reinforcements for the foundation were constructed as stretches were completed, and in tandem with the excavations. Much of the post-excavation analysis is still to be completed and this report is a statement on the range of archaeology excavated not a complete archive report. A full report will be presented within a publication of the complete shelter project.
Acknowledgements
Despite the long term planning of the project, finances to complete the project this year were not confirmed until June 2002. By this date the team that had been in place to conduct the foundation excavations had been disbanded. The project was therefore conducted by the help of many members from other areas and teams, who very kindly stayed beyond their project timetables to help with the South Shelter Project foundation excavations. I thank all of them for their hard work and dedication. My special thanks however, go to Serdar Cengiz and Meral Atasagun who worked tirelessly from beginning to end and beyond their call to duty, and also to Duncan Lees for stepping in at times of need and for his support throughout.
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© Çatalhöyük Research Project and individual authors, 2002