Titris Hoyuk

Archaeological site in Turkey From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Titris Hoyuk (also Titriş Höyük) is an ancient Near East archaeological site in Turkey. It lies 45 kilometers north of Şanlıurfa, near the Euphrates River valley. It is a two-period site from the 3rd millennium BC. Unlike most archaeological sites in the region, the primary focus has been on excavating non-elite, mostly domestic, areas rather than elite spaces.[1] It has been suggested that the city name was Dulu in the 3rd millennium BC.[2]

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Titris Hoyuk
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Shown within Turkey
Alternative nameTitriş Höyük
LocationTurkey
Coordinates37°28′34″N 38°40′38″E
Typesettlement
History
Foundedc.2700 BC
AbandonedEnd of 3rd millennium BC
PeriodsBronze Age
CulturesEarly Dynastic, Roman, Islamic, Medieval
Site notes
Excavation dates1991–1996, 1998–1999
ArchaeologistsGuillermo Algaze
ConditionRuined
OwnershipPublic
Public accessYes
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History

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Perspective
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Early Bronze Age "Trinket Mould" from Titriş Höyük

The main mound, 3.3 hectares in area and rising 30 meters above the plane, was occupied from the Chalcolithic through the Islamic periods (including the Hellenistic, Roman, and Medieval periods) and has not yet been excavated.

Early Bronze

The site was active in two periods.

Early Bronze III

In the first, between 2700 and 2400 BC, it reached a size of 43 hectares developing in an unplanned manner from the center.[3] This was a time when other northern Mesopotamian sites also experienced significant growth including Tell Brak and Tell Mardikh. There were production areas for Canaanean blades on the outskirts.[4]

Early Bronze IV

After a period of abandonment the second occupation period began around 2300 BC, reaching 35 hectares. This phase of development was centrally planned with regular streets and terraces.[5][6] It also gained a 3-meter wide mud brick (with stone foundations) fortification wall complete with a moat. This phase ended by the close of the 3rd millennium BC.[1] A group burial at the end of this phase has been interpreted as the result of a massacre or possibly the result of a battle.[7] In the following several centuries pit graves were cut into the abandoned buildings.[8]

A manna (duck) weight inscribed with the name of an official of the Akkadian ruler Shu-durul was recovered from a looted context.[5]

Archaeology

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Urfa museum Idols from Titriş Höyük – Bronze age 4855

Work was restricted to non-elite areas, in the Lower Town (which extends east and west of the main mound) and in the Outer Town (north of the main mound) with one sounding on the main mound. A small modern village lies adjacent to the east. Over 16 hectares of the site were subjected to a magnetometry survey. Eight seasons of excavation (with one study season) were conducted and directed by Guillermo Algaze.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]

An Early Bronze Age lead mold used to produce lead ornaments was found at Titris Höyük. It was used to produce objects including a "pendant carving ‘in the shape of a reed hut framed with two poles, each of which are capped with a single bullhead".[16]

A notable find was a burial from the late Early Bronze age where

"a reused plastered basin found inside a room at the corner of two streets in the Outer Town. This contained 17 human crania arranged in a circle facing outwards and surrounding a pile of long bones and other body parts"[17]

See also

References

Further reading

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