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| Titel |
Reconstructing the Palaeogeographies of a Neolithic - Bronze Age Settlement Mound at Ephesos, Turkey |
| VerfasserIn |
Lisa Ehlers, Friederike Stock, Barbara Horejs, Helmut Brückner |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2014
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 16 (2014) |
| Datensatznummer |
250086770
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 EGU/EGU2014-692.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Although Ephesos and its surroundings has long been an area of archaeological interest and
investigations, the focus has mainly been on sites related to Antiquity and Late Antiquity.
Until recently systematic research concerning prehistoric phases of occupation within this
region have been lacking. Due to the growing interest in these time periods along the West
Anatolian coast, archaeological research projects involving the study of the newly discovered
prehistoric settlement mounds located in the vicinity of the prominent ancient city were
initiated.
The aim of this study was to examine the palaeogeographical and geoarchaeological
contexts of the mound (tell), Çukuriçi Höyük, in order to determine the thickness and age of
the settlement layers as well as the spatial extent of the tell throughout the different periods of
settlement. As additional research to the excavations, 20 sediment cores drilled on and around
Çukuriçi Höyük were examined and their physical and geochemical properties as well as
existing data were used to reconstruct the palaeoenvironment. The chronostratigraphy relies
on AMS-14C ages and findings of diagnostic ceramics; a further attempt was made by
luminescence dating.
The results reveal that the inhabitants intentionally choose the location due to the
beneficial topography, initially, i.e. during Pottery Neolithic times in the early 7th mill. BC,
lying upon an elevation within a fertile alluvial plain about 1.5-2km away from the coast. It
seems that during the time of settling (Pottery Neolithic – Early Bronze Age) several rivers
flowed in the direct vicinity of the tell. The elevated terrain provided the inhabitants security
from the torrents. In addition, the corings reveal that the tell covers an area of about
11,000m2 and a thickness of settlement layers of c. 8m. Finally, as a possible
result of water management conducted by the inhabitants, sediments related to
low-energy depositional conditions are identified at the foot of the tell. With the start of
sedentary lifestyles and the beginning of animal domestication, the availability
of freshwater became a critical factor. An artificial source – e.g. in the form of a
reservoir or cistern – might have provided year-round water availability for the
livestock which was especially crucial during the dry and hot summers, typical for this
region.
The luminescence dating of the cultural layers resulted in an OSL-age of 6,620±750a,
which underlines the early occupation. The measurement of the quartz minerals of the
100-200μm grain size fraction from the underlying alluvial and colluvial layers indicate
malign luminescence properties; an explanation might be the poor mineralogical
characteristics of the quartz from this region. A further attempt to measure the final
deposition of these layers was conducted with the 4-11μm grain size fraction resulting in an
OSL-age of 44,650±4,460a. |
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