Alaca Höyük
Encyclopedia
Alacahöyük or Alaca Höyük (sometimes also spelt as Alacahüyük, Euyuk, or Evuk) is the site of a Neolithic and Hittite
settlement and is an important archaeological site
. It is northeast of Boğazkale
(formerly and more familiarly Boğazköy), where the ancient capital city Hattusa
of the Hittite Empire was situated. Its Hittite name is unknown: connections with Arinna
, Tawiniya, and Zippalanda have all been suggested.
The mound (Turkish
höyük) at Alacahöyük was the center of a flourishing Hattian
culture during the Early Bronze Age
. The mound was a scene of settlement in a continuous sequence of development from the Chalcolithic Age, when earliest copper tools appeared alongside the use of stone tools. It has been continuously occupied ever since, until today's modern settlement in the form of a small village. The standing and distinguishing remains at Alacahöyük, however, such as the "Sphinx Gate", date from the Hittite
period that followed the Hatti, from the fourteenth century BC.
Thirteen shaft-grave "Royal Tombs" (EBII, ca. 2350-2150 BC) in Alacahöyük contained the dead in fetal position
facing south. They were richly adorned with gold fibulae, diadems, and belt buckles and repoussé gold-leaf figures. Many of the artefacts discovered at Alacahöyük, including magnificent Hattian gold and bronze objects found in the Royal Tombs, are housed today in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations
in Ankara
. Among these artifacts are gold and electrum
standing cups and other vessels. bulls
or stags
on pedestals as culturally unexplained "standards" are among the most common images. The standards are cast in copper, in the form of flat circles, half-circles or squares that are in-filled with an open network of cross bars, central crosses, swastikas. Leonard Woolley
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 of Kültepe
". Modern assessment finds that the site continued as a flourishing community to the end of the Late bronze Age. There was also a sizable occupation in Phrygia
n times.
, dating from 1240 BC, was announced to be reopened for use on September 23, 2006. The dam was ordered by King Tudhaliya IV
in the name of the goddess Hebat
. According to ancient Hittite tablets, a drought struck Anatolia in 1200 BC, prompting the King to import wheat from Egypt so that his land would avoid famine. Following this, the king ordered numerous dams to be built in central Anatolia, all but one of them becoming dysfunctional over time. The one in Alacahöyük has survived because the water source is located inside the dam's reservoir.
Attention to the site was attracted as of the late 19th century and in 1907, the Ottoman archaeologist
Theodor Makridi Bey held brief explorations here for two weeks.
In the 1910s, German
teams discovered royal tombs dating to the third millennium BC, as well as a Hittite
town of the second millennium BC. The impressive sphinx
gate surrounded by stone reliefs marked its entrance.
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 resumed in 1935, under Atatürk's personal instructions who contributed from his own budget, by the Turkish
archaeologists Remzi Oğuz Arık and Hamit Koşay
.
The digs, which continued until 1970, have 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 3d millennium B.C. feature metal vessels, jewelry, weapons, and pole finials of bulls, stags, and abstract forms often interpreted as solar symbols. Work at the site resumed in 1994 and is now directed by Dr. Aykut Çınaroğlu.
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
settlement and is an important archaeological site
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
. It is northeast of Boğazkale
Bogazkale
Boğazkale is a district of Çorum Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is located at 87 km from the city of Çorum. Population of the town is about 1,500. The mayor is Ali Rıza Soysat ....
(formerly and more familiarly Boğazköy), where the ancient capital city Hattusa
Hattusa
Hattusa was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. It was located near modern Boğazkale, Turkey, within the great loop of the Kızıl River ....
of the Hittite Empire was situated. Its Hittite name is unknown: connections with Arinna
Arinna
Arinna was the major cult center of the Hittite sun goddess, known as dUTU URUArinna "sun goddess of Arinna". Arinna was located near Hattusa, the Hittite capital.The name was also used as a substitute word for Arinniti...
, Tawiniya, and Zippalanda have all been suggested.
History
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
höyük) at Alacahöyük was the center of a flourishing Hattian
Hattians
The Hattians were an ancient people who inhabited the land of Hatti in present-day central part of Anatolia, Turkey, noted at least as early as the empire of Sargon of Akkad , until they were gradually displaced and absorbed ca...
culture during the Early Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
. The mound was a scene of settlement in a continuous sequence of development from the Chalcolithic Age, when earliest copper tools appeared alongside the use of stone tools. It has been continuously occupied ever since, until today's modern settlement in the form of a small village. The standing and distinguishing remains at Alacahöyük, however, such as the "Sphinx Gate", date from the Hittite
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
period that followed the Hatti, from the fourteenth century BC.
Fetal position
Fetal position is a medical term used to describe the positioning of the body of a prenatal fetus as it develops...
facing south. They were richly adorned with gold fibulae, diadems, and belt buckles and repoussé gold-leaf figures. Many of the artefacts discovered at Alacahöyük, including magnificent Hattian gold and bronze objects found in the Royal Tombs, are housed today in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations
The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations is located on the south side of Ankara Castle in the Atpazarı area in Ankara, Turkey. It consists of the old Ottoman Mahmut Paşa bazaar storage building, and the Kurşunlu Han...
in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
. Among these artifacts are gold and electrum
Electrum
Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, with trace amounts of copper and other metals. It has also been produced artificially. The ancient Greeks called it 'gold' or 'white gold', as opposed to 'refined gold'. Its color ranges from pale to bright yellow, depending on the...
standing cups and other vessels. bulls
Bull (mythology)
The worship of the Sacred Bull throughout the ancient world is most familiar to the Western world in the biblical episode of the idol of the Golden Calf. The Golden Calf after being made by the Hebrew people in the wilderness of Sinai, were rejected and destroyed by Moses and his tribe after his...
or stags
Deer (mythology)
Deer have significant roles in the mythology of various peoples.-Celtic:The Insular Celts held deer as supernatural animals, "fairy cattle" that were herded and milked by a localised and benevolent fairy giantess in each district, who could shift shape to that of a red deer; in the West...
on pedestals as culturally unexplained "standards" are among the most common images. The standards are cast in copper, in the form of flat circles, half-circles or squares that are in-filled with an open network of cross bars, central crosses, swastikas. Leonard Woolley
Leonard Woolley
Sir Charles Leonard Woolley was a British archaeologist best known for his excavations at Ur in Mesopotamia...
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 of Kültepe
Kültepe
Kültepe is a modern village near the ancient city of Kaneš or Kanesh , located in the Kayseri Province of Turkey's Central Anatolia Region...
". Modern assessment finds that the site continued as a flourishing community to the end of the Late bronze Age. There was also a sizable occupation in Phrygia
Phrygia
In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
n times.
Dams
A damDam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
, dating from 1240 BC, was announced to be reopened for use on September 23, 2006. The dam was ordered by King Tudhaliya IV
Tudhaliya IV
Tudhaliya IV was a king of the Hittite Empire , and the younger son of Hattusili III. He reigned ca. 1237 BCE–1209 BCE. His mother was called Puduhepa...
in the name of the goddess Hebat
Hebat
Hebat, also transcribed Kheba or Khepat, was the mother goddess of the Hurrians, known as "the mother of all living".- Family :Hebat is the consort of Teshub and the mother of Sarruma. Originally, as Kheba or "Kubau" it is thought she may have had a Southern Mesopotamian origin, being the divinised...
. According to ancient Hittite tablets, a drought struck Anatolia in 1200 BC, prompting the King to import wheat from Egypt so that his land would avoid famine. Following this, the king ordered numerous dams to be built in central Anatolia, all but one of them becoming dysfunctional over time. The one in Alacahöyük has survived because the water source is located inside the dam's reservoir.
Archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
Theodor Makridi Bey held brief explorations here for two weeks.
In the 1910s, German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
teams discovered royal tombs dating to the third millennium BC, as well as a Hittite
Hittites
The Hittites were a Bronze Age people of Anatolia.They established a kingdom centered at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia c. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height c...
town of the second millennium BC. The impressive sphinx
Sphinx
A sphinx is a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head or a cat head.The sphinx, in Greek tradition, has the haunches of a lion, the wings of a great bird, and the face of a woman. She is mythicised as treacherous and merciless...
gate surrounded by stone reliefs marked its entrance.
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 resumed in 1935, under Atatürk's personal instructions who contributed from his own budget, by the Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
archaeologists Remzi Oğuz Arık and Hamit Koşay
Hamit Zübeyir Kosay
Koşay, Hamit Zübeyir - archaeologist, ethnographer, writer and folklore researcher.-Biography:...
.
The digs, which continued until 1970, have 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 3d millennium B.C. feature metal vessels, jewelry, weapons, and pole finials of bulls, stags, and abstract forms often interpreted as solar symbols. Work at the site resumed in 1994 and is now directed by Dr. Aykut Çınaroğlu.