Beycesultan
Encyclopedia
Beycesultan (ˈbejdʒe sulˈtan) is an archaeological site in western Anatolia
, located about 5 km southwest of the modern-day city of Çivril
in the Denizli Province
of Turkey
. It lies in a bend of an old tributary of Büyük Menderes River (Maeander River
),
Beycesultan was occupied beginning in the Late Chalcolithic period. The
settlement increased in size and prominence through the 3rd millennium,
with notable religious and civil buildings.
Development peaked early in the 2nd millennium with the construction
of a massive palace and associated structures. The palace was abandoned
and then destroyed circa 1700 BC. To this point, the orientation
of Beycesultan was strongly influenced from the west, mainly the Aegean
and Crete
.
After a few centuries of semi-abandonment, Beycesultan began to
rise again, this time more influenced by the Hittite
regions of
Anatolia. Though smaller than the earlier city, the site was
of impressive size. This second flowering of Beycesultan was
completely destroyed circa 1200 BC as were many locations in
Anatolia at that time.
The site was also in the occupied, to a lesser scale, in
the Byzantine
, Seljuk
and Ottoman
period.
In early 1950s James Mellaart discovered specimens of "champagne-glass" style pottery in a Late Bronze Age context near the site. A search identified the höyük of Beycesultan upstream of the Menderes river.
Seton Lloyd
, along with James Mellaart, excavated Beycesultan on behalf of the British Institute of Archaeology in Ankara for 6 seasons from 1954 to 1959 with each dig lasting around 2 months.
A renewed survey of the site and its region was conducted from 2002 to 2007 by Eşref Abay of the Ege University
and new excavations at the site conducted under his direction beginning in 2007. Work continues to the
present in conjunction with Adnan Menderes University
.
While no epigraphic material has been found as yet, a few seals have been recovered.
The early excavators reported "a row of small houses that had been destroyed by fire", with the champagne-glass pottery. There was also a palace "whose plan suggested ... Knossos
", which was cleared out before its destruction:
Outside the palace,
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, located about 5 km southwest of the modern-day city of Çivril
Çivril
Çivril is a town and district of Denizli Province in the inner Aegean region of Turkey. Çivril district area neighbors those of two districts of Uşak Province to its north, namely Sivaslı and Karahallı, and four districts of Afyonkarahisar Province from the north-east to the south which are,...
in the Denizli Province
Denizli Province
Denizli Province is a province of Turkey in Western Anatolia, on high ground above the Aegean coast. Neighbouring provinces are Uşak to the north, Burdur, Isparta, Afyon to the east, Aydın, Manisa to the west and Muğla to the south. It is located between the coordinates 28° 30’ and 29° 30’ E and...
of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. It lies in a bend of an old tributary of Büyük Menderes River (Maeander River
Maeander River
The Büyük Menderes River ; , Ancient Greek: Μαίανδρος, Maíandros) is a river in southwestern Turkey. It rises in west central Turkey near Dinar before flowing west through the Büyük Menderes graben until reaching the Aegean Sea in the proximity of the ancient Ionian city Miletus...
),
History
settlement increased in size and prominence through the 3rd millennium,
with notable religious and civil buildings.
Development peaked early in the 2nd millennium with the construction
of a massive palace and associated structures. The palace was abandoned
and then destroyed circa 1700 BC. To this point, the orientation
of Beycesultan was strongly influenced from the west, mainly the Aegean
and Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
.
After a few centuries of semi-abandonment, Beycesultan began to
rise again, this time more influenced by 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...
regions of
Anatolia. Though smaller than the earlier city, the site was
of impressive size. This second flowering of Beycesultan was
completely destroyed circa 1200 BC as were many locations in
Anatolia at that time.
The site was also in the occupied, to a lesser scale, in
the Byzantine
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
, Seljuk
Great Seljuq Empire
The Great Seljuq Empire was a medieval Persianate, Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks. The Seljuq Empire controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf...
and Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
period.
Archaeology
The site of Beycesultan consists of two mounds, divided by the old trading road. The maximum height of 25 meters is at the western mound and the entire site is around a kilometer in diameter.In early 1950s James Mellaart discovered specimens of "champagne-glass" style pottery in a Late Bronze Age context near the site. A search identified the höyük of Beycesultan upstream of the Menderes river.
Seton Lloyd
Seton Lloyd
Seton Howard Frederick Lloyd, CBE , was an English archaeologist. He was President of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq, Director of the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara , Professor of Western Asiatic Archaeology in the Institute of Archaeology, University of London...
, along with James Mellaart, excavated Beycesultan on behalf of the British Institute of Archaeology in Ankara for 6 seasons from 1954 to 1959 with each dig lasting around 2 months.
A renewed survey of the site and its region was conducted from 2002 to 2007 by Eşref Abay of the Ege University
Ege University
Ege University is a public university in İzmir, Turkey. It was founded in 1955 with the Faculties of Medicine and Faculty of Agriculture...
and new excavations at the site conducted under his direction beginning in 2007. Work continues to the
present in conjunction with Adnan Menderes University
Adnan Menderes University
Adnan Menderes University was founded in Aydın, Turkey in 1992. The name of the university comes from the former Turkish Prime Minister Adnan Menderes.-External links:*...
.
While no epigraphic material has been found as yet, a few seals have been recovered.
The early excavators reported "a row of small houses that had been destroyed by fire", with the champagne-glass pottery. There was also a palace "whose plan suggested ... Knossos
Knossos
Knossos , also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square...
", which was cleared out before its destruction:
- At one entrance of the palace was a kind of bathroom, where visitors washed themselves before making their bows at court. One odd feature of the inner chambers: floors raised about a yard above the ground. Beneath the floors were small passages. They suggest air ducts of a heating system, but nothing of the sort is known to have existed until 1,000 years later.
Outside the palace,
- Most interesting was a row of little shops. One was a Bronze Age pub with sunken vats for the wine supply and a lavish supply of glasses for serving the customers. It also had knucklebonesKnucklebonesKnucklebones also known as astragaloi, hucklebones, dibs, dibstones, jackstones, chuckstones or five-stones, is a game of very ancient origin, played with five small objects, originally the "knucklebones" of a sheep, which are thrown up and caught in various ways...
, a gambling game that did the duty of a modern bar's chuck-a-luckChuck-a-luckChuck-a-luck, also known as birdcage, is a game of chance played with three dice. It is derived from grand hazard, and both can be considered a variant of sic bo, a popular casino game, although chuck-a-luck is more of a carnival game than a true casino game...
.