8,000-year-old secret comes to light in Kültepe

The excavations carried out at Kültepe Kaniş/Karum Mound, one of the most important archaeological sites in Anatolia and located in Kayseri, reveal the historical depth of the region. The excavations, which were initiated by Prof. Dr. Tahsin Özgüç in 1948, are currently being carried out under the direction of Prof. Dr. Fikri Kulakoğlu from Ankara University Faculty of Language, History and Geography.

In the work carried out so far, 23,500 written tablets, the vast majority of which belonged to Assyrian merchants, have been unearthed. Excavations continue intensively both in the trade area called Karum and on the top of the mound.

Excavation of the entire Kultepe may take thousands of years

Prof. Dr. Kulakoğlu emphasized that only 5 percent of the existing site area has been excavated in the excavations that have entered their 78th year, and said, “It may take thousands of years to excavate the entirety of Kültepe. However, the findings obtained show that the history of the region can date back to 8 thousand years ago.”

This year’s excavations are examining in detail the arrival of Assyrian merchants in Anatolia, how they established their trade system and their relations with the local people. Kulakoğlu stated that modern archaeology is not only focused on artifacts, and that even soil and dust residues can provide information about the vegetation and animal species of the period. It was also stated that diseases from that period can be detected by analyzing the bones found in graves.

Within the scope of the excavations, adobe houses are also being examined in a holistic manner. The production sites, construction methods and historical contexts of the archaeological objects found in these houses are revealed through various analyses. If written archives are found, these findings will be compared with written documents and an attempt will be made to verify them.

Legacy for the future

A significant portion of the tablets found in the Karum area consist of letters and documents belonging to the homeowners. Some tablets even contain court decisions regarding inheritance cases. It is also being investigated whether the inventory information in these documents matches the findings from the excavations.

Prof. Dr. Kulakoğlu stated that Kültepe was a large settlement before the Assyrian traders arrived, and that there were ruins dating back to the Chalcolithic period, approximately 6,500 years ago. It is thought that this date could go back 7,000 to 8,000 years as the excavations deepen.

The excavations carried out within the scope of the “Heritage to the Future” project of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism shed light not only on the history of Anatolia but also the Near East. Emphasizing that information not available in Mesopotamia and Syria could be obtained thanks to Kültepe, Kulakoğlu stated that the continuation of the excavations was of great scientific importance.