Lower Göksu archaeological salvage survey, the fifth season

This article presents results from the fifth and final season of the Lower Göksu Archaeological Salvage Survey Project (LGASSP), which was started in 2013 to document the major archaeological sites and monuments in the valley before the construction of the Kayraktepe Dam (Mersin Province, Southern Turkey). This season marked the end of the project in its current form, and the transition to a new project that examines the landscapes of the entire Göksu River Basin in the context of the wider Taşeli Peninsula and the Karaman Plain. Therefore, the season of two weeks did not only focus solely on the Lower Göksu Valley but our team also conducted initial investigations along the Mediterranean coast from Anamur to Silifke and in parts of the Karaman Plain surrounding Karadağ. This article presents a summary of the results of this transitional field season together with a brief presentation of our digital photogrammetry subproject, and a discussion about the regional land routes and settlement patterns. The fifth season of the LGASSP, which is a collaborative project of Bitlis Eren University and the University of Leicester, was once more funded by the British Academy through a Newton Advanced Fellowship

The 2017-2018 Seasons at Çadır Höyük on the North Central Plateau

The Çadır Höyük mound is located in Yozgat Province, approximately 16 km from the city of Sorgun. Work commenced at the site in 1993 with an intensive surface survey, followed by excavation beginning in 1994. The deep sounding (excavated from 1994-2001) demonstrated that occupation stretches back to at least 5200 cal. BC; excavations on the mound summit indicate that occupation continued until a final abandonment perhaps in the 13th century CE. No gap in occupation of the mound over some six thousand years has been detected. The findings presented here derived from our work in three main periods represented at the site: the Late Chalcolithic exposure (ca. 3800-3500 BCE) located on the lower southern slope, the second and first millennium BCE, excavated in several areas of the site (the western slope work is presented here), and the Byzantine occupation, ca. 6th-13th centuries BCE on the mound summit, including mention of possible Roman architecture discovered in the 2018 season. The 2017 season provided some major discoveries, including three important child burials in the Late Chalcolithic area, a new gate and entryway into the Byzantine summit area, and a possible chapel. The 2018 season was devoted to further exploring these and other discoveries made in previous seasons in an attempt to solve major questions in preparation for a planned study season in 2019. By the close of the 2018 season we had achieved many of our goals; our work and interpretations are presented herein