A Late Roman Amphora I workshop in Kazanlı, ancient Cilicia Pedias

This article presents the results of historical, archival, and field archaeological research in the Middle Tom River region (Kemerovo Region) in 2025. The work justifies the principles of predictive modeling for locating archaeological heritage sites, and presents information about the new sites. Research methods involved analyzing archival evidence, surveying the area by means of aerial photography from a drone, and making test pits for determining the stratigraphic context. It has been shown that uneven distribution of the known archaeological sites in the territory under study (over 45 sites dating from the Paleolithic to the Modern Period) resulted from the methodology of the previous surveys which focused on the areas near modern settlements. It has been established that the valley of the Tom River in the area under study varies from a narrow and terraced to wide of the floodplain type. The known archaeological heritage sites are associated with the following types of geomorphological structures: high floodplain levels, brinks, terrace remnants, and promontory-like cusps. No consistent correlation between the chronology of the sites and their geomorphology was detected. It has been established that the areas least suitable for habitation (low-lying, flooded, shaded, and remote from water) contained virtually no sites of archaeological heritage. A new site of Sosnovka V settlement was discovered during the survey works in the area of the former village of Sosnovka with the known concentration of archaeological heritage sites. This discovery confirms the necessity of employing continuous survey techniques even in the previously studied areas. There is a need of developing a GIS-based predictive model which would incorporate relative elevation data and terrain constraints. This model is expected to be particularly effective for narrow sections of the Tom River valley. Use of additional survey methods is proposed for broad floodplain zones and islands. The results of this study provide a methodological basis for preservation of the historical and cultural heritage sites in the Middle Tom River region.

Throughout the course of time, environments built within landscapes have been transformed into conserved archaeological heritage sites through natural, but mostly anthropogenic, forces. Today, cultural heritage is the product of visual and spatial features of architectural material and landscapes created through conservation, but also through social and economical needs and interests. In Western Anatolia, archaeological heritage sites with ecologically rich areas, countryside, coastlines and seascapes are the most essential visual, spatial and structural features of cultural (historical) landscapes. Moreover, western Anatolian landscapes have retained their authentic character regarding intangible cultural diversity, ecology, rural traditional systems and agricultural practices. However, rapid changes and developments due to urbanisation and mass tourism have made their impacts on cultural historical landscapes in recent years. In this paper, an attempt is made to explore the cultural heritage within the evolution of cultural archaeological landscapes in Western Anatolia and to propose a sustainable approach for development and conservation options for cultural heritage and their landscapes.

Materials of 2024 scientific and rescue research in the downtown Berdychiv, at 11/4 Zhytomyrska Street are published in the paper. These are the first available results of archaeological research of the part of the city of the 18th—19th centuries outside the complex of the Barefoot Carmelite Monastery. The paper provides a brief outline of the settlement’s history and a description of the history of archaeological research in the central part of the city. In 2024, on an area of 61 m2 in the valley of the Kanava stream, materials of the late 18th—19th centuries were discovered. Some items can be associated with the functioning of a nearby marketplace that served the town. The research area belongs to the territory of the Jewish shtetl, and the found objects, including a metal dreidel, illustrate the material culture of its inhabitants. The 2024 field season is the first archaeological research on the territory of the exact settlement part of Berdychiv. These explorations supply the information of the 2018 research on the stratigraphic situation in the city. The survival of organic materials (bone, wood, leather) in the lower, waterlogged layers of the city raises the question of the need for a special program for the preservation of such organic artifacts dating from the nineteenth and even the late eighteenth century. The discovery of individual objects which are the ethnic and religious markers of the inhabitants (a dreidel) and evidence of trade relations (trade seals) helps to supply the information about the life of the city’s inhabitants. Now the processing of the artifacts obtained as a result of the research in progress. We hope that the analysis of the discovered artifacts will provide a more complete picture of the material culture of Berdychiv residents at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This research indicates the prospects, scientific and social feasibility of archaeological research in the city. The analysis of the current Historical and Architectural Reference Plan indicates the lack of enough information about archaeological sites and objects on the territory of the modern city. We hope that this publication will be an impetus for the future clarification of the protection and registration documents for the city’s archaeological sites and will initiate further scientific and scientific-rescue research not only in Berdychiv and its environs but also in other cities and towns.

Ilıcatepe, located right on the edge of the Kuşadası-Davutlar modern highway, covers an area of 540x315 meters and consists of limestone bedrock with a height of about 50 meters, and is surrounded by a wall built with Cyclopic stonework, which is understood to have been cut from its own bedrock. This masonry, which is not very common to see in Western Anatolia, attracted the attention of researchers who came to the hill, and some researchers suggested that the wall may belong to the 2nd millennium BC. The strategic importance of this hill, which is located on the slope of Mykale, which is considered by many researchers as Arinnanda, and 4 km away from Kadıkalesi, cannot be ignored. Although the walls built with monumental stones in Western Anatolia are generally approached with suspicion, considering the findings in the researches made in Caria in recent years, similar masonry known to exist in mainland Greece, Crete, Aegean Islands and Central Anatolia can be found in Western Anatolia. It is very natural to come across. Although the walls built with monumental stones in the Archaic Period are known in Western Anatolia, the juxtaposition of the stones, the filling of the gaps between the stones, and the differences in the type and material of the masonry tools used help in the dating of the walls. Historical events in the immediate vicinity of Ilıcatepe increase the strategic importance of the hill. The expedition organised by the Hittite king Murshili II (1322-1298 BC) against the Arzawa Country in Western Anatolia is very important in terms of our knowledge of the geography of the region. In the third year of his reign after becoming the Hittite king, Murshili II marched on Arzawa on the pretext of the non-return of the Hattian refugees who fled from the Hittite lands to the Arzawa Kingdom. At that time, Uhhaziti was at the head of the Arzawa Kingdom. The route of Murshili II during the said campaign started from the land of Hatti and ended in the country of Arzawa and the Aegean coast. The Hittite army under the command of Murshili II followed certain routes and arrived at its final destination, Mount Arinnanda. Based on the king's account of this campaign, it is understood that some of the Arzawans fled to the Aegean islands before the Hittite army arrived. The records indicate that those who did not flee to the Aegean islands ascended Mount Arinnanda, took refuge in Puranda, which is understood to be a fortified centre, and prepared for war there. The passages in which Murshili II describes his struggle with those who fled to Mount Arinnanda are quite remarkable.

Anastelosis, which is defined as the reassembly of a structure by bringing together its existing original fragments, is a technique of conservation and presentation in archaeological sites. The aim of this study is to contribute to the conservation and presentation of the structures and to determine the basic principles to be considered during the implementation by analysing and evaluating the anastelosis implementation at temple structures in Western Anatolia, Turkey. The authors examined on-site evidence, archival and literature review. Analysis criteria were determined as emphasis of the structure within site scale and in original state, structural and visual integrity of the monument, authenticity, reliability, distinguishability, visual and material compatibility, reversibility and re-treatability. As a result, it was pointed out that the principles of reversibility/re-treatability and distinguishability should be managed while providing reliability, compatibility/structural and visual integrity in line with the preservation of authenticity.

In this study, the execution technique and material characteristics of the plaster layers of Byzantine wall paintings from three archaeological sites (Anaia, Olympos and Aigai) from western Anatolia were examined for the purpose of their conservation. Throughout the study, mineralogical and chemical composition of the plaster layers were determined with a scanning electron microscope coupled with an X-ray energy dispersive system (SEM-EDS) and X-ray diffraction analyses (XRD). Reflected light microscopy (RLM) and SEM studies conducted on polished cross-sections of samples revealed the stratigraphy and microstructural properties of the plaster layers of the Anaia Church (4th–12th centuries), Başpınar Church (13th century) in Olympos and a Byzantine settling and the Chapel (13th century) in Aigai. Throughout the research, pure lime and aggregates in the plasters of Aigai, as well as magnesium-rich lime and straw in the plasters of Anaia and Başpınar were determined. The plasters from the Anaia and Başpınar Churches exhibit characteristics similar to the samples from the post-iconoclastic period due to a similar raw-material use. In the samples from Aigai, plastering techniques such as marmorino, intonachino and cocciopesto, indicating earlier periods, were observed. As a result of this study, it was concluded that the number and characteristics of the plaster layers from the paintings had been applied intentionally in accordance with the technique of the painting. Plaster characteristics of the wall paintings in western Anatolia from the Byzantine period were found to be similar to the ones in İstanbul, the Balkans, Crete and Cyprus. The results of this study will guide the conservation efforts of the wall paintings.

The ancient Miletus which were one of the most important city of ancient Iona, are today of great value from cultural standpoint of Turkey. Miletus, situated near the village of Balat in the present district of Soke was founded on a peninsula, approximately 2.5 km long. In the Byzantine period, the city boundaries were quite reduced. In 1424 Miletus was taken inside of the Ottoman Empire and was completely abandoned in the 17th century. Ancient Miletus excavation studies were first begun in 1899 by in Berlin Museum and interrupted during the World War I. At present, the extensive restoration works in Ilyas Bey Complex has applied as a project since 2006. Ilyas Bey Complex that includes Mosque, Medresah and baths situated on the archaeological area in ancient Miletus. Impressive Mosque built in 1404 by Ilyas Bey, Emir of Menteseogullari founded in 1279 and the complex was named after him, is one of the most remarkable buildings of mid-age Miletus. There are two main purposes of the study are (1) to determine archaeological remains of the study area underneath Ilyas Bey Complex and (2) to define the nature of main rock unit and their sources in the vicinity or Aegean region. After preliminary archaeometrical studies, acquired GPR profile data paralleled each other in Ilyas Bey Mosque and its around, Medresah Courtyard and inner Courtyard of the Mosque. After processing 2D parallel GPR profiles, we constructed 3D data volume by lining processed 2D profiles up to correlate remain signatures from each profile for each studied area. It was obtained transparent 3D visualisation of GPR data by assigning a new colour scale for the amplitude range and by constructing a new opacity function instead of the linear opacity function. Therefore we could successfully image the archaeological remains in an interactive transparent 3D volume and its sub-volumes, starting at different depth levels or limited profiles. The archaeometrical (geological and mineralogical, petrographical) studies reveal that the main bulding rock units of Ilyas Bey Mosque are mainly composed of 4 main units these are marble, metalimestone, mica gneiss and granodiorite. The marble, metalimestone with the mica gneiss were obtained from Menderes Massif in Western Anatolia. The granodiorite columns might be obtained from Kozak Pluton in the north of Bergama-Izmir line of western Anatolia.

Nysa, one of the most important cities of Caria in Hellenistic and Roman period, is located on the highway connecting Aydin (ancient name Tralleis) and Denizli, at about three kilometres northwest of Sultanhisar in western Anatolia of Turkey. The archaeological remains of Nysa are located on the slopes on the side of the stream called Tekkecik. The buildings, streets and public squares of the ancient city were supported by vaulted substructures adapted to the topographic conditions. As to the foundation of the city, Strabo relates that three brothers named Athymbros, Athymbrados, and Hydrelos came from Lakedaimon to Caria, and founded there three cities named after themselves. The small rock samples from the building of theatre, stadium, basement of agora and tomb were collected and determined under polarized microscope and confocal Raman spectroscopy to find out the native of these rock sources. The results of these studies reveal that the main rocks of these structures are composed from white colour marble. These marbles have granoblastic texture and are composed of mainly pressure twinned calcite as coarse grain size. The confocal Raman specroscopical studies of reveal that the marble building stone of Nysa city are mainly obtained from Jurassic Cretaceous of Western Anatolia marble.

The main objective of this paper was to holistically describe the occurrence of most important crop taxa found in different archaeological Iron Age sites in two selected biogeographical regions of Central Europe; in the Alpine and the Dinaric mountains. This study also links the known results of research about the ecological-biogeographical conditions in the Central Europe during the Iron Age time with the papers that include archaeobotanical data of the selected European landscapes as well. It is evident that many factors played crucial roles in the domestication process of many different plant taxa. This study showed that both the Alpine and the Dinaric region of Europe show similar ecological conditions for successfully growing important legumes and cereal taxa. The percentage of found cereal taxa is higher in the Dinaric region as it is in the Alps. In most archaeological sites in the Dinaric mountains, there were no evidence of the productionof pulses at all. However, if comparing the whole repertoire of cultivated plant taxa in the Iron Age epoch in both studied regions, one can conclude that there is not much difference in the number of cultivated planted taxa in the Iron Age epoch.

The aim of this study is to compare a group of Mycenaean pottery found on Selçuk Ayasuluk Hill with different centers and to evaluate their similarity and the usage process in the settlement in general terms. First of all, Mycenaean pottery used in the study will be introduced by giving their characteristics one by one, and the settlements and periods with similar ones in the Aegean World will be explained. The Mycenaean pottery recovered from Ayasuluk Hill will be evaluated in terms of method in comparison with the Mycenaean pottery found in settlements in Continental Greece, Aegean Islands, Western Anatolia and East Mediterranean. The Mycenaean pottery on the Ayasuluk Hill, which is the subject of the study, are evaluated within the LH IIIA-IIIC periods. This situation reveals the importance of Mycenaean pottery in being preferred in the settlement and shows that the connections between the Aegean World and Ayasuluk Hill have spread over a long period of time. This chronological continuity in Mycenaean pottery in the settlement is similar to many centers where Mycenaean pottery was found in Western Anatolia. When we continue with the Mycenaean pottery samples of Ayasuluk Hill, which is the subject of the study, it is seen that there are similarities with the pottery found in many centers in Greece and the Aegean Islands. In Western Anatolia, it is possible to compare some examples from centers such as Troy, Miletos and Iasos with the Mycenaean pottery on Ayasuluk Hill.

Cryptic diversity within the Anatololacerta species complex (Squamata: Lacertidae) in the Anatolian Peninsula: Evidence from a multi-locus approach

New wood charcoal data from two archaeological sites in western Anatolia (Kumtepe and Troy/Çanakkale province) enabled a review of earlier reconstruction of the mid-Holocene vegetation and land use patterns in the region. Multi-proxy data from archaeology, zooarchaeology and climatology are combined to evaluate the relationship of climate-induced and man-made environmental change for a period spanning the Late Neolithic to the Early Bronze Age (ca. 5000–2450 cal b.c.). During the first settlement period (Kumtepe A: ca. 5000–4600 cal b.c.) lush vegetation with high proportions of deciduous oak and pine prevailed, enabling the intense use of natural resources by the late Neolithic population, which use might be reflected in the first few representatives of maquis vegetation. A settlement hiatus at the site between roughly 4600 and 3500 cal b.c. includes a cooling event in the Aegean and may have supported persistence and/or development of open vegetation units. However, the hiatus may have ended with a period of regeneration of the vegetation. From Kumtepe B2 (ca. 3300 cal b.c.) onward, human impact becomes clearly visible, although the main woodland taxa continue to prevail. In all, environmental and economic dynamics between 5000 and 2300 cal b.c. in the Troad can be characterised as at least two alternating developmental sequences of climate-induced vegetation change and reinforcement of woodland degradation by human activity.

The discovery of people's mines and the use of them has been a major breakthrough in the development of civilization. In Anatolia, which has rich ore deposits, it is seen that people recognized the mines from the Neolithic Age. When the Early Bronze Age came, mining activities became very widespread. In western Anatolia, centers such as Troia, Limantepe and Beycesultan have become masters of metal production. In this article, in the Early Bronze Age, the mining of the western Anatolian region is evaluated. In this context, mineral deposits of the Western Anatolian region, mineral products and their usage areas, archaeological sites that found metal were investigated. In addition, the use of metals such as copper, tin, bronze, lead, gold, silver and iron in the region has been discussed.

Foça has an important place in terms of tourism with its bays, archaeological remains and unspoilt natural structure. Our first investigations in the Ottoman Cemetery, which is a part of the historical texture protected by archaeological sites, medieval castle and historical houses in the district centre, started in 2011. Foça (Phokaia), whose excavations revealed that the first foundation of the city dates back to 3000 BC, was one of the important port cities where Ionian culture developed in ancient times. Turkish rule in Foça, which witnessed the historical changes experienced by Western Anatolia, started in the XIth century with Çaka Bey for a short time. Foça, which was later taken over by Eastern Rome, became an important commercial colony after the agreements made with the Genoese. During the reign of Fatih in 1456, Foça and its surroundings were definitively annexed to the Ottoman lands. As a result of our excavation and inventory studies, it is understood that the cemetery, where intensive burials were made from the first half of the XVI. century, was used until the XX. century. When the excavations continue, it can be estimated that the date of the gravestones can be dated back to the middle of the XVth century when Foça came under Ottoman control. It was determined that the cemetery was actually spread over a wider area, and that it reached its present state after the urbanisation activities. During the studies, the entire area was plankotised and the numbered stones were placed in the general cemetery plan. On the part of the 2nd plot facing the alleyway, there are remains of a vaulted building probably from the Roman period. In the area opposite to this, the remains of the building, which survived at the foundation level during the recent excavations, must belong to the Turkish period. For more detailed information, please refer to the Extended Abstract at the end of the text

Information Management for the Conservation of Archaeological Sites - Suggestions for a Site in Western Anatolia