ÇAYÖNÜ: ÇANAK ÇÖMLEKSİZ NEOLİTİK DÖNEM'E TARİHLENEN BİR YERLEŞİM YERİNDE KORUMA VE ALAN DÜZENLEME UYGULAMASI

Abstract

Cayonu is one of the most outstanding sites of the Neolithic period; the life span of the site covers the full extent of the formative process of the Neolithic period. Cayonu is one of the few sites where it is possible to see how the Neolithic way of life began by living in simple round hut-like structures which later developed into rectan­gular multi-functional houses. Due to the fact that the excavations were carried out on a large scale, exposing extensive areas, Cayonu stands as one of the most informative sites of this period. Thus, what has been exposed at Cayonu is of critical importance, laying the foundations of our present-day civilization. Along with its architectural remains, the environmental setting of the site, nearby the Hilar travertine formations is extreme­ly appealing, also presenting a challenging vista of the East Taurus Range. In spite of the significance of its architectural remains in the history of civilization, what has been exposed, con­sists of walls constructed by laying cobble-like pebbles with no binding material, thus vulnerable to the destruc­tion of both men and nature. Moreover, since the beginning of excavations in 1964, work had been carried out on different levels, partially disturbing other architectural layers, at the same time exposing others to natural ero­sion. Up to 1990's, the site was mainly known and visited by experts; however, in time, Cayonu began attract­ing increasing numbers of visitors, who were mostly disappointed with what they encountered. To a non-expert on Neolithic architecture, excavated areas, besides having no appealing appearance, were almost impossible to perceive. Thus, it was considered necessary to develop a strategy that would combine two objectives: protection of the excavated remains and taking the necessary steps to design the site as an open air museum. Prehistoric sites, regardless of their significance, are rarely available to general public. In this respect, besides the difficulties encountered in preservation and in restoration, the need for an intellectual background that is necessary to appreciate their significance, also stands as a major drawback. Being aware of these difficul­ties, an ambiguous site management project had been designed for the restoration, renovation of the archi­tectural remains, and to develop the site as an open-air museum. The master plan of this project comprised a number of work-packages, including open-air museum, site museum, natural reserve area, experimental archaeology area, village museum etc. Among these, from 1989 to 1991 only a part of the open-air site muse­um had been accomplished. On this line, the following decisions were taken: the site should not be cut-off from its environment, thus no part of it would be roofed over; the original remains will be buried, as this was seen as the only means for their future protection; only the most diagnostic remains representing the four major stages of development will be displayed; the phases to be displayed will be, the round houses, grills, cell buildings and large rooms; for display, one to one models of the buildings will be used; the display, besides revealing major architectural structures, should also reflect the changing pattern of settlement planning. With these objectives, the eastern section of the exca­vated area had been filled in, terraced and models of the buildings were made, thus while providing the visitors evolutionary stages of the site within its natural environment, at the same time protecting the original remains.