ILISU BARAJI İNŞAAT SAHASI YÜZEY ARAŞTIRMASINDA BELİRLENEN ARKEOLOJİK ALANLAR

Abstract

The Ilisu Dam on the Tigis River, is being constructed to the west of the Ilisu village in the eastern part of the district of the town of Dargecit, within the province of Mardin. The surveyed area forms part of the natural route connecting Northern Mesopotamia with the Upper Tigris region. This route follows the Tigris River between the Mardin Mountains and the Eastern Taurus zone. During the survey an area of 1300 hectares was intensively researched and 20 sites with a total of 50 find spots were recorded. According to the surface material, the area was used intensively during the Early Neolithic period; a site with several obsidian and flint implements, cores and flakes point to a settlement with workshop dating back to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period. The Early Pottery Neolithic is represented at seven sites by monochrome hand-made pottery. The hand made monochrome Chalcolithic pottery was collected from five sites. A lack of Early Bronze Age sherds point to a gap during the third millenium BC while five larger sites with Middle Bronze Age assemblages including the Monochrome Standard Ware, the Red Brown Wash Ware and the Habur Painted Ware demonstrate cultural contacts with the Upper Tigris region and Northern Mesopotamia. After a second gap during the Late Bronze Age, hand-made Early Iron Age pottery was found at four sites and Neo Assyrian pottery was found at six sites, pointing to a dense occupation during the Iron Age. The Hellenistic and Roman periods are represented by a few sherds from two large sites. Sites dating to Medieval and later periods form the largest component in the settlement record. The region has a rich archaeological potential and demands salvage excavations before the dam is constructed.