NKARA KENTİNDE FRİG DÖNEMİ İZLERİ: FRİG TÜMÜLÜSLERİ ÜZERİNE BİR ARAŞTIRMA

Abstract

Although the earliest human traces in and around Ankara are dated back to Paleolithic Age, evidently the foundation of the city was realized in the Phrygian period by the early 8th century BC In the two century period following the settlement of Phrygians in Ankara, many buildings and cenotaphs named tumulus were placed in and around the city. Remains indicate that the Phrygian city was established in Ulus area, on and around Haci Bayram mound, spreading over the flat areas on the southwest. Additionally, some tumuli were placed to the north and the west, on ridges like Anittepe and some others towards Enguru plain, aiming to provide vista from the city center. Ankara tumuli were first documented by Ernest Chantre in his 1898 book Mission en Cappadoce, 1893-1894: Eleven northern tumuli which were observed (with one excavated and documented with a photograph) by Chantre have not been elaborated again in later studies, and have been completely lost today. Western tumuli, on the other hand, were first documented by R.C. Thompson after his visit to Ankara in 1910, as sixteen with a sketch-plan of them placed on natural topography. The western tumuli have been elaborated in later studies since the early Republican excavations, and they have been determined as nineteen with later additions and findings. Though having been mostly preserved until the 20th century as being placed in the surrounding heights of the city, Ankara tumuli have been demolished and / or destroyed to a large extent throughout the fast urbanization process since the early Republican period. Today, only three of the nineteen known western tumuli can be said to be preserved though with varying degrees of damage, and the urban growth in Ankara continues with an even increased acceleration. Having been destroyed by various building activities until recent years, and mostly fading away from the visual structure of the city, the few remaining tumuli are observed to casually enhance the spontaneous use and enjoyment of urbanites. This article renders the studies held on Ankara’s Phrygian period settlement; and then concentrates on tumuli placed to be viewed from the Phrygian city: The study both pursues the traces of lost western and northern tumuli by use of their appearances and possible clues in the early republican period maps and air photographs, and additionally documents the current conditions and use of the remaining few tumuli in the city. The study emphasizes their significance, concentrating mainly on their role in the visual structure of the city, for they are estimated to be originally built as symbolic visual assets; and also underlines the need for the reminiscents of the Phrygian period to be integrated with the contemporary urban life and city image for their possible contribution to the city’s future.