Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey: Report of the 2007 Season

Abstract

The 2007 season of the Rough Cilicia Archaeological Survey Project was directed by Nicholas Rauh of Purdue University. Dr. Hulya Caner of the Institute for Marine Science Management at Istanbul University supervised the work of our highland pollen trench excavations. Dr. Unal Akkemik of the Department of Forest Botany, School of Forestry, at Istanbul University conducted the dendrochronological research. These scholars were assisted by graduate student, Margaret Bloome, of Arizona University, and undergraduate students Phillip Ramirez (Purdue University), Aaron Fettgather (American University), Alexander Jillions (American University) and Charlotte Rose (Brown University). Due to permit complications the field season lasted one week, August 2-9, 2007. This season the team focused on paleo-environmental research in the Biçkici Highland behind Gazipasha. Our purpose was to obtain data to determine the age of the current cedar forest near the tree line of the Tauros Mts. as well as to obtain pollen data from trench excavations at the same elevation to determine the remote history of the forest. At the highland (yayla) village of Sügözü, the team, supervised by Hulya Caner, excavated an open pit to obtain 50 soil samples of remarkably remote age. Unal Akkemik was able to obtain 15 tree ring samples from old growth cedar, black pine, and juniper trees in the vicinity to demonstrate that the current highland forest cover is relatively young.