Waterlogged wood remains found in a Late Bronze Age settlement (İnönü Cave) on the Western Black Sea coast of Türkiye

Abstract

The remains of wooden structures belonging to the Late Bronze Age were unearthed during the excavations carried out in the İnönü Cave, which is located approximately 25 km inside the Ereğli district of Zonguldak, on the western Black Sea coast of Türkiye. Thanks to the special conditions of the cave, the woods that makes up the structures that have survived until today has been examined within the scope of this study. All wood flooring elements examined in this study consist of water-filled wood, except for one example (NNDK-1), which has semi-water-filled properties. In the construction of the wooden floor, one oak species from the white oak group (probably Quercus petraea (Matt.) Liebl.) and one pine species from the Sylvestris group (probably Pinus nigra Arnold), Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertner and Acer L. sp. were used. In addition, the most used genus in its construction was oak (Quercus L., section Quercus). The inhabitants of İnönü cave in the Late Bronze Age must have met their wood needs from nearby local resources. Wood anatomical analysis pointed out the occurrence of riverine forests formed by Black alder along the streams and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests formed by Sessile oak, maple, and Black pine in İnönü cave and its vicinity. These, together with others like Fagus orientalis Lipsky, Carpinus betulus L., Carpinus orientalis Mill., Salix alba L., and Populus nigra L., are the genera/species present in the region today.