The archaeological excavations at the Beşiktaş station of the Kabataş-Beşiktaş-Mecidiyeköy-Mahmutbey metro line under construction in Istanbul continue to unearth history. Lastly, the excavation area, where two graves, which are considered to belong to the Early Iron Age, continue with 5 museologists and 45 workers. Kızıltan, Director of Istanbul Archaeological Museums: “Istanbul is a city that dates back to 8 thousand years. Excavations, especially in the Historical Peninsula, proved this, but a prehistoric settlement outside the Historical Peninsula, especially in the Beşiktaş region, had not been identified until today. These findings are important and remarkable documents in terms of the history of the city.” “The excavations reveal various layers of culture regarding the past of the city. As we go deeper, we come across the remains of different cultures.”
Archaeological excavations at the Beşiktaş station of the Kabataş-Beşiktaş-Mecidiyeköy-Mahmutbey metro line under construction in Istanbul continue to uncover evidence of a prehistoric settlement in the Beşiktaş region.
History continues to be unearthed during archaeological excavations. The excavations in the excavation area, where two graves, which are considered to belong to the Early Iron Age, are being carried out by 5 museologists and 45 workers.
Zeynep Kızıltan, Director of Istanbul Archaeology Museums, who is the head of the excavation, told AA correspondent that in line with the decisions taken by the relevant Conservation Board, they carried out studies at Beşiktaş station, where the metro construction of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality continues.
Kızıltan stated that the excavations revealed various layers of culture regarding the past of the city and continued as follows:
“They show continuity from the present day. Most of them belong to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After the remains in this area were documented, they were removed in line with the decision of the relevant Conservation Board in order to go down to the lower cultural levels. We are currently continuing excavations on 850 square meters of the 1,800 square meters of the Beşiktaş station area. We continue our archaeological excavations in 54 trenches of 5 by 5. We started about 7 meters above the sea plane and now we are at about 5 meters. First, the remains of the city’s infrastructure systems were uncovered. We documented and removed them.”
Emphasizing that they came across different cultural remains as they went deeper, Kızıltan said, “Round stone formations began to be exposed. We have been working on these for about 2.5 months. Normal simple graves and cremation graves were uncovered in the area. As a result of the evaluation of the material and graves in this whole area, we determined that we are working in a kurgan-type cemetery area belonging to the Early Iron Age. These studies continue with precision.”
- “Two types of graves found”
Stating that two types of graves were found during the excavations, Kızıltan gave the following information:
“One is a normal simple earth grave; a pit was dug and the skeletons were buried in a semi-hocker position. Stone axes, arrowheads and other tools they used at that time were placed next to them as grave goods. There are findings related to this. We have a mass grave consisting of three skeletons. The second type of grave is what we call cremation, in which the bones and ashes remaining after the body is cremated are collected and buried, sometimes in a vessel or a terracotta jar. In this type, sometimes the body is buried completely without a pot and stones are placed around it, and sometimes it is covered with stones.”
Kızıltan said that the type of grave in Beşiktaş points to the Early Iron Age, which is found especially in Anatolia and Thrace, and that the data obtained are dated between 1200 and 800 BC and that the findings reveal the burial tradition of a period.
- “Findings prove that the city was inhabited in the prehistoric period”
Stating that the findings proved that there was a settlement area in the city in the prehistoric period, Kızıltan said:
“Previously, during the Marmaray excavations in the Historic Peninsula, we had uncovered settlements and cemeteries belonging to the Neolithic people of the city. We cannot use the same expression for this cemetery, but the inhabitants of this cemetery are representatives of the Early Iron Age, which would take us back about 3000-3500 years from today. Istanbul is a city that dates back 8 thousand years. Excavations, especially in the Historic Peninsula, have proved this, but no prehistoric settlement outside the Historic Peninsula, especially in the Beşiktaş region, has been identified until today. Therefore, these findings are important and remarkable documents in terms of urban history.”
- “Finds are made to be used in scientific studies”
Stating that each of the artifacts was given a name and address, Kızıltan said that all the artifacts were collected from the site according to the codes and then taken to their workshops with their addresses.
Explaining that the finds are subjected to inventorying according to their profiles there, Kızıltan said, “The parts to be integrated are glued. They are then transported to the museum and made available for scientific studies.”
Source: www.milliyet.com.tr
