- Kerkenes
Kerkenes (or Kerkenes Dağ) is the largest pre-Hellenistic site from the
Anatolian Plateau (Turkey ) – 7 km (4 mi) of strong stone defenses, pierced by seven gates, that enclose 2.5 km² (1.0 sq mi). It is located about 200 km (120 mi) east from Ankara (35.06E, 39.75N), between the towns ofYozgat (W) andSorgun (E). The city was apparently a planned urban space, was only briefly occupied and is extremely large. This has suggested to some (Summers 1997) that the city was an imperial foundation of non-local peoples. Although its historical context remains unclear, Phrygian remains have been found. The archaeological survey shows that the city was burned, destroyed, and abandoned.The site also contains a Byzantine castle.
Archaeological works
* 1903 – J. C. C. Anderson
* 1926–1927 – H. H. von der Osten and F. H. Blackburn - they made a map of the city defences
* 1927 – E. Forrer (hittitologist)
* 1929 – Erich SchmidtThe new, international Kerkenes Project has started in
1993 , directed by the British archaeologistGeoffrey Summers and his Mauritian wifeFrancoise Summers , both fromMiddle East Technical University (Ankara ). Current fieldwork is ongoing.Geoffrey Summers has identified the site with the city of
Pteria mentioned byHerodotus , who describes the city as being destroyed by the Lydian king Croesus around the year 547 B.C. This identification is currently disputed among various scholars.ee also
*
Alişar
*Gordium
*Hattusa References
cite journal
last =Summers
first = Geoffrey
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =The identification of the Iron Age City on Kerkenes Dag in Central Anatolia
journal = The Journal of Near Eastern Studies
volume =56
issue =2
pages =81–94
publisher =
location =
date =1997
url =
doi =
id =
accessdate =External links
* [http://www.kerkenes.metu.edu.tr Kerkenes Project Official Site]
* [http://www.adventurecorps.com/chronicles/2002turkey/ Turkey Expedition, Kerkenes Archaeological Project]
* [http://web.arch.ox.ac.uk/archatlas/Near%20&%20Middle%20East/Kerkenes/Kerkenes.htm Satelital images of the site]
* [http://www.ajaonline.org/archive/105.3/pdfs/AJA1053.pdf#greaves American Journal of Archaeology - Archaeology in Turkey 1997-1999 (pdf, heavy)]
* [http://www.ajaonline.org/index.php?ptype=content&aid=102 American Journal of Archaeology - Archaeology in Turkey 2000]
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