The history of Amasya is usually told through the kings of Pontus, the rock-cut tombs and the Ottoman princes, yet the plains around the city hold a tradition of settlement that begins thousands of years before any of them. Dozens of mounds (höyük) scattered across the valleys of the Yeşilırmak and its tributaries, the Çekerek and the Kelkit, show that villages were founded here, fields were sown and metal was worked in ages before writing was known. Most of these mounds have never been excavated. What we know today rests on potsherds gathered from their surfaces and on the systematic excavation at Oluz Höyük, the only one among Amasya's mounds to have received it.

What a Höyük Is and How It Is Read

A höyük is an artificial hill formed by the accumulation of settlements rebuilt on the same spot over centuries. Mud-brick houses collapse, their remains are levelled, and new ones rise in the same place; after a few thousand years a mass of earth stands ten, fifteen, sometimes twenty metres above the plain. For the archaeologist this mass is something like a book: the oldest settlement lies at the bottom and the most recent at the top, and each layer carries its own pottery, tools, seals and house plans. On unexcavated mounds this reading can be done only cautiously, from the fragments that have come to the surface. The dating of Amasya's mounds has largely been obtained by this method.

The period names used in the region are as follows. The Chalcolithic (Copper-Stone) Age is the period in which copper was known alongside stone tools; in the interior of the Central Black Sea region it is placed roughly between 5500 and 3500 BC, and researchers divide it into an Early phase (5500-4500 BC) and a Late phase (4500-3500 BC). The Early Bronze Age is in turn divided into Early Bronze I, II and III. Period boundaries vary with the source: Şevket Dönmez treats the Early Bronze Age as 3500-2000 BC, while the summary chronology used by the Amasya Governorate and in provincial histories gives the Copper-Stone Age as 5000-3000 BC and the Early Bronze Age as 3000-2500 BC. The difference is less a contradiction than a result of the fact that dating still depends on surface finds and comparative pottery.

History of Research

Interest in Amasya's mounds begins with Hans Henning von der Osten, who in 1926-1927, before starting the excavation of Alişar Höyük, travelled through the lands west of the Kızılırmak and within its bend. Von der Osten writes that near Amasya he visited a sizeable mound at the edge of the Olas plain and gives no further information; this mound is thought most probably to be Oluz Höyük. In the same years Henri Frankfort introduced finds from Kümbet Tepe (Alevi Tepe) at Suluova to the scholarly world. In 1940-1941 İsmail Kılıç Kökten, Nimet Özgüç and Tahsin Özgüç, who were excavating Dündartepe, Tekkeköy and Kaledoruğu in Samsun, also made investigations at Bafra, Alaçam, Ladik, Havza and Vezirköprü and in the Suluova area of Amasya. According to Dönmez, until recently the settlements of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC known within Amasya's borders could be counted on one hand: Kümbet Tepe, Kilise Tepe and Kurnaz Tepe, which Kökten reported at Suluova, and Mahmatlar to the south of Amasya.

The story of Mahmatlar is a separate one. In 1949 villagers unearthed objects of metal near the village, whereupon Hamit Zübeyr Koşay and Mahmut Akok carried out a short excavation. The mound was damaged the same year by illegal digging by treasure hunters. The gold, silver and bronze objects recovered by the authorities are counted among the important finds associated with the Hatti civilisation of Anatolia. The Amasya Governorate's summary of the Bronze Age mentions Mahmatlar as one of the settlements of the Hattians, who are said to have established a powerful civilisation in Anatolia between 2500 and 2000 BC.

Systematic surface surveys began much later. From 1986 Mehmet Özsait carried out surveys in the districts of Merkez, Gümüşhacıköy, Merzifon, Hamamözü, Göynücek, Suluova and Taşova, and in 1997-1999 Şevket Dönmez, as part of his doctoral research on the cultural development of the Bronze Age in the Central Black Sea region, re-surveyed almost all of these districts. After the work of Özsait and Dönmez it became clear that Amasya was densely settled during the Early, Middle and Late Bronze Ages, that is, until around 1200 BC, when the Iron Age began at the end of the 2nd millennium.

Neolithic and Chalcolithic Settlements

Provincial histories often trace the beginnings of settled life in Amasya back to about 5500 BC. This date rests on the pottery and stone tools gathered from the mounds. At Oluz Höyük, flint tools and flakes together with some potsherds have pointed to the possible presence of the Early and Late Chalcolithic and even of the Late Neolithic (6500-5500 BC); Dönmez, however, bases this inference on surface finds and does not present it as a layer confirmed by excavation. For the time being, the Chalcolithic levels remain a possibility hidden in the lowest strata of an unexcavated mound.

Among the important settlements of the Copper-Stone Age are Hamam Tepesi Höyük in Ovasaray village in the central district, Sarımeşe Künbet Höyük, Koşapınar Höyük in Keşlik village and Ayvalıpınar Höyük in Ayvalıpınar village. In the Suluova district, Devret Höyük in Kanatpınar village and Yoğurtçubaba Tepesi also shed light on this period; some records place Yoğurtçubaba in Deveci village, while Dönmez locates it about 2 km south of Kulu village. In Göynücek the first settlements are said to reach back to the Chalcolithic, with Ayvalıpınar Höyük as its best example. In the Merzifon area, the Onhoroz Büyük and Küçük Küllük mounds at Ortaova and the mounds at Hayrettin village stand out among the settlements extending from the Chalcolithic into the Bronze Age.

Dönmez's surface survey also recorded the dimensions of the mounds that yielded Late Chalcolithic pottery. Niyazbaba Tepesi in Gümüşhacıköy is about 4-5 m high and 80 x 40 m across, closer to the scale of a village mound. Yoğurtçubaba Tepesi at Suluova, 20-25 m high and 150 x 100 m, and Dereağıl Tepesi, also at Suluova, 15-20 m high and of the same extent, are much larger. What the three share is that they were also settled in the Early Bronze Age after the Late Chalcolithic; at Yoğurtçubaba Middle and Late Bronze Age pottery was collected as well, while at Dereağıl only Late Bronze Age pottery was found in addition.

Dense Settlement in the Early Bronze Age

In the first phase of the Bronze Age, Amasya is one of the most densely settled parts of the Central Black Sea in terms of the number of settlements. In the central district Oluz Höyük, also known as Yassı Höyük, in Gümüşhacıköy Sallar Höyük, in Merzifon Delicik Tepe in Hayrettin village, in Göynücek Gediksaray Höyük, Türkmenlik Tepe in Alakadı village and Kayadüzü Höyük in Merzifon are cited as the principal settlements of this period. On Delicik Tepe the sources do not fully agree: in Dönmez's surface examination the fragments collected there belong mainly to the Middle and Late Bronze Age and to the Late Iron and Hellenistic periods, whereas the provincial summaries count Delicik among the Early Bronze Age mounds. Details of this kind show how carefully a date derived from the surface has to be read.

The picture Dönmez draws for Amasya is this: a significant part of the settlements occupied in the Early Bronze Age were abandoned at the end of that age and were not resettled in the 2nd millennium BC. In Gümüşhacıköy, Hacıpınarı, Demirci Tepe and Sallar Höyük; in Hamamözü, Tekke Tepesi; in Merzifon, Bel Höyük and Kara Mustafa Paşa Höyük; in Suluova, Kanatpınar (Devret) and Türkmenlik; in Göynücek, Yalnıztepe; and in Taşova, Umutlu Höyük belong to this group. On the other hand, settlements such as Alıcık Höyük, Onhoroz Tepe and Samadolu Höyük in Merzifon, Yoğurtçubaba and Dereağıl in Suluova, Oluz Höyük and Doğantepe in the central district, Gediksaray in Göynücek and Kale-Hızarönü Tepe in Taşova continue from the Early Bronze Age into the 2nd millennium BC. In other words, it was only the village-scale settlements that dispersed; the large mounds in the best places in the valleys stayed in use.

Three of these large mounds are settlements identified by Dönmez himself: Alacapınar Tepe (Hayrettin I) in Merzifon, Oluz Höyük in the central district and Gediksaray Höyük in Göynücek. All three stand out for their size and for stratification that runs from the beginning of the Early Bronze Age to the Roman period; they are about 200 m across and 10-15 m high. Dönmez counts Oluz and Gediksaray among the largest mounds of the Central Black Sea; Oluz measures about 280 x 260 m, Gediksaray 350 x 150 m and Alacapınar Tepe 150 x 100 m. A village road cuts Gediksaray in two.

The technical achievement of the Early Bronze Age lies in metalwork. In an age in which copper was hardened by alloying it with arsenic, a large number of arsenical copper objects came from the cemetery of İkiztepe on the Black Sea coast, and surface surveys were carried out in 1987-1988 and 1997-1999 in Samsun, Sinop and the Merzifon and Gümüşhacıköy districts of Amasya to locate the copper and arsenic deposits that supplied the raw material. In Amasya itself, the most brilliant metal find of this age is the gold, silver and bronze objects from Mahmatlar. A fragment of a stone casting mould found in the lowest settlement level at Oluz Höyük is also small but telling evidence that metalworking was carried out locally.

Settlement Pattern and Geography

The distribution of the mounds follows water and passage. The mounds around Amasya cluster on the alluvial plains carried by the Yeşilırmak and the Çekerek, on the plains of Merzifon, Suluova, Gümüşhacıköy and Geldingen. Oluz Höyük lies about 4 km north of the Çekerek, an important tributary of the Yeşilırmak, on the western edge of the Geldingen plain. The Kelkit also joins the Yeşilırmak near Taşova; Dönmez considers that this 320-km valley must have been used as a trade route between the Central Black Sea and the Caucasus and western Iran. This valley is the natural corridor linking Amasya to the Erbaa plain of Tokat and the basin to the east.

Compared with Samsun and Tokat, Amasya's place becomes clearer. In Samsun Early Bronze Age settlements concentrate especially in the Kızılırmak valley and thin out toward the Yeşilırmak; in Tokat, Bronze Age settlements are gathered mostly on the Erbaa plain. Dönmez says that in Amasya and Tokat there was dense settlement in the Early Bronze Age but that little is known about the 2nd millennium BC that followed. He adds, however, that because of its geographical proximity to the Hittites, Amasya saw somewhat more settlement in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages than Samsun did.

Oluz Höyük

The soundest evidence for Amasya's prehistory comes from the excavation of Oluz Höyük. The mound lies about 3 km south of the Amasya-Çorum highway, 2 km northwest of Gözlek village and about 5 km east of Toklucak village (formerly named Oluz). It belongs to the central district and lies about 25 km from the centre of Amasya. It is also known as Yassı Höyük and Tepetarla Höyüğü. Rising about 15 m above the plain, the mound measures 280 x 260 m, has a nearly circular plan and covers an area of about 45 dönüm; its height above sea level is 478.78 m. Local people also call the land of the Gökhöyük Agricultural Estate, on which the mound stands, the German Farm; it is associated with the farm of the German family that, as von der Osten describes, helped him in his research.

Dönmez identified the mound in his surface survey in 1997-1999, and in 2007 systematic excavation began under his direction on behalf of Istanbul University. In the first season, which lasted 31 days between 6 August and 5 September 2007, an area of 600 m² was opened in two trenches and six architectural layers were identified. The excavation team also worked with geophysical methods, carrying out geoelectrical, geomagnetic and ground-penetrating radar measurements over an area of about 2000 m² in the middle of the mound. In the second year of the excavation, in 2008, a complete stratification emerged and seven architectural layers were distinguished. Dönmez defined one of the aims of the first season as establishing a sound chronology at a settlement representing all periods in the interior of the Central Black Sea; on the coast this had been done by the İkiztepe excavation, whereas the interior had no counterpart.

According to the excavation summaries, the stratification from latest to earliest is as follows: the Middle Ages (Late Byzantine), the Hellenistic period, the late and early phases of the Late Iron Age, the Middle Iron Age, the Early Iron Age or the Hittite Imperial period (not certain), and, at the bottom, the Early Bronze Age. These summaries state that the lowest cultural level, the fourth, is represented by the ninth architectural layer and is dated to the 4th millennium BC; a fragment of a stone casting mould, spindle whorls and hand-formed pottery characterise this level. The same summaries also note that the mound has a history reaching back to about 4500 BC. The difference in period boundaries mentioned above applies here as well to the beginning of the Early Bronze Age.

Oluz's real fame comes from the later levels. Besides Middle Bronze and Hittite finds, Achaemenid (Persian) elements that emerged in later seasons changed the direction of the excavation: a monumental paved road, Persian-type column bases, a fire temple and, in 2018, a many-columned throne hall (apadana) were found. On the basis of these finds Dönmez regards Oluz as the most important settlement founded by the Persians in Anatolia. The prehistoric levels lie beneath these splendid upper layers and have not yet been opened over a wide area. The mound is closed to visitors; the finds from the excavation are exhibited in the Amasya Museum.

The Danger Facing the Mounds

The common problem of Amasya's mounds is illegal digging and agriculture. Mahmatlar was damaged by treasure hunters in 1949. At Oymaağaç Höyük in Vezirköprü, an underground structure was exposed by illegal digging. The northern part of Doğantepe has suffered great damage; the mound became known to the archaeological world through a Hittite figurine and a bronze stamp seal found by chance. The upper layers of Oluz Höyük have likewise been damaged by graves opened after the settlement ended and by illegal digging. Because every fragment torn from the surface of an unexcavated mound also carries away its relationship to the layers, the loss is not limited to the object.

The gap that remains is large. Of Amasya's mounds only Oluz has been excavated systematically; the chronology of the others has to be built from surface pottery. The shortfall is not peculiar to Amasya. According to Dönmez, Hittite written sources mention about 2000 settlements, large and small, in northern Anatolia, whereas the number of settlements of the 2nd millennium BC known in the Black Sea region is still only a few hundred. The predominant use of timber in architecture and the dense vegetation of the region today are given among the possible reasons why no traces remain.

Chronology

6500-5500 BC: Late Neolithic; flint tools and some potsherds at Oluz Höyük point to the possible presence of this period, which has not been confirmed by excavation.

5500-3500 BC: Chalcolithic; settlement at mounds such as Hamam Tepesi, Ayvalıpınar, Devret and Yoğurtçubaba (provincial summaries also give this period as 5000-3000 BC).

3500-2000 BC: Early Bronze Age (Dönmez's chronology); Oluz, Gediksaray, Alacapınar and Sallar mounds and Mahmatlar. Provincial summaries give the Early Bronze Age as 3000-2500 BC.

1926-1927: H. H. von der Osten visits the large mound at the edge of the Olas plain.

1949: Metal finds are found near Mahmatlar; Koşay and Akok carry out a short excavation, and the mound is damaged by treasure hunters the same year.

1986: Mehmet Özsait's surface surveys, which also cover Amasya, begin.

1997-1999: Oluz Höyük, Gediksaray Höyük and Alacapınar Tepe are identified in Şevket Dönmez's surface surveys.

2007: Systematic excavation begins at Oluz Höyük; the first season runs from 6 August to 5 September.

2008: A complete stratification emerges and seven architectural layers are distinguished at the mound.

Sources

Academic studies

  • Dönmez, Ş. "Tunç Çağı'nda Orta Karadeniz Bölgesi ve Kelkit Havzası Yerleşmeleri", Belleten 72/264 (August 2008). belleten.gov.tr/tam-metin/62/tur belleten.gov.tr
  • Dönmez, Ş. "1997-1999 Yılları Yüzey Araştırmalarında İncelenen Samsun-Amasya İlleri İ.Ö. 2. Binyılı Yerleşmeleri", Belleten 65/244 (December 2001). belleten.gov.tr/tam-metin/1/tur belleten.gov.tr
  • Dönmez, Ş. - Naza Dönmez, E. E. "Amasya-Oluz Höyük Kazısı 2007 Dönemi Çalışmaları: İlk Sonuçlar", Belleten 73/267 (2009). belleten.gov.tr/tam-metin/87/tur belleten.gov.tr
  • Dönmez, Ş. "Oluz Höyük Kazısı Üçüncü Dönem 2009 Çalışmaları Değerlendirmeler ve Sonuçlar", Colloquium Anatolicum 9 (2010). dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/collan/article/919918

Official sources

  • Amasya Governorate, "Tunç Çağı" page. amasya.gov.tr/tunc-cagi amasya.gov.tr
  • Amasya Governorate, news item on the visit to the Oluz Höyük excavation site. amasya.gov.tr/amasya-bunyesinde-barindirdigi-oluz-hoyuk-antik-yerlesmesi-ile-anadolunun-tarihine-isik-tutuyor

Other sources

  • Kıvanç, Ş. K. "Oluz Höyük", Online Türkiye Turizm Ansiklopedisi (2020). turkiyeturizmansiklopedisi.com/oluz-hoyuk turkiyeturizmansiklopedisi.com
  • Amasya Tarih (provincial history summary). karadenizinfo.com/amasya-tarih karadenizinfo.com