Çukuriçi Höyük (Turkish: 'Mound in the Valley') is a prehistoric Tell settlement on the Aegean coast of western Turkey. It is located about 1 km southeast of the ancient city of Ephesus, near the present city of Selçuk in the province of İzmir. Between 2007 and 2016 the settlement was systematically investigated. The Tell was first settled in the 7th millennium BC (Neolithic; phases ÇuHö XIII–VIII), in the period of approx. 6700–6000 calBC. After a hiatus, the hill was reoccupied in the 2nd half of the 4th millennium BC. (Late Chalcolithic; phases ÇuHö VII–Vb). The end of settlement activity dates to the early Bronze Age (phases ÇuHö IV–III) at approx. 2800/2750 calBC.
History of research
The Çukuriçi Höyük has always been visible as a small elevation in the plain east of Bülbüldağ and was mapped by A. Schindler as early as 1987, as a natural hill without recognizing the archaeological evidence.O. Benndorf: Zur Ortskunde und Stadtgeschichte. In: O. Benndorf (ed.): Forschungen in Ephesos 1. Wien 1906, p. 1–110. The first archaeological investigations took place in 1995 in the course of rescue excavations under the direction of the Selçuk Müzesi.A. Evren: Efes Çukuriçi Höyük 1996 Yılı Kazısı. In: Arkeoloji ve Senat 92. 1999, p. 22−32.A. Evren, C. İçten: Efes Çukuriçi ve Arvalya (Gül hanım) Höyükleri. In: Müze Kurtarama Kazıları Semineri (1997) 7. 1998, p. 111–133. In the following years the hill was increasingly destroyed in the course of intensive agricultural activities, until excavations took place again in 2006. These were planned in 2005 by the excavation director of Ephesos at the time, Friedrich Krinzinger. The first systematic research on the prehistoric archaeology in the region of Ephesos began in 2007, financed by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF Project P 19859-G02).B. Horejs: Çukuriçi Höyük 1. Anatolian and the Aegean from the 7th to the 3rd Millennium BC. In: Oriental and European Archaeology 5. Vienna 2017. These first campaigns were led by Barbara Horejs and funded until 2010. The resulting ground breaking results and the great scientific potential of the hill led to further projects, again funded by the FWF (FWF START Project Y 528-G02 and P 25825) and the European Research Council (ERC Prehistoric Anatolia 26339), also under the direction of Barbara Horejs. After completion of the project in 2016, the results will be prepared for publication in a separate "Çukuriçi Höyük" series as part of the Oriental and European Archaeology (OREA) publications.
Settlement and surroundings
The reconstruction of the prehistoric landscape, the original coastline, the existing ecological resources and finally, the climatic conditions and their changes over the millennia, are central questions in the exploration of the tell in its micro-regional environment. Against this background, it becomes clear that the history of settlement can only be understood with the involvement of interdisciplinary research disciplines. The team is therefore made up of specialists in archaeology, archaeometallurgy, archaeozoology, archaeobotany, anthropology, climatology and physics as well as paleogeography and geology/mineralogy.
Geographical studiesF. Stock et al.: Neolithic settlement sites in Western Turkey – palaeogeographic studies at Çukuriçi Höyük and Arvalya Höyük. In: Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 4. 2015, p. 565–577. show that the Çukuriçi Höyük was originally located on a marine lagoon. Whilst it is unclear whether mobile hunters and gatherers used this lagoon as a habitat, it is assumed that the first settlers came over the sea.B. Horejs et al.: The Aegean in the early 7th millennium BC. Maritime networks and colonization. In: Journal of World PRehistory 28, 4, 2015, p. 289–330. These people brought along a whole package of maritime know-how, which is suggested by the evidence of specialised fishing and the knowledge of navigation along certain sea routes. Even if the means of transport have not been preserved, the use of simple boats is probable. The valley basin, densely overgrown with oaks, was crossed by small streams and formed the perfect habitat for early farmers and cattle breeders.
Excavations and results
The site was excavated in three areas. In the north (trenches N 1-6), in the middle area (trench M1) and in the southern trenches (S1-4), trenches S1-4 revealed the original centre of the Tell.
These excavations showed that the hill, clearly visible in the landscape, is a prehistoric Tell (Turk. Höyük). The hill was created due to thousands of years of settlement and rebuilding in the same place, resulting in the accumulation of massive occupation layers overlying each other, forming an artificial hill. This form of settlement is typical in the periods of the Neolithic, the Chalcolithic and the Bronze Age (8.–2. Millennium B.C.) from the Orient to Southeast Europe. However, in Western Anatolia only a few tells have been excavated and systematically explored to date. At Çukuriçi Höyük, a total of thirteen superimposed settlements from different periods have been identified. Each of these settlement phases (ÇuHö I–XIII) was relatively dated on the basis of material studies (mainly ceramics) but also using absolute chronology from over 100 radiocarbon dates.
Neolithic The oldest settlement phase at Çukuriçi Höyük (phase ÇuHö XIII) derives from the Early Neolithic and dates to the early 7th millennium BC, based on short-lived radiocarbon data.B. Milić, B. Horejs: The Onset of Pressure Blade making in Western Anatolia in the 7th Millennium BC. A Case Study from Neolithic Çukuriçi Höyük. In: Horejs 2017. p. 27–52. The findings, which were excavated at the foot of today's hill, show remnants of everyday life, such as stone working. The early detection of pressure technology, for chopped stone tools, and specific types of tools, indicate new influences from outside.Horejs et al. 2015 Together with other indicators, this technology reflects a link to the Northern Levant (PPNB), from which a maritime network can already be derived in this early phase of the Neolithic in Western Anatolia. Horejs argues that pioneers, embedded in this network, were looking for new land on the Aegean coast and were the first settlers in this region.Horejs et al. 2015
Some 150 years later, in the late Neolithic, the settlers of Çukuriçi Höyük built houses with solid stone bases, wooden posts and mud walls. Many activities can be reconstructed based on the findings, these include weapons, such as sling missiles made of stone and clay, which were stored within the settlement. A particularly extraordinary find is a cache of long and sharp obsidian blades, found inside of a building. They are not only unique in the Aegean, but also show the far-reaching relationships of the inhabitants. The raw material comes from the island of Melos in the Aegean Sea, some 300 km away. The technology of long blade production and the ritual practice of their deposition are particularly well known in the Middle East. In addition, analysis has also shown that local potters produced very high quality, thin-walled containers, which were probably mainly used for storing and consuming food. Very often fish were on the menu, as the remains of a tuna fillet on a floor prove.
Even in this early period, diet was varied, based mainly on domestic animals such as pigs, sheep, goats and cattle. This food was supplemented by wild hare, fox, red deer and aurochs as well as the collection of sea shells.
The maritime character of this society is indicated by deep-sea fish, recovered for the first time, which suggests a sea voyage across the borders of the Aegean. Beside contacts with the Aegean, proven by the use of Melian Obsidian, contact with East Anatolia, Mesopotamia and the Near East also existed. A specialization in craftsmanship of the people settling here can be seen, among other things, in the high-quality ceramic vessels and the chopped stone tools, which were predominantly made from imported obsidian.M. Bergner et al.: Zur Herkunft der OBsidianartefakte vom Çukuriçi Höyük. In: Studia Troica 18. 2009, p. 251–273. This early settlement was abandoned, however, the reasons for which are not clear.
Late Chalcolithic After a hiatus of about 2600 years, the settlement hill was only reoccupied in the late Chalcolithic period, in the 2nd half of the 4th millennium BC. This "recolonisation" includes the phases ÇuHö VII–Vb, which were excavated in the trenches N7 and M1. In the oldest phase of this period the settlement was surrounded by a huge moat, most likely related to fortification. After a short time, however, it was infilled with stones, probably to provide an area for settlement expansion, suggested by the subsequent construction of new structures. Diverse architecture, textile productionCh. Britsch, B. Horejs, The role of textile production and fishing in the EBA metallurgical centre of Çukuriçi Höyük. In: Egypt and Levant 24. 2014, p. 229–242. and metallurgical craftsM. Mehofer: Çukuriçi Höyük. Ein Metallurgiezentrum des frühen 3. Jts. v. Chr. in der Westtürkei. In: M. Bartelheim – B. Horejs – R. Krauß (eds.): Von Baden bis Troia. Ressourcennutzung, Metallurgie und Wissenstransfer. Eine Jubiläumsschrift für Ernst Pernicka. Oriental and European Archaeology 3. Rahden/Westf. 2016, p. 359–373. are also found in the settlement. A special marble figure proves that the inhabitants of the 4th millennium BC were also active in large-scale networks.Ch. Schwall, B. Horejs: Western Anatolian Impact on Aegean Figurines and Religion? In: Horejs 2017. p. 53–78. Residential and storehouses, as well as drying platforms, indicate intensive agriculture. The extensive contacts and specialized craftsmanship described, lay the foundations for the rise of proto-urban settlements that appear in the 3rd millennium BC.Ch. Schwall: Çukuriçi Höyük 2. Das 5. und 4. Jahrtausend v. Chr. in Westanatolien und der Ostägäis, OREA 7. Vienna 2018.
Early Bronze Age