EXCAVATIONS at TÜRBE HÖYÜK-SİİRT

Türbe Höyük is a mound measuring approximately 100 x 40 m in dimension. The site lies 27 km to south of the district centre of Siirt, on the banks of the Botan river, 2 km to north of the point where the Botan flows into the Tigris. This location made the site an important point of passage along the Botan valley.

Since 2002 was the first season at Türbe Höyük, a topographical plan was made of the site, and a total of six trenches on the east and west of the mound were opened. In addition, a cleaning operation was carried out on the roughly 3 m thick fortification wall that extends for about 80 m to the west of the mound, along the Botan river. In order to understand the stratification, trenches 1, 2 and 3 were excavated from north to south, i.e. from the highest point of the mound in a southerly direction. Trenches 4, 5 and 6, on the west, were excavated with the aim of exposing the fortification wall and the buildings lying inside it.
 

As can be understood from the name, the mound is known locally as Türbe Höyük because of the burıals found on the mound, and the excavations did uncover a large number of Medieval burials in all areas. The deceased, most of which were children, had been buried in an extended position, with an east-west orientation. Some of the skeletons had been covered with a row of four or five stone slabs. On the arms and necks of some were found glass beads and bracelets. As no Medieval building levels or pottery was discovered, it can be concluded that the mound was utilised only as a cemetery during the Medieval period.

Immediately beneath the Medieval burials were exposed buildings that had been partly damaged by the graves. These stone buildings were contemporary with the 80 m long fortification wall extending around the west part of the site. The walls of the buildings to the east of the fortification wall also served to support this wall itself. The foundation trenches that had been dug for the construction of the fortification wall and the buildings to its east had caused damage to the earlier levels on the mound. The stone walls of the buildings to the east of the fortification wall were preserved to a height of 2 m. Inside one of these buildings was a structure with a northwest-southeast orientation that had been built using the same construction technique. The existence of this structure indicates the possibility of at least two building phases inside the fortification and that the settlement had not been fortified during the early phase. The fortification wall forms a corner and terminates at the south of the mound. It is believed that here, where the floor is paved with small river stones, was the entrance to the fortified settlement. Initial observations suggest that the fortification wall and the buildings behind it pre-date the Roman period.
 

Although a large amount of pottery datable to the Ubaid and Halaf periods was unearthed throughout the excavation, no buildings from these periods were uncovered. Along with the pottery were found many examples of worked and unworked flint and obsidian tools of the same date, particularly during the excavation of the burial pits. This suggests that the Botan valley was an important route for the trade of obsidian from the vicinity of Lake Van to regions in the south, as well as for the northward spread of the Halaf and Ubaid cultures. This strategic location of Türbe Höyük was particularly important through the 5th and 4th Millennia BC.