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Kilise Tepe

Shown within Turkey
Location	Mersin Province, Turkey
Coordinates	36°29′00″N 33°33′00″E / 36.483333°N 33.55°E / 36.483333; 33.55
Type	Settlement
History
Periods	Bronze Age, Iron Age, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine
Cultures	Hittite
Site notes
Excavation dates	1994-1997 2007-2011
Archaeologists	Nicholas Postgate, Mark Jackson,
Condition	In ruins

Kilise Tepe is a mound in Mersin Province, Turkey, just west of the Göksu River, lying 20 kilometers from Mut and 145 kilometers from Mersin. It was initially known as Maltepe which is actually the name of a site on the other bank of the river about four kilometers to the west. The original name of the mound is not known and Kilise Tepe in Turkish means "church-hill" referring to a church ruin. The site is thought to have been part of the land of Tarḫuntašša, formed when Muwatalli II moved the Hittite capital.

History

The earliest settlement is dated to third Millennium BC during the Early Bronze Age. During the Hittite Empire era, it was used to control the road between the Hittite lands in Central Anatolia and the Mediterranean ports. At the end of the 13th Century BC, the settlement was burnt down by Sea peoples, like much of Anatolia at the time. In its wake, a reconstruction began, but this too was destroyed in the middle of the 12th Century BC. Mycenaean LHIIIC pottery from Cyprus and Crete was found in this layer, dating from 1200 to 1150 BC. During a two century break between the Iron Age and Hellenistic Period the site was unoccupied. Settlement resumed during the Hellenistic period, but there is no indication of a settlement during the Roman period. The ruined Byzantine church (single chamber with cemetery) is a circa 11th century replacement for a destroyed earlier 5th century Cilician three-aisled basilica (with side chambers and a passage to the east of the apse).

Excavations

The site was first report in 1958 by J. Mellaart who noted large amounts of pottery from the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st Millenniums BC. It lies on a 200 meter north to south promontory and is 100 meters by 120 meters in extent with a height from 10 to 12 meters with the northern portion somewhat higher.

In response to dam construction, excavations began in 1994 as a joint effort between Cambridge University and Newcastle University and continued until 1997. The work began with a fiull mapping survey in 1994. In the Late Bronze layer (Level III) some timbers were recovered which gave a dendrochronology date of 1380 BC. Level II produced 4 lentoid stamp seals typical of 13th century BC Hittite Empire. One is of an official reading, in hieroglyphs, "Tarhunta-piya, the charioteer". After a pause the excavations resumed in 2007 focusing on Late Bronze Age and later levels. The Cambridge team is headed by Nicholas Postgate and is responsible for the Iron Age excavations. The Newcastle team is headed by Mark Jackson and is responsible for the Byzantine excavations. This work continued until 2011. The Turkish collaborators were Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University in the 2010–2011 term and Bitlis Eren University in later terms. The findings are exhibited in Silifke Museum.

See also

• Cities of the ancient Near East

Notes

1. Symington, Dorit. "Hittites at Kilise Tepe." Publications de l'Institut Français d'Études Anatoliennes 13.1 (2001): 167-184
2. Mersin Ören Yerleri Kaleleri Müzeleri ISBN 978-605-4196-07-4, p 325
3. Symington, Dorit (2001). "Hittites at Kilise Tepe". Publications de l'Institut Français d'Études Anatoliennes. 13 (1): 167–184.
4. Hald, Mette Marie; Kozal, Ekin; Postgate, Nicholas; Miller, Bob. "Further work at Kilise Tepe, 2007-2011: refining the Bronze to Iron Age transition" (PDF). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
5. Tomlinson, Jonathan E. "Comparison of the NAA Data for Six Mycenaean-style Samples from Kilise Tepe with Chemical Reference Groups from Mainland Greece, Crete, Cyprus and the Levant". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
6. JACKSON, MARK. "2007–2011 Excavations at Kilise Tepe: A Byzantine Rural Settlement in Isauria." Dumbarton Oaks Papers, vol. 69, pp. 355–80, 2015
7. Jackson M. “Byzantine Settlement at Kilise Tepe in the Göksu Valley”. In: Hoff, M., Townsend, R, ed. Rough Cilicia: New Archaeological and Historical Approaches. Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2013, pp.219-232
8. J. Mellaart, "Second Millennium pottery from the Konya Plain and neighbourhood", Belleten, vol. 22, pp. 311-345, 1958
9. H. D. Baker et al, Kilise Tepe 1994, Anatolian Studies, vol. 45, pp. 139-191, December 1995
10. Postgate, J.N., Kilise Tepe 1994: A Summary of the Principal Results, Kazi Sonuçlari Toplantisi I, vol. 17, pp. 419-431, 1996
11. Postgate, J.N., Kilise Tepe 1995: A Summary of the Principal Results, Kazi Sonuçlari Toplantisi I, vol. 18, pp. 441-456, 1997
12. Postgate, J.N., Kilise Tepe 1996: A Summary of the Principal Results, I, vol. 19, pp. 209-226, 1998
13. Jackson, M.P.C. and J.N. Postgate, Kilise Tepe 1997: A Summary of the Principal Results, Kazi Sonuçlari Toplantisi I, vol 20, pp. 541-557, 1999
14. Nicholas Postgate et al., Excavations at Kilise Tepe 1994–98, From Bronze Age to Byzantine in Western Cilicia: Volume 1. Text, BIAA Monograph Series, vol. 30.1, British Institute at Ankara, 2007 ISBN 9781902937403 eISBN 978-1-912090-58-7
15. Nicholas Postgate et al., Excavations at Kilise Tepe 1994–98, From Bronze Age to Byzantine in Western Cilicia: Volume 2. Appendices, References & Figures, BIAA Monograph Series, vol. 30.2, British Institute at Ankara, 2007 eISBN 978-0-9954656-2-6
16. Jackson M and Postgate N., Excavations at Kilise Tepe 2007, Kazi Sonuçlari Toplantisi, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 207-232, 2009
17. Collon D, Jackson M, Postgate N., Excavations at Kilise Tepe 2008, Kazi Sonuçlari Toplantisi, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 159-184, 2009
18. Jackson M and Postgate N., Excavations at Kilise Tepe, Kazi Sonuçlari Toplantisi, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 424-446, 2010
19. Christina Bouthillier et al, Further work at Kilise Tepe, 2007-2011: refining the Bronze to Iron Age transition, Anatolian Studies, vol. 64, pp. 95-161, 2014

Further reading

• Debruyne, Sofie. “Tools and Souvenirs: The Shells from Kilise Tepe (1994—1998).” Anatolian Studies, vol. 60, 2010, pp. 149–60
• C. K. Hansen and J. N. Postgate, The Bronze to Iron Age transition at Kilise Tepe, Anatolian Studies, vol. 49, pp. 111–122, December 1999
• Jackson, M., “Medieval Rural Settlement at Kilise Tepe in the Göksu Valley,” in Archaeology of the Countryside in Medieval Anatolia, ed. T. Vorderstrasse and J. J. Roodenberg (Leiden: NINO, 2009), 71–83
• J. N. Postgate, The Chronology of the Iron Age seen from Kilise Tepe, Ancient Near Eastern Studies, vol. 45, pp. 166–187, 2008

External links

• Cambridge University Archaeology Kilise Tepe page
• British Institute at Ankara Kilise Tepe Excavations page
• Newcastle University Kilise Tepe Project page

v t e Mersin Province
Settlements Center city Mersin Districts (İlçe) Akdeniz Mezitli Toroslar Yenişehir Anamur Aydıncık Bozyazı Çamlıyayla Erdemli Gülnar Mut Silifke Tarsus All settlements List of populated places in Mersin Province
Culture Universities Mersin University Çağ University Tarsus University Toros University Middle East Technical University Institute of Marine Sciences Alata Research Institute of Horticulture Museums etc. Anamur Museum Arslan Eyce Private Amphora Museum Erdemli Yörük Museum Emirler Archaeological Site and City Forest Museum Gözlükule Research Center Mersin Archaeological Museum Mersin Atatürk Museum Mersin Museum Mersin Naval Museum Mersin State Art and Sculpture Museum Mersin Urban History Museum Mersin Water Museum Narlıkuyu Museum Silifke Museum Silifke Atatürk Museum Tarsus Çanakkale Park Museum Tarsus Museum Taşucu Atatürk Museum Monuments Atatürk Monument Mersin Martyrs' Memorial Frederick Barbarossa Memorial Archaeological wealth Adamkayalar Akkale Ala Bridge Alahan Monastery Altından geçme Anchiale Ancient road in Tarsus Anemurium Aphrodisias Athena relief Aulai Aya Tekla Church Baç Bridge Balabolu Belenkeşlik Castle Canbazlı ruins Caracalla's inscription Casemates of İbrahim Pasha Cleopatra's gate Corycus Çanakçı rock tombs Çandır Castle Çatıören Dağlı Castle Dikilitaş Donuktaş Dörtayak Eğribük (Palaiai) Elaiussa Sebaste Emirzeli Evciler Castle Gömeç Gözlükule Gözne Castle Gülek Castle Hasanaliler Church Hisarin Castle Imbriogon (Demircili) Işıkkale Kabaçam Karakabaklı Kelenderis mosaic Kırkkaşık Bedesten Kızlar Kalesi Kilise Tepe Kravga Bridge Kuzucubelen Castle Lamas Aqueduct Lampron Mamure Castle Mancınık Castle Mausoleum of Danyal Melenia Meydan Castle Meydancık Castle Mezgitkale Mut Castle Nagidos Olba Olba Aqueduct Öküzlü ruins Pasha's Tomb Roman road in Cilicia Saint Paul's Well Shahmeran Hamam Silifke Bridge Silifke Castle Sinap Castle Sinekkale Softa Castle Soli Tapureli ruins Taşgeçit Bridge Taşhan, Mut Tece Castle Tekir ambarı Tekkadın ruins Temple of Jupiter (Silifke) Tırmıl Tokmar Castle Uzuncaburç (Diokaesareia) Üçayaklı ruins Veyselli rock reliefs Warrior relief of Efrenk Yanıkhan Yelbiz Castle Yumuktepe others Mezitli Producer Women's Market
Buildings and structures Modern Mersin Halkevi Mersin Congress and Exhibition Center Atatürk Cultural Center CNR Yenişehir Exhibition Center Mertim Mersin Aquapark Atatürk Park Mersin Marina Tarsus Zoo Mosques and madrasas Muğdat Mosque Grand Mosque of Mersin Mersin Old Mosque Müftü Mosque Tarsus Old Mosque Grand Mosque of Tarsus Kubat Pasha Medrese Laal Pasha Mosque Güzeloluk Mosque Churches Mersin Catholic Church Mersin Orthodox Church Saint Paul's Church Cemeteries Mersin Interfaith Cemetery Cyprus Memorial Forest in Silifke Dams Alaköprü Dam Berdan Dam Birkapılı Dam Gezende Dam Kadıncık 1 HES Kadıncık 2 HES Kayraktepe Dam Otluca HES Pamukluk Dam Silifke HES Industry and trade ATAŞ (Refinery) ACS Mersin Sodakrom Çimsataş Mersin Free Zone Transportation Transport in Mersin Province Mersin Harbor Taşucu Seka Harbor Yeşilovacık Fishing Port Mersin railway station Tarsus railway station Yenice railway station Tırmıl railway station Karacailyas railway station Huzurkent railway station Taşkent railway station Mersin Bus Terminus Çukurova Regional Airport İsmet İnönü Boulevard Adnan Menderes Boulevard Gazi Mustafa Kemal Boulevard Kushimoto Street Boğsak Tunnel Mersin Lighthouse Anamur Lighthouse Aydıncık Lighthouse Sports venues Edip Buran Arena Macit Özcan Sports Complex Mersin Seventh Region Sports Hall Mersin Gymnastics Hall Mersin Arena Mersin Olympic Swimming Pool Mersin Tennis Complex Mersin Volleyball Hall Mezitli Sports Hall Nevin Yanıt Athletics Complex Servet Tazegül Arena Tevfik Sırrı Gür Stadium Toroslar Bocce Facility Erdemli Shooting Range Erdemli Sports Hall Tarsus City Stadium Tarsus Arena
Geographical features Mersin Gulf Paradeniz Kızılbağ Pond Arslanköy Pond Aydıncık Islands Babadıl Islands Boğsak Islet Bozyazı Island Dana Island Güvercin Islet Saplı Islet Yelkenli Island Yılanlı Island Cape Anamur Cape Tisan Kaledran Creek Dragon Creek Sini Creek Soğuksu Creek Babadıl Creek Göksu River Lamas River Alata River Karacaoğlan River Tece Creek Mezitli River Efrenk River Berdan River Tarsus Waterfall Yerköprü Fall Sertavul Pass Gülek Pass Karboğazı Karakız Lake Karabucak Forest Aydıncık Nature Park Gümüşkum Nature Park Karaekşi Nature Park Pullu I Nature Park Erdemli Pine Groove Kanlıdivane Cennet and Cehennem Akhayat sinkhole Egma Sinkhole Çukurpınar Cave Aydıncık Cave Yedi Uyurlar Cave Kisecik Canyon
Mersin Province

• Tells (archaeology)
• Mounds
• Mut District
• Archaeological sites in Mersin Province, Turkey