Abstract:

Though 70 years of excavation at Kültepe has yielded large quantities of crucial data about commerce and culture during the Anatolian Bronze Age, little knowledge of Kültepe's burial customs, especially in the Early Bronze Age has been obtained. Both stone cist and pithos graves, as well as simple inhumation graves, were recorded beneath the floors of the Early Bronze Age houses. However, no trace of an extramural cemetery in the vicinity had been recorded. In fact, in the area south of the bow of the Kızılırmak, where Kültepe is located, it was previously suggested that extramural burial customs were not practiced. In 2014, illegal excavations revealed a cemetery 2 km southeast of Kültepe in the vicinity of İnler Dağı. Here, many pithos graves were excavated and plundered by looters over an area extending 100 meters along the ridge of İnler Dağı, as can be seen from looting pits and pottery sherds scattered on the surface. After receiving permission from the Ministry, excavations immediately began in November 2014 and continued for 3 seasons. A total of 67 pithos burials were excavated from 2014-2016, most of which had been destroyed or heavily eroded. The discovery of the İnler Dağı cemetery is groundbreaking for the study of burial practices and traditions outside of settlement areas. As seen during the initial survey, the cemetery is probably not limited to İnler Dağı. Approximately 500 meters west, there are signs of looting and pieces of grave jars were found, both of which point towards a cemetery that covers a much larger area.

Keywords: