Kültepe Tablets open Kayseri to the world

KAYSERİ – Anadolu Agency

The earliest written documentation of life in Anatolia, the Kültepe Tablets, have drawn foreign academics and experts to Kayseri following their recent registration by UNESCO

The inclusion of 5,000-year-old Kültepe tablets in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register in October has attracted the interest of international academics and historians to the ancient city. 

The kiln tablets, considered the earliest written documentation of life in Anatolia, were unearthed during archaeological excavations on the Kültepe-Kaniş-Karum mound in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri. 

Professor Fikri Kulakoğlu, an Ankara University Archaeology Department academic and the head of the Kültepe excavations, said the Kültepe Tablets had been registered as the common heritage of humanity.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/kultepe-tablets-open-kayseri-to-the-world-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=91029&NewsCatID=375 

KÜLTEPE. Les droits des femmes inscrits sur des tablettes vieilles de 4000 ans

le site de kültepe et ses découvertes:
Alors que pour certains, les droits des femmes semblent être une découverte, la Turquie vient de rappeler à tous que la notion ne date pas d'hier. Des archéologues ont retrouvé, sur un vaste site du pays, des tablettes vieilles de 4000 ans faisant mention de tels droits.

http://www.terrafemina.com/article/les-droits-des-femmes-inscrits-sur-des-tablettes-vieilles-de-4000-ans_a280428/1 

KÜLTEPE. Traces of trade on UNESCO list

KAYSERİ – Anadolu Agency
AA Photos   

At a press conference held on Oct. 16 at the Kayseri Archaeology Museum, Kayseri Governor Orhan Düzgün said Profesor Fikri Kulakoğlu had applied for the inclusion of Kültepe in the Memory of the World Register, with the initiative of the Kültepe excavation head. 

“In this way, Kayseri will draw the attention of people interested in history and culture. We believe that the number of visitors will increase at the ancient site of Kültepe where these tablets were found and the Kayseri Museum where they are on display,” the governor said. 

Düzgün said the artifacts would be moved to the new archaeology museum, which is under construction inside the Kayseri Castle, in 2016. “The new museum will have a more contemporary style,” he added. 

Kayseri Mayor Mustafa Çelik said the geography of Kayseri had a history of 5,000 years, adding, “The genetic codes of our business mind are written on these tablets.”

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/traces-of-trade-on-unesco-list-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=89978&NewsCatID=375 
 

Excavations to shed light on ancient trade

KAYSERİ - Anadolu Agency

Kayseri’s Kültepe mound was the trade hub of the Middle East. New excavations hope to provide more information on this ancient hub

  AA Photos

New excavation work started on the Kültepe Kaniş/Karum mound, located in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri, will shed light on the early stages of trade. The work, coordinated by Japanese archaeologist Professor Ryoichi Kontani, aims to uncover data about ancient international trade. 

Kontani said since 1948, excavations in Kültepe had been carried out in a field known as the palace. The team has recently started works in the settlement field, located 300 meters north of the palace. 

“Our goal is to reach the first eras when trade started 6,000-7,000 years ago in Kültepe. We have so far reached 4,500 years ago. This is the basement of the places where people lived. We discovered a furnace from 4,500 years ago… We also found the pieces of an idol made of marble and known as the Kültepe Idol. What is interesting to us is that those idols were found inside the sanctuaries in the palace field. Finding them 300 meters away from the palace shows us that the Kültepe Idol had religious meaning not only for upper-class people but also lower-class people,” said Kontani. Trade hub of the Middle East 

Kontani said that there were rumors that trade dated back 6,000 years in Kültepe but it has not been proved. “We will try to find evidence [for this claim] in this work,” he said. 

He said Kültepe was trade hub of the Middle East in the past. “Since this place was the transition zone for civilizations, its history might go back to earlier times than expected. At the first stage, we aim to reach 6,500-7,000 years ago. But we will continue working in this level because this place was home to many civilizations, one after the other. We see the traces of a different civilization in each layer. This means that Kültepe was not only the trade hub of Anatolia but of the Middle East,” added Kontani. 

He said that they had been working with a team of four people in a 30-square-meter area. “We keep the area narrow because we want to reach older ages within a shorter time. But we will start excavations in a wider field with a larger group of people in the coming years,” he said. 

Tablet about payment of donkey debt discovered in Kültepe believed to be oldest trade document

The text about the sale of a donkey was found in a grave in Kültepe. DHA Photo

Archaeologists working on the Kültepe-Kaniş-Karum trade colony in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri have discovered a trade document believed to be the world’s oldest. 

Ankara University Archaeology Department academic and the head of the excavations, Professor Fikri Kulakoğlu, said the artifact mentioned the payment of a “donkey debt.”

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/tablet-about-payment-of-donkey-debt-discovered-in-kultepe-believed-to-be-oldest-trade-document.aspx?pageID=238&nID=68429&NewsCatID=375 

The Kültepe excavations have ended, unearthing a large monument. The head of the excavation says the water channels also amazed academics

Excavations in Kültepe end with new findings

This year’s excavations in Kütahya’s ancient site of Kültepe show that 4,000-year-old history can be traced back to an earlier time. ‘The first aim of the excavations is to discover ancient Bronze Age history,’ says the head of the Kültepe excavations Professor Fikri Kulakoğlı (below). AA photo

Kayseri’s Kültepe excavations of its ancient tumulus site have ended with its 66th excavation, originally starting in 1948.

This year’s excavations at Kayseri’s ancient site Kültepe, the center where the written history of Anatolia began, have unearthed a large monument. The ancient monument will now be carefully examined, said the head of the Kültepe excavations Professor Fikri Kulakoğlu.

The monument’s 75x60-meter-part has been unearthed, said Kulakoğlu. “This monumental structure is the largest building that has been found in the Anatolian and Middle Eastern areas.”

READ MORE:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/excavations-in-kultepe-end-with-new-findings.aspx?pageID=238&nID=58676&NewsCatID=375

Monumental structure shown to be largest one in Middle East

KAYSERİ - Anadolu Agency

This year the Kültepe archaeological excavations have unearthed a large monument. The monument is believed to have been a government building, says the head of the excavations

The monumental structure is the largest building that has been found in Anatolia or the Middle East, according to the head of the Kültepe excavations, Fikri Kulakoğlu. AA photo

This year’s excavations at Kayseri’s ancient site of Kültepe, a center where the written history of Anatolia began, have unearthed a large monument. The ancient monument will now be carefully examined, said the head of the Kültepe excavations Fikri Kulakoğlu.

He said the excavations had been conducted in an area dating back to 4,500 years ago and currently they were working on the monument.

The monument’s 75x60-meter-part has been unearthed, said Kulakoğlu. “This monumental structure is the largest building that has been found in the Anatolian and middle Eastern areas.”

read more on :http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/monumental-structure-shown-to-be-largest-one-in-middle-east.aspx?pageID=238&nID=57678&NewsCatID=375