Tille Höyük is an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

in at Geldibuldu village in the

Adıyaman Province Adıyaman Province ( tr, , ku, ) is a province in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. The capital is Adıyaman. The province is considered part of Turkish Kurdistan and has a Kurdish majority. Adıyaman Province was part of the pro ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. It is a small settlement mound on the west bank of the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...

some 60 km east of

Adıyaman Adıyaman ( ku, Semsûr) is a city and district in southeastern Turkey, and the capital of the Adıyaman Province. The inhabitants of the city are mostly Kurdish. Etymology An unverified theory is that the former name of the city ''Hisn-Mansur'' ...

. The site was excavated by the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara, under the direction of David French, from 1978 to its flooding by the

Atatürk Reservoir The Atatürk Reservoir ( tr, Atatürk Baraj Gölü) is a reservoir on the Euphrates, created by the Atatürk Dam in Turkey. It is located between Adıyaman, Şanlıurfa, and Diyarbakır provinces. The reservoir has a surface area of 817 km² and ...

in 1990. Surface pottery suggests the site was first occupied in the fourth millennium BC, but large-scale excavation was restricted to the Medieval, Classical and Iron Age levels of the site. A small step-trench recovered Iron Age and Bronze Age pottery in 1980; a more substantial trench was cut into the side of the mound in the last season and reached Late Bronze Age levels. The Iron Age levels at Tille have been identified on the basis of the presence of iron objects, and the parallels in pottery with Late Assyrian pottery from

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

. More precise evidence for dating the extensive Iron Age burnt level comes from comparison of its architectural features. The pebble mosaic courtyard and surrounding building plan is found close parallels in eighth century BC. Neo-Assyrian buildings at

Til Barsip Til Barsip or Til Barsib ( Hittite Masuwari, modern Tell Ahmar; ar, تل أحمر) is an ancient site situated in Aleppo Governorate, Syria by the Euphrates river about 20 kilometers south of ancient Carchemish. History The site was inhabited a ...

and

Arslan Tash Arslan Tash ( tr, Arslan Taş "Lion Stone"), ancient Hadātu, is an archaeological site in Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, around east of Carchemish and the Euphrates and nearby the town of Kobanî. History The city was the center of an Ar ...

in Syria. The date of the extensive burnt level can be placed in the eighth-seventh centuries BC. on archaeological grounds. Finds from the site are in the Adıyaman Museum.

References

See also

British Institute at Ankara publications