AN EARLY BRONZE AGE II-III ROCK-CUT TOMB PRESENTING NEW EVIDENCE

Abstract

During the drainage work performed by the municipality staff of O?uzeli, a county of the province of Gaziantep, numerous vessels and human bones came across. Thereupon, the director of the Gaziantep Museum carried out excavations in 30.09.2005-04.10.2005 in this area. The excavations brought out a nearly rectangular rock cut tomb measuring 3.70 m in length and 2-2.4 m in length. The material found in the tomb is dated to the Early Bronze Age II-III, indicating the beginning of the long-term tomb tradition earlier than the EBA III in the region. Moreover, the material indicates cultural continuity from the first to the second half of the Third Millennium BC. Rock cut tombs appear in the Upper and Middle Euphrates regions since the first half of the millennium, indicating a new tradition despite the local stone cist graves. The O?uzeli tomb determines the earlier emergence of rock cut tombs in the northern part of the Middle Euphrates region. The goods include numerous ceramic vessels, six bronze pins and two bronze earrings. Most of the vessels stowed with the human bones are broken on the floor of the tomb. The sherds and complete pots make a total of over 300 vessels laid into the tomb in different times. Ca. 15 % of the vessels are dated to the EBA II, and 85 % to the EBA III.