FINDS

A Bronze Fibula

      From the passageway of the Cappadocia Gate came a bronze brooch, or fibula, of typical type (Fig. 17). Although it has lost its pin this piece, like much of the metalwork at Kerkenes, is remarkably well preserved. The condition is so good that the marks of the metal-smith's file could be clearly seen once the loose dirt had been brushed away.

Iron Nails

      A variety of iron nails were recovered from the Palace Complex, including several with distinctive triangular heads (Fig. 18).

Animal Bones

      In her preliminary study of the animal bones, mostly from earlier seasons of excavation and clearance, Evangelina Ioannidou has discovered that the remains of wild beasts, including bear, pig and three species of deer, were recovered in the open area in front of the Palace Complex.

Burnt Beams and Dendrochronology

      Large fragments of pine charcoal from burnt timber beams were recovered from the excavations at the Cappadocia Gate and the monumental gateway to the Palace Complex. These are now at Cornell where Peter Kuniholm and his group are counting the annual growth rings.

      At the time of writing the longest sequence is 197 rings. According to the Aegean Dendrochronology Project December 2002 Progress Report, this will extend the Bronze Age - Iron Age tree ring sequence by at least 100 years. See:

http://www.arts.cornell.edu/dendro/2002news/2002adp.html

Geology, Geomorphology and Hydrology

      Catherine Kuzucuoglu, Mehmet Ekmekçi and Harun Aydin completed their geomorphological studies in the region as well as reporting on the hydrology and the Iron Age systems of water management of the Kerkenes Dag. They were also able to determine that the sandstones used in monumental Iron Age structures were from local sources.

Three-Eyed Monsters at Kerkenes

      One of the oldest creatures to exist on this Earth, a primitive three-eyed crustacean, was found in great profusion in many of the pools at Kerkenes in the spring (Fig. 19). The species was identified by Recep Sulhi Özkütük at Anadolu University. Although these tiny monsters, Triops cancriformis, more commonly known as the Tadpole Shrimp, are not rare in Turkey we had not seen them before at Kerkenes. Perhaps a mild winter, towards the upper limit of their environmental range, made 2002 an ideal year for them to appear in such abundance.