Acemhöyük

Acemhöyük is an archaeological site in Turkey. The tell is located near the village of Yeşilova in Merkez district, Aksaray Province. The Bronze Age name for the place was probably Purušḫanda/Purušḫattum or Ullama (). The site was an Assyrian trading colony, or Karum.

Acemhöyük is located 18 km northwest of Aksaray, on the southeastern end of the Tuz Gölü, in a fertile plain on the Uluirmak or Melendiz. The ruins are arranged, like those of Kültepe, into two parts: a settlement on a hill, measuring 700 m east-west and 600 m north-south, and a lower city, which is partially covered by the modern village of Yeşilova. According to Nimet Özgüc, the extent of the lower city is of a similar size. The highest point, the citadel, rises 20 metres above the surrounding land and is now called Sarikaya (yellow cliff) on account of the gleaming yellow mudbricks. The tell is to the south of the modern village and in the centre of it there was (or is?) a modern cemetery.

The final settlement layer dates to the Greaco-Roman period and consists of the foundations of habitations. The stratigraphy below this begins in the Karum period and consists of five layers, numbered from top to bottom, I to V. Layer I is mostly destroyed, which is attributed to its proximity to the surface. Some kilns and building remains have been found. The houses of layer II appear to have been built of wood and mudbrick on the ruins of Layer III in a hurry, according to Nimet Özgüc. Layer III itself was heavily damaged by fire, but appears to have represented the period of greatest prosperity for the site. Layers IV and V are unexplored, or at least unpublished, but presumably belong to the pre-Karum period.

Excavation of Acemhöyük began in 1962 under the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums in conjunction with the University of Ankara. From 1962 to 1988, Nimet Özgüç led the excavations. Since 1989, the project has been led by Aliye Öztan. Some the finds are on display in the Aksaray Museum; others are displayed at the Niğde Archaeological Museum.

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Wikipedia