Late Neolithic Cremation Urns Discovered During Istanbul Metro Construction

Istanbul's Buried History

Following on from recent news that the site of modern Istanbul was inhabited by humans at much earlier dates than hitherto suggested, archaeologists are detailing what appear to be very significant finds at Yenikapi, in the guise of cremation urns which date to around 8,000 years ago. This from Hurriyet Daily News...

The urns were found in the everglade at Marmaray, before heavy machinery was due to start excavations. The urns are a first in Anatolian history, which proves human tribes lived in Istanbul before the reigns of Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires.

Experts said the urns were a sensational find and Dr. İsmail Karamut, director of Istanbul Archeology Museums and the head of the excavation, said the digging would continue using hand operated tools from now on. Permission to recommence the use of heavy machinery will be decided at a later date. In ancient times, most funerals were held by simply burying (inhumation) or by burning the body (cremation). After cremation the ashes are usually put in ceramic urns or small stone containers, known as “larnax”.

The age of these discoveries coincides with the recent news, mentioned above, that this particular area was settled by 8,500 years ago, some 6,000 years before previous estimates, and puts old Constantinople in a similar time-frame as 9,000 year-old Çatalhöyük and subsequent settlements of the Late Neolithic that have been documented across Anatolia. As we see from RIA Novosti...

Turkish archaeologists have found artifacts showing that Istanbul, earlier believed to be founded 2,700 years ago by the Greeks as Byzantium, is 8,500 years old, local media said.

The Al-Watan newspaper said the excavations in Istanbul, which have gone on for four years, have uncovered four skeletons, as well as wooden and ceramic pieces, shedding new light on the history of the Turkish city.

The discovery was made two months ago at a depth of six meters below sea level at the site of an ancient settlement. Ismail Karamut, who directs Istanbul's Archaeological Museum, said the finding would force historians to rewrite the country's history.

And this report from The National, across in Abu Dhabi, includes a suggestion that Çatalhöyük and these early inhabitants of the Bosphorus may be directly related....

And yet, beneath the water table, underneath the rib cages of hollow merchant ships and broken clay pots, lay the greatest discovery yet. In August, Dr Karamut and his team came across four ancient skeletons buried in graves six metres below sea level. The two adults, aged approximately 35, and two children under two, are thought to have lived during the Neolithic age, around 6,000-6,500 BC.

The objects found with them, particularly ceramic pieces, have led Dr Karamut and his colleagues to conclude there was an ancient settlement in Yenikapi whose inhabitants lived on animal grazing and farming. Researchers have also linked the findings to the remains of an ancient settlement in Çatalhöyük, a Neolithic site in southern Anatolia which was excavated in the 1960s. The similarity between the sites suggests that settlers in the Anatolian planes migrated to Istanbul’s shores some 8,000 years ago.

Taking into consideration the strategic location of Istanbul, it's not too hard to imagine that humans then as now would have likely exploited the relatively easy access between mainland Europe and Asia afforded by the narrow Bosphorus strait, although whether these early findings mark the beginning of a previously unsuspected continuous phase of settlement from Late Neolithic to the present, isn't as yet demonstrated. Back to those burial urns...

The clothes and jewelry of the deceased were put in containers alongside the urn along with other possible items. For instance, if the deceased was killed by an arrow, the arrow would be included as well. The known forms of cremation in Anatolian Archaeology were seen in the early Bronze Age, but this type of burial was uncommon at Neolithic age excavations that date back 8,000 years.

Inside the urns, ashes wrapped in cloth, daily used dishes and the private belongings of the deceased were found. One urn found contained the skeleton of a baby. Experts said it was very likely this area was a burial site. The theory constructed for previous findings, that they may have been moved to this location by movements of a stream bed is no longer viable.

Archaeologists working at the site said after these extremely important findings, the idea of letting heavy machinery operate on the site should be discarded. The crematorium itself may be reached if digging was to continue, according to archaeologists.

Although there doesn't appear to be a great deal of coverage elsewhere, this does appear to be something of a major find, as cremations rarely date this far back into prehistory, with the Bronze Age being an early era more commonly associated with this specific brand of funerary practice. A final word from Istanbul...

Dr. Karamut said the urns were definitely very important findings but added, “It is too early to talk. The dig continues. We will share the results with the public in the upcoming days. I have seen the artifacts at the site. On Monday, we will bring geologists there”. Karamut said after the examinations, the excavation would continue before they had an evaluation.

Associate Professor Necmi Karul, branch chairperson for the Archeologists Community in Istanbul, said, “In Anatolian archaeology, there were no urn burials from the Neolithic Age. It is an extremely sensational find. It is definitely a burial site because they are side by side. They date back to 5800-6000 BC, the last of the Neolithic Age”. Karul also said the head of the excavation should be congratulated for not stopping the diggings.

We can only hope that further work at the site reaps further rewards by imparting more insights into the lives and deaths of ancient farmers, their families and friends, who once dwelt together in a place whose future incarnations would witness both the rise of classical civilisation and the fall from grace of Byzantium, after the siege of Constantinople in 1453.

see also :: Saving Antiquities For Everyone : Archaeological Ethics And The Roman Metro Line 'C'

The National (Abu Dhabi) : Dig Unearths Treasures Of Byzantine Era And Before

PRI's The World :: Istanbul Part II : Sunken Tunnels, Sunken Boats

Yenikapi Museum, Istanbul

Marmaray Project

Çatalhöyük - Press Release 2008 - "Exciting New Discoveries"

image from Der Spiegel :: Digging To Byzantium