Author Archives: Catherine Scott

Voices from the Field (2017-06-16)

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An exchange

Christina Luke

Last week, the Kaymakçı Archaeological Project (KAP) and the Fen Bilimleri School in Salihli had the opportunity to spend the day together. After tea, fresh apricots and homemade pastries, the students were split into three groups.

  • Project and school leadership meet.
  • Beautiful apricots from the Şener's garden.

 

In the ceramic lab, they were shown recording methods and 3D scanning. In the conservation lab, students learned about objects and science, and they tried to mend broken plates (from the local department store Kipa). It was hard!

In the zooarchaeology lab, they discussed the details of studying bones from the archaeological record to understand food patterns but also arts – wool and leather especially. KAP team members introduced students to using 3D images and virtual reality to determine the difference between sheep and goat bones.

In the afternoon, KAP members visited the school in Salihli. During a lovely poolside lunch, we met the director and talked with teachers and students about their school and future collaborations with KAP. We were impressed by their English and felt ashamed that we didn’t speak more Turkish!  

 

We were then shown the lower school, including the terrific chess room. We toured the main building to see classrooms as well as the wonderful café on the upper floor. Our time ended with a visit to the horses. We learned that this part of the curriculum promotes civil engagement and appreciation of animals.

Look forward to more posts from Gygaia Projects over the course of the year!

Voices from the Field (2017-06-15)

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We are underway!

The 2017 season has begun at the Kaymakçı Archaeological Project! This year is a study season, so look forward to posts discussing our work to understand better the history of this amazing site! 

 

Project members taking a tour of the site. Photo credit: Jana Mokrisova.

Look forward to more posts from Gygaia Projects over the course of the year!

Voices from the Field (2017-02-01)

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Planted in Istanbul

Nami Shin

A beautiful day at Koç.

Analyzing ancient plant material is extremely rewarding, but can be a laborious process as well. A single archaeobotanical sample can take anywhere from a couple of hours to days to finish. However, being on the beautiful campus of Koç University makes the analysis just a bit easier. A beautiful forest surrounds the university and the various plants that decorate the campus are all labeled with their scientific names. As an archaeobotanist, the abundance of nature is calming to me and the labeling of the plants is something I truly appreciate.

 

 

 

My time at Koç this year has mostly been spent analyzing the botanical samples from the 2016 excavation season. The analyses have proven fruitful and I have found many exciting things in the samples. For more information, look out for future publications!

Appreciating the fact that all the plants are labeled.

Nami analyzing a sample at the Archaeology lab at Koç.

 

Analyzing these samples is extremely important in understanding what life was like at Kaymakçı during the Bronze Age. At Kaymakçı we know they were eating barley, different varieties of wheat, grape, and different legumes among other things. Looking at the past through plant remains not only gives us an idea of what they were eating, but also the other types of plants that dotted the landscape of the site. We can see what kinds of flowers and other wild plants were present, giving us a richer picture of what life looked like for the ancient inhabitants.

As the excavation continues, our knowledge of the ancient environment will also continue to grow. I look forward to learning more about these ancient people and I hope you do too!

The garden. One of the most beautiful places on the Koç campus.

Look forward to more posts from Gygaia Projects over the course of the year!

Voices from the Field (2016-07-23)

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Holding the Past

Peter Cobb

(Photo credits: Hakan Hatay)

People in the past used pottery in many aspects of their lives, but especially during meals. As we excavate each day at Kaymakçı, we uncover these vessels, broken into pieces and scattered throughout the site. Many of these vessels are bowls, useful for multiple purposes during meals.

As we work with these vessels, we have the chance to touch and hold them as people did in the past. Handles on the sides of the bowls still fit well in our own hands.

Even though the vessels are usually broken, we can imagine how they would have looked when complete, in the past. In this way, we connect with the people who lived thousands of years ago based on our shared human activities of eating and drinking.

Look forward to more posts from Gygaia Projects over the course of the year!

Voices from the Field (2016-07-14)

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Floating at Kaymakçi

Emily Johnson

So, what does it take to transform bags of unremarkable soil samples into analyzable carbonized material? At the Kaymakçi Archaeological Project, this involves a large orange flotation tank and a lot of water pressure.

In order to deliver water to the tank so that we can dissolve the soil and leave the carbonized remains floating on the surface of the water, an electric-powered pump pushes water up a hill to a repository, where it then flows back down the hill. The floatation team is able to take advantage of the water pressure both as it is being pushed up the hill and as it is falling back down in order to help release stubborn carbonized plant and seed parts from the soil.

Of course, this often involves a bit of troubleshooting, including building a series of canals to divert water flow, dealing with temperamental hoses and valves, and managing the local wildlife.

In the end, the carbonized remains that are analyzed during the off-season are invaluable in helping the project to understand the life and environment of the people living at Kaymakçi.

Look forward to more posts from Gygaia Projects over the course of the year!

Voices from the Field (2016-07-10)

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Newcomers at Kaymakçı!

Haley Chasteene and József Puskás

Newcomers to an archaeological project usually have a period of adjustment. Luckily, here at Kaymakçı, a fast-paced learning environment and very friendly team and staff can help alleviate newbie stress. Haley is a recent graduate from San Diego State University and has a background in the archaeology of California. Joska received a MA degree from BBU from Cluj-Napoca, Romania, and has experience in excavating Bronze Age sites in Transylvania. We both decided to join this project to widen our knowledge of digital archaeological technologies and to experience a new environment.

Teamwork: Haley Chasteene recording coordinates with the RTK GPS, while Joska Puskas holds digital photogrammetry target in place.

Teamwork: Haley Chasteene recording coordinates with the RTK GPS, while Joska Puskas holds a digital photogrammetry target in place.

We enjoy the opportunity to learn and use a more digitally based recording system.

Recording new features in our excavation area.

Recording new features in our excavation area.

Our staff lives in villages surrounding Kaymakçı. Having daily exposures to local culture and language is just another perk of this already rewarding archaeological experience.

Çay mola. One of our favorite times of the day.

Çay mola. One of our favorite times of the day.

Every day we continue to widen our knowledge of a paperless digital recording system, while also spanning our view of Turkish culture and language. We are very thankful to be a part of the team.

Look forward to more posts from Gygaia Projects over the course of the year!

Voices from the Field (2016-06-29)

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What happens when you don’t excavate for two years? – reviewing excavation area protection measures

Caitlin R. O’Grady

Every season, we spend a lot of time and effort implementing measures to protect excavation areas between field seasons. This includes “wrapping” architecture, scarps and baulks with geotextile, a water permeable cloth made from thermally bonded non-woven polypropylene fibers. The geotextile protects these features minimizing erosion and plant growth. Following wrapping, we use rocks and “dirt bags” to ensure complete protection.

However, long term exposure to plants, animals and the elements between seasons cause the geotextile to degrade, which makes it necessary to “unwrap” and “rewrap” architecture and excavation areas.

Luckily, I work with a great team of people that make this process smooth – even on the two hottest days of the season! 46° and 47° C (that’s 115° and 117° F!) thus far.

Photo: Hakan Hatay

Photo: Hakan Hatay

In anticipation of this process, the conservation team unrolled geotextile to cut more manageable pieces to use in the field.

In anticipation of this process, the conservation team unrolled geotextile to cut more manageable pieces to use in the field.

We then “unwrap” the excavation area

We then “unwrap” the excavation area.

We then check architecture for stability.

We then check architecture for stability.

Finally, we are ready to “rewrap”! (Photo: Hakan Hatay)

Finally, we are ready to “rewrap”! (Photo: Hakan Hatay)

And more teamwork on one of the hottest days of the season! (Photo: Hakan Hatay)

And more teamwork on one of the hottest days of the season! (Photo: Hakan Hatay)

Look forward to more posts from Gygaia Projects over the course of the year!

Voices from the Field (2016-06-24)

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Going 3D at Koç

Tunç Kaner

 

 

During my two years with the Kaymakçı Archeological Project (KAP), I have worked closely with Peter Cobb to develop a holistic recording system for ceramics from Kaymakçı. Related to this work, I have also recently begun to help with the 3D digital recording of ceramics from the Central Lydia Archaeological Survey (CLAS), directed by Christina and Chris between 2005 and 2014.

I live and study in Izmir at Ege University, but I travelled to Istanbul a few times during the 2015–2016 academic year to work with the CLAS material in the Archaeology Lab at Koc University. I worked with Christina Luke and Chris Roosevelt in person, and Peter Cobb virtually, to train a team of MA and PhD students in 3D recording methods. I also set-up the project’s NextEngine 3D Scanner as well as photography and Pantone Capsure (Munsell) stations in the lab, where they will be set up again in the fall for the next academic year. The training took two weeks; later I monitored Koç students from Izmir and visited Istanbul again for intensive periods of work.

We are continuing the same procedures now in our field lab, where we are working with a larger team on classifying and documenting ceramics that have just been excavated.

Look forward to more posts from Gygaia Projects over the course of the year!

Voices from the Field (2016-06-19)

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A new season at Kaymakçı!

Chris Roosevelt & Christina Luke

We’re back in the field for another excavation season of the Kaymakçı Archaeological Project. Storage depots and excavation areas have been reopened, the team has arrived from universities in Turkey, Europe, and the US, general orientations are complete, and we are moving fully forward to continue to explore this ever surprising citadel from around 3500 years ago.

We hope you enjoy following the project’s progress as the season unfolds!

 

It’s back to early mornings again for an enthusiastic team (Photo: Hakan Hatay)

We broke ground in excavation areas at Kaymakçı, overlooking scenic Lake Marmara and environs, and held introductory orientations for participants on site and in labs (Photo: Chris Roosevelt)

Catherine Scott (Boston University PhD Candidate and Koç University ANAMED Fellow) discusses excavation strategies with Sinan Ünlüsoy (KAP Assistant Director, Yaşar University) (Photo: Hakan Hatay)

Training in the recording system with Ebru Ayten (Middle East Technical University), as well as Veli Tekin and Mustafa Çelebı (Büyükbelen) (Photo: Hakan Hatay)

Haley Chasteene (recent UCSD grad), József Puskás (Babeş-Bolyai University), and Jana Mokrišová (University of Michigan PhD Candidate and Koç University ANAMED Fellow) plot their plan of action (Photo: Hakan Hatay)

Necmettin Akar (Büyükbelen), Rojda Arslan and Hazel Özmen (Koç University), and Dan Plekhov (Brown University) consider different problems across an excavation area (Photo: Hakan Hatay)

Look forward to more posts from Gygaia Projects over the course of the year!

Voices from the Field (2016-06-16)

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Geophysics 2016

Dan Plekhov

May saw the annual arrival of the geophysics team for three weeks of electrical resistivity survey at Kaymakçı, officially kicking off the 2016 KAP season! As part of an ongoing campaign aimed at mapping out potential structures and features below the site’s surface, this year focused primarily on areas outside the walls of Kaymakçı that we otherwise get little opportunity to explore. Our team this season was comprised of Dan Plekhov, Haley Chasteene, and Güzin Eren, who served as Acting Director of the project for the geophysics season.

 

 

Some of the areas we worked in were rough. Geophysical survey is always somewhat physically taxing, but this year we got to work in some particularly steep and overgrown areas. We soldiered on!

Other areas were far more pleasurable, and the joyous arrival of rain helped soften the soil and make our lives much easier.

But of course, rain or shine, being in the field was always worth it, if only for the views…

 

So thus ended another successful and wonderful season of geophysics at Kaymakçı, made successful and far more enjoyable by our incredible team, and all the other friends we made along the way! Onwards to excavation!

Look forward to more posts from Gygaia Projects over the course of the year!