MURAT HÖYÜK EARLY BRONZE AGE METAL FIGURINE

Abdülkadir ÖZDEMİR; Abdulvahap Onur BAMYACI

Makale detayları

MURAT HÖYÜK EARLY BRONZE AGE METAL FIGURINE

Yazarlar:

Abdülkadir ÖZDEMİR | Abdulvahap Onur BAMYACI

Yayıncı:

Mersin University

Ana Başlıklar:

Antik dünya tarihi

Dergi:

OLBA 2022 Vol.XXX Issue XXX, pp.1-20

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

5/2022

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2000530786

Sıklık:

Yıllık

eISSN:

2687-6558

pISSN:

1301-7667

Özet:

 

This study presents a detailed examination of a metal figurine found during the 2019 
excavations at Murat Höyük, located on the bank of the Murat River in the Solhan district of 
the Province Bingöl in Eastern Anatolia. Because the mound was to be inundated by the Aşağı 
Kaleköy hydroelectric dam, extensive salvage excavations were conducted at the site in 2019 under 
the directorship of the Elazığ Museum. Four main settlement phases (Medieval, Middle Iron, Early 
Iron, Early Bronze) were documented at the site with the earliest habitation dating to the Early 
Bronze Age III (2500-2200 BC).

 

This study presents a detailed examination of a metal figurine found during the 2019 
excavations at Murat Höyük, located on the bank of the Murat River in the Solhan district of 
the Province Bingöl in Eastern Anatolia. Because the mound was to be inundated by the Aşağı 
Kaleköy hydroelectric dam, extensive salvage excavations were conducted at the site in 2019 under 
the directorship of the Elazığ Museum. Four main settlement phases (Medieval, Middle Iron, Early 
Iron, Early Bronze) were documented at the site with the earliest habitation dating to the Early 
Bronze Age III (2500-2200 BC). 
While figurines shaped out of clay, stone, and marble are more common in the 
archaeological record of Early Bronze Age (EBA) Anatolia, and metal figurines are relatively rare, 
a metal figurine (‘statuette’) was discovered in the EBA settlement level of Murat Höyük. In terms 
of typological and stylistic details, the metal figurine of Murat Höyük appears unique in the 3rd 
millennium records of Mesopotamia, the Aegean, and the Balkans. The figurine depicts a standing 
nude with stylized hands and feet. Eye-sockets are marked as shallow pits, while the mouth is not 
indicated. Arms are stretched out on both sides; head is slightly inclined to the left; breasts are 
fashioned as appliqué protrusions; and pubic triangle is indicated with incised lines. The fact that 
stone mold and crucible fragments were found in the same level of the site suggests that the object 
was most probably produced locally by casting. Casting defects (flash lines) are observable on the 
surface. In this study, based on a comparative iconographic examination, we propose that a goddess 
is depicted here. With its unique characteristics, the Murat Höyük goddess figurine is a significant 
contribution to the repertoire of metal ‘figurines’ in Anatolia, Syria, and Mesopotamia with broader 
implications about EBA metallurgy, art, and belief systems.

Makale detayları

MURAT HÖYÜK EARLY BRONZE AGE METAL FIGURINE

Yazarlar: Abdülkadir ÖZDEMİR | Abdulvahap Onur BAMYACI

Yayıncı: Mersin University

Ana Başlıklar: Antik dünya tarihi

Dergi: OLBA 2022 Vol.XXX Issue XXX, pp.1-20

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 5/2022

Belge Dili: İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.): 2000530786

Sıklık: Yıllık

eISSN: 2687-6558

pISSN: 1301-7667

Sayı

Yazarlar:

Abdülkadir ÖZDEMİR | Abdulvahap Onur BAMYACI

Yayıncı:

Mersin University

Ana Başlıklar:

Antik dünya tarihi

Dergi:

OLBA 2022 Vol.XXX Issue XXX, pp.1-20

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

5/2022

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2000530786

Sıklık:

Yıllık

eISSN:

2687-6558

pISSN:

1301-7667