Ancient mound unearthed under dam water

ADIYAMAN

A 4,000-year-old mound and an architectural structure inside it have been unearthed after the water level of Atatürk Dam receded 15 meters in the southeastern province of Adıyaman.

The mound structure emerged in the place known as Gavur Tepe, located within the borders of Ürgüç village. The Adıyaman Museum Directorate was informed about the mound, which was noticed by villagers.

Examinations made by Sabahattin Ezer, an associate professor and the head of Adıyaman University’s Archaeology Department, and Mehmet Alkan, the museum director, on the wall and architectural structure revealed that it is a 4,000-year-old mound.

Ezer, who has been conducting surveys since 2013 and deepened these surveys in the last two years with the instruction of the university rector, Professor Mehmet Turgut, said: “Our examination reveals that this place is a mound. As the water of the Atatürk Dam fell, a natural destruction occurred. As a result of this destruction, some archaeological remains surfaced. We can clearly see that there is a mound formation here and that there is a settlement in this mound from the 2nd millennium B.C. Also, the ceramic remains here show us this very clearly. In other words, the existence of a settlement dating back 4,000 years is definitely here.”

“During the examinations that we made on the surface, we also detected walls. There are architectural structures. The walls that emerged with the erosion of the water give us ideas about the architecture of this place. Adıyaman University is carrying out surface research. Especially in the last two years, we focused on the prehistoric times of Adıyaman and found stone axes and stone tools dating back to 7,000 years B.C.,” he added.