Centuries-old paint palette found in Küllüoba

ESKİŞEHİR

A 5,000-year-old paint palette made of stone was found in excavations that have been ongoing in Küllüoba since 1996 in the Seyitgazi district of the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir.

Efforts are underway to bring to light the history of the region, where uninterrupted settled life existed for 1,600 years during the Bronze Age between 3500-1900 B.C.

This year, a team of 30 people consisting of faculty members and students from Çukurova, Batman and Hacettepe universities, led by Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University (BŞEÜ), is working in the excavations.

Traces of the Bronze Age are searched in the mound, which is 350 meters long and 150 meters wide and located 15 kilometers northeast of Seyitgazi district center. During the studies in the east and west of the mound, it is estimated that the 5,000-year-old palette found in one of the houses of the period was used to paint the bowls.

Head of the excavations, Associated Professor Murat Türktaki said that the excavations in Küllüoba were initiated in 1996.

Stating that Küllüoba, located at the western end of the Upper Sakarya Plain of Eskişehir, is a settlement that dominates both the plain and the trade lines passing through the region, Türkteki said.

“It is one of the settlements on the trade line extending from northern Syria to the Balkans from 2,400s to 2,300 B.C. It is certain that this plain was used for caravan trade. Control of the plain was also provided by Küllüoba.”

Türkteki explained that during the 2020 excavations they aimed to establish a link between the structures of this community and the earliest settlers living in the cemetery site, the location of which was determined last year.

Expressing that they excavated areas covering 3000s B.C. this year, Türkteki said that the settlement in Küllüoba was very large since the beginning of the first Bronze Age.

He said that the excavation work continued in the residential area of the period.

“We found that domestic production was made in every house. Inside each house there is a stove and oven. We can say that woven and clay pot production was made. One of our important findings this year is that we found red colored paint residue in a container. Painted pottery was also found in the same area,” Türkteki said.

“There are traces of paint residues in it. In the palette we found, red paint residues look very good. We think this palette was used for painting containers. We can date the palette to 2,900-3,000 years B.C. We will make analysis of paint marks in the coming days. We will carry out its content and pigment analysis. An important and exciting find, as it is a find we have not encountered before,” he added.