Layers of Yumuktepe Mound to be open to visitors

MERSİN

The Yumuktepe Mound in the southern province of Mersin, one of the oldest settlements in Anatolia dating back to 7,000 B.C., will offer its visitors the chance to discover the remains of many layers in an open-air museum that will be created as part of an archeopark project.

The first archaeological excavations started in 1937 in the mound, which is home to the remains of many layers from the Neolithic period to the Middle Ages. Also known as the “Cradle of Civilizations” as it bears the traces of many civilizations, the mound is located in the Tauruslar district.

A protocol was signed between Mersin University and the Mersin Metropolitan Municipality in 2018 for the mound to be opened to visitors as an archeopark. Excavations have been carried out in the mound by a team headed by Isabella Caneva, a member of Italian Lecce University’s Faculty of Archaeology. The archeopark project, implemented by İpek Durukan, a member of the Mersin University’s Faculty of Architecture, has been approved by the Adana Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board.

Durukan told the state-run Anadolu Agency that the project was approved after the revisions requested by the board had been completed and that the Metropolitan Municipality would be expected to start implementation in the next period.

Stating that the project team consists of Caneva, who has carried out the season excavations for 28 years, as well as city planner Burak Belge and landscape architect Sinan Burat, Durukan stated that many experts in their field also supported the work.

Durukan explained that with the project, they aim to present Yumuktepe to the public.

“Within the scope of the project, there is a welcome center at the entrance. The center will include a presentation room, security, information, cafeteria and offices. In the southwest of the mound, there is a ‘huğ house’ within the boundaries of the first-degree archaeological site. This type of house structure, whose traces were unearthed during the excavation of the mound, has been used many times in Mersin’s history. It is made with a branch knitting system using reeds, and it is plastered with adobe. The conservation project of this house has been prepared and the reconstruction will be made. It will be presented to the public in the same area in the welcome center. A top cover will be made in order to exhibit and protect the layers in the excavation area where works have been completed,” Durukan said.

Durukan stated that the work would take the visitors of the mound on a historical journey, adding, “This place dates back to 9,000 years. It comes to the fore as an uninterrupted settlement area in the eastern Mediterranean basin. It is one of the few mounds that all archaeologists in the world know that preserve its original position. Visitors will be able to examine both the excavation works in progress and the layers in the area.”