History of the Alacahöyük Excavations
Alacahöyük, the mound in Çorum’s Alaca district, was the scene of the Republic’s first national archaeological excavation. This page gives the excavation chronology from two official sources and marks the places where they differ. For the mound’s layers, royal tombs and Sphinx Gate see Alacahöyük, and for the finds see the Alacahöyük Museum.
Discovery and travellers
According to the Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, Alacahöyük was first introduced to the scholarly world in 1835 by the Englishman Hamilton (his name is written W.C. or W.G. Hamilton in the sources). The Türkiye Tourism Encyclopedia (Yılmaz, 2019) lists later visitors: Heinrich Barth in 1859, Georges Perrot and Andreas Mordtmann in 1861, Henry van Lennep in 1869, William Ramsay and Wilson in 1881 and Ernest Chantre in 1893. The same entry writes that Chantre’s attempt in 1894 to carry off some of the wall reliefs was prevented by villagers.
1907: Winckler and Makridi
The Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism writes that Hugo Winckler, working at Boğazköy-Hattusa since 1906, and Makridi Bey decided to research the mound on the proposal of Halil Ethem Bey, director of the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, and that in 1907 Makridi worked about 15 days at the Sphinx Gate. The Tourism Encyclopedia describes this as Winckler and Makridi working for about 15 days in front of the Sphinx Gate and the towers beside it, adding that the postern they found resembled those at Boğazköy. According to the same entry R.C. Thomson visited the mound in 1910 and H.H. von der Osten in 1926, and their scientific work provided a comprehensive introduction.
1935: the Republic’s first national excavation
According to the Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the first truly systematic excavations at the mound were started in the Republican period by Atatürk; the dig of 1935 was carried out on behalf of the Turkish Historical Society by Hamit Zübeyr Koşay, Remzi Oğuz Arık and Mahmut Akok. The Tourism Encyclopedia instead writes that the first national excavation began on 22 August 1935 under Remzi Oğuz Arık and that from 1936 the directorship passed to Hamit Zübeyr Koşay. The same entry says that, because Hüyük Village stood on the mound, it was moved to its present location on Atatürk’s order.
In the first year of the excavation three royal tombs of the Early Bronze Age, about 1,500 years older than the Hittite period, were found. The Tourism Encyclopedia says three more were found in 1936 and seven in 1937-1939; the entry describes the sun discs and the gold and silver vessels and ornaments from the tombs as the most magnificent works presenting the palace goods of the Anatolian Early Bronze Age.
1936-1983: the Koşay and Akok period
The Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism writes that the excavation was continued until 1983 by Koşay after 1936, then by Koşay and Akok, and in the final years by Akok. According to the Tourism Encyclopedia:
- After 1936 the large building known as the Temple-Palace began to be uncovered; in the digs of Koşay and Akok in 1940-1948 and 1963-1967 many small Phrygian and Hittite finds were made, the building was fully uncovered, and a comprehensive publication by stratigraphic layer appeared for the first time.
- No excavation took place in 1949-1962, and no comprehensive work was carried out after 1967.
- The excavations begun at Atatürk’s wish ended in 1983.
After 1984
The Tourism Encyclopedia writes that no scientific work was done in 1984-1996, and that the Çorum Museum carried out landscaping and cleaning. The later period appears in the sources as follows:
| Source | Period | Excavation director |
|---|---|---|
| Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism | from 1996 | Aykut Çınaroğlu |
| Türkiye Tourism Encyclopedia | 1997-2016 | Aykut Çınaroğlu |
| Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism | from 2021 (“after a 3-year break”) | Tayfun Yıldırım |
The Tourism Encyclopedia writes that in the Çınaroğlu period a second enclosure wall was found in addition to the one known from earlier digs (an 86-metre stretch has been uncovered), together with grain stores, a metal workshop and Early Bronze Age buildings. The metal workshop was in use from the late phase of the Assyrian Trade Colonies to the Old Hittite period; slag analyses detected gold, silver and bronze. According to the same entry the Gölpınar Hittite water dam was fully uncovered in 2002 by excavations under Çınaroğlu; see Archaeological Sites of Alaca for this structure.
Open questions
The same encyclopedia entry writes that the function of the Temple-Palace has not been settled, that no archive has yet been found in the excavations, and that for Alacahöyük’s Hittite-period name some Hittitologists propose Arinna and others Zippalanda.
Other excavations
For Çorum’s other major digs see the history of the Hattusa excavations and the Šapinuwa excavations; visitors can consult the Alacahöyük Visitor Guide.
Sources
- Ali İzzet Yılmaz (2019), “Alacahöyük Örenyeri Kazıları” (Excavations at the Alacahöyük Site), Online Türkiye Turizm Ansiklopedisi. https://turkiyeturizmansiklopedisi.com/alacahoyuk-orenyeri-kazilari
- Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, “Kazı Alanları” (Excavation Sites). https://corum.ktb.gov.tr/TR-58773/kazi-alanlari.html
Frequently asked questions
When did the first excavation of the Republican era begin at Alacahöyük?
The Türkiye Tourism Encyclopedia (Yılmaz, 2019) says the first national excavation began on 22 August 1935; the Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism also states that systematic excavation began in 1935 on behalf of the Turkish Historical Society.
How long was there a break in the Alacahöyük excavations?
According to the sources, no scientific work took place after the excavations of the Turkish Historical Society period ended in 1983; excavation resumed under Aykut Çınaroğlu, a date the Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism gives as 1996 and the Tourism Encyclopedia as 1997.