Derekutuğun Mine Gallery
The Derekutuğun Mine Gallery is a copper-mining site dated to the Early Bronze Age, located around the village of Derekutuğun and the localities of Erikli, Karanlık Dere and Mazı Önü in the district of Bayat. According to the official source of the Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the ceramic artifacts and copper deposits identified in the area date to the 4th millennium BC.
The Galleries and Archaeological Work
The galleries dating from when the mine was worked consist of tunnels so narrow that a person can enter them only with difficulty. Archaeological work carried out in these galleries points to the significance of the region in the history of early metallurgy in Anatolia. Small-scale copper mining is known to have taken place in various parts of Central Anatolia during the Early Bronze Age, and Derekutuğun is one of the sites carrying tangible traces of that tradition.
Registration Status
The Derekutuğun Mine Gallery has been registered as a first-degree archaeological site by the Ankara Regional Board for the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Heritage, under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. This status means the site is protected at the highest level against any intervention other than excavation and scientific research.
Relationship to Bayat’s Other Archaeological Sites
Derekutuğun is not the only archaeological site in the district of Bayat. Seven kilometers south of the district center, at the Akkaya locality in the village of Yerliköy, the Akkaya Mound (Akkaya Höyük) is registered as an archaeological site dating to the Hittite and Roman periods; on the limestone outcrops along the road to the town of Kunduzlu, there are also two rock tombs dating to the Roman period. Taken together, these three sites show that the lands of Bayat have a settlement and production history that can be considered continuous from the Early Bronze Age through the Roman period.
Visiting
The Derekutuğun Mine Gallery currently has no regular visitor infrastructure or marked trail; the site is managed primarily for archaeological research and conservation purposes. For the district’s general history and other places to see, see the History of Bayat article.