IDENTIFICATION AND EVALUATION OF THE WOOD MATERIALS USED IN TWO HISTORICAL DJEMEVIES IN THE VILLAGE OF ONAR (ARAPGIR, MALATYA)

Abstract

In Onar Village of Malatya-Arapgir district, there are two djemevies (Buyuk Ocak and Kucuk Ocak), which are estimated to be about 800 years old, and open to visit. The aim of this paper is to identified the trees used in the poles of these two wooden buildings with high cultural value and to evaluate them in terms of material usage. Within the scope of the study, a small piece was taken from each of the nine poles of Buyuk Ocak Djemevi and six poles of Kucuk Ocak Djemevi. Identification results showed that the trees of the poles used in the construction of djemevies were mulberry ( Morus L. sp.), white oak ( Quercus L. sect. Quercus ), ash ( Fraxinus L. sp., poplar ( Populus L. sp.), pine ( Pinus L.). sp.) and wild pear ( Pyrus sp.). The most commonly used trees were found to be mulberry, poplar and ash, and the same kind of trees were also used in the roofs of the djemevies. Poplar is also an important tree used in historical buildings in the region. The trees used in djemevies are the trees that grow in the region. Within the identified trees, pine (Scotch pine) is natural in the Sivas-Erzincan line in the region and it is thought to be brought from this region along the Euphrates. According to our findings, these types of the woods used in the djemevies were also preferred in the buildings of Kemaliye and Arapgir. Finally, it can be concluded that there is a historical continuity in the use of native wood growing in nearby environment.