Middle Bronze Age Zincirli: An Interim Report on Architecture, Small Finds, and Ceramics from a Monumental Complex of the 17th Century b.c.e.

Abstract

Recent excavations at the site of Zincirli Höyük in southeastern Turkey have revealed significant remains of the Middle Bronze Age II period, with evidence for local food (and probably wine) production and storage, textile production, and administrative activities. Certain cylinder seal and vessel types further indicate that the site was well-integrated into a contemporary exchange network linking the Euphrates, North Syria, and central Anatolia. The newly discovered complex includes the massive Hilani I, heretofore attributed to the Iron Age but now believed to be a Middle Bronze Age temple rather than a bīt ḫilāni palace. This preliminary report presents architecture, ceramics, and small finds associated with this complex, DD, which comprises, in addition to Hilani I, two well-provisioned buildings (DD/I and DD/II), a street, and exterior work spaces, and was destroyed in a conflagration in the mid-17th century b.c.e. Ongoing research by the Chicago-Tübingen Expedition seeks to illuminate the function of Complex DD and Hilani I, as well as the regional significance of the site, including its political relationship to nearby Tilmen Höyük/Zalwar, destroyed in the campaigns of Ḫattušili I, and its role in the trade of luxury commodities such as wine and textiles.