Projects
Kilise Tepe Project
- Project Leader: Mark Jackson and J.N. Postgate (Cambridge)
- Sponsors: British Academy (Large Grant), National Geographic (2007), Dumbarton Oaks, Washington DC (2009, 2011)
The Kilise Tepe Byzantine Project is directed by Mark Jackson (as co-investigator) under the umbrella of the multi-period Kilise Tepe Archaeological Excavation Project (directed by Prof. J.N. Postgate).
Kilise Tepe is a mound located in the Göksu Valley in southern Turkey which was excavated as part of a rescue project (1994-1998) and is now the focus of this new research excavation.
The site provides us with the opportunity to study an entire Byzantine rural settlement during the neglected period of profound change from late Antiquity to the 13th century AD.
In the new campaign of excavations, which began in 2007, we aim to provide new evidence and interpretation for the social dynamics of Byzantine rural life by focusing on well-preserved Byzantine vernacular buildings and their surrounding features.
We have employed both geophysical survey techniques and excavation to study the architectural character of the site within its topographical setting. The project has focused on the retrieval of faunal remains and palaeobotanical samples as well as refining the local ceramic sequence.
We seek ultimately to address questions about local Byzantine rural life and to contribute to broader questions of continuity and transition in south-central Anatolia during the Byzantine period.
In 2018 and 2019 Mark Jackson and teams of students from Newcastle University continued museum-based research at the Silifke Museum to quantify and record artefacts from the Byzantine contexts at Kilise Tepe. We also carried out further sampling for radiocarbon dating in conjunction with the Silifke Museum and TUBITAK.
References
- Neri, E., Jackson, M., O'Hea, M., Gregory, T., Blet-Lemarquand, M., Schibille, N. (2017) “Analyses of glass tesserae from Kilise Tepe: New insights into an early Byzantine production technology”. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 11, 600-612. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.12.036
- Jackson, M. (2015) “2007–2011 Excavations at Kilise Tepe: A Byzantine Rural Settlement in Isauria” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 69, 355-380. https://eprint.ncl.ac.uk/file_store/production/215482/18822954-E8BD-4898-A5A2-9C33E531202D.pdf
- Jackson M. “Byzantine Settlement at Kilise Tepe in the Göksu Valley”. In: Hoff, M., Townsend, R, ed. Rough Cilicia: New Archaeological and Historical Approaches. Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2013, pp.219-232. https://eprint.ncl.ac.uk/file_store/production/157192/DC6BA46C-99ED-4869-813A-869EAA4B826E.pdf
- Jackson, M.P.C.; Postgate, J.N.; Serifoglu, T.E. (2015) “Kilise Tepe Kazıları (1994-2012)”, Mersin Arkeolojik Kazı ve Araştırmaları, Ü. Aydınoglu (Ed.), Mersin: Mersin Valiliği: 59-71.
- Jackson M. “Byzantine Settlement at Kilise Tepe in the Göksu Valley”. In: Hoff, M., Townsend, R, ed. Rough Cilicia: New Archaeological and Historical Approaches. Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2013, pp.219-232.
- Jackson M.P.C., Postgate, J.N. and Serifoglu T.E. (2013) “Kilise Tepe 2011 Yili Kazilari” Kazi Sonuçlari Toplantisi 34(2), 5-24. http://www.kulturvarliklari.gov.tr/TR,44760/kazi-sonuclari-toplantilari.html
- Jackson, M. (2012) “Excavations of the Byzantine-Period Levels at Kilise Tepe 2011: Preliminary Report on the Final Excavation Season” Dumbarton Oaks Project Grants (webpage) https://www.doaks.org/research/byzantine/project-grants/jackson-2011-2012
- Jackson, M. (2010) “The Byzantine Rural Settlement at Kilise Tepe: A Preliminary Report on the 2009 Season” Dumbarton Oaks Project Grants (webpage) https://www.doaks.org/research/byzantine/project-grants/jackson-2009-2010
- Jackson M, Postgate N. (2010) “Excavations at Kilise Tepe 2009”. Kazi Sonuçlari Toplantisi, 32(3), 424-446. http://www.kulturvarliklari.gov.tr/sempozyum_pdf/kazilar/32_kazi_3.pdf
- Jackson M. “Medieval Rural Settlement at Kilise Tepe in the Göksu Valley”. In: Vorderstrasse, T., Roodenberg, J.J, ed. Archaeology of the Countryside in Medieval Anatolia. Leiden, Netherlands: Netherlands Institute for the Near East, 2009, 71-83.
- Jackson MPC. “Local Painted Pottery Trade in early Byzantine Isauria”. In: Mango, M.M, ed. Byzantine Trade, 4th-12th Centuries: The Archaeology of Local, Regional and International Exchange. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2009, 137-144.
- Collon D, Jackson M, Postgate N. (2009) “Excavations at Kilise Tepe 2008”. Kazi Sonuçlari Toplantisi, 31(1), 159-184. http://www.kulturvarliklari.gov.tr/sempozyum_pdf/kazilar/31_kazi_1.pdf
- Jackson M, Postgate N. (2009) “Excavations at Kilise Tepe 2007”. Kazi Sonuçlari Toplantisi, 30(3), 207-232. http://www.kulturvarliklari.gov.tr/sempozyum_pdf/kazilar/30_kazi_3.pdf
- Jackson M. (2008) “Byzantine Ceramics From The Excavations at Kilise Tepe 2007 And Recent Research On Pottery From Alahan”. Arastirma Sonuçlari Toplantisi, 26(2), 159-174. http://www.kulturvarliklari.gov.tr/sempozyum_pdf/arastirmalar/26_arastirma_2.pdf