Alacahöyük

Alacahöyük is a settlement mound occupied from the Chalcolithic onward, and it matters for two distinct phases. The Early Bronze Age, before the Hittites, produced thirteen or fourteen royal tombs, by different counts, excavated here in the 1930s, containing gold and silver vessels, jewellery, and the standards - openwork bronze discs and stag figures on stands, probably mounted on poles or carts - which became emblems of Turkish archaeology and appear on everything from Ankara's monuments to banknotes. The originals are in the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations. The second phase is Hittite: the site was a significant town, and its monumental gate is flanked by two sphinxes carved in relief on the jambs, with orthostat panels along the walls showing a king and queen worshipping a bull, musicians, acrobats and a hunt. The carvings on site are casts; the originals are in Ankara. A small museum by the entrance holds finds.

History

The mound, 310 by 275 metres and about 14 metres high, has 14 layers of occupation, from the Chalcolithic through the Early Bronze Age to the Hittites, with Phrygian, Roman and Ottoman traces on top, and people have lived on it ever since, down to today's village. Its shaft-grave royal tombs, counted here as fourteen and dated to 2850-2450 BC, the age of the royal tombs of Ur and of Troy II, held the dead with folded legs facing west, with bulls' heads and legs, gold diadems and brooches and bronze standards of bulls and stags, now in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, among them a gold-handled dagger. The Hittite name of the town is unknown, with Arinna, Tawiniya and Zippalanda all suggested (Wikipedia, Alaca Höyük).

The main sights

• The sphinx gate - the carved entrance to the Hittite town.
• The relief orthostats - worship, musicians and hunting scenes.
• The royal tomb pits - the Bronze Age burials, now empty.
• The site museum - finds and the excavation record.

When to go

April to June and September to October. Mornings; the mound is exposed and the plateau is hot in summer and cold in winter.

Practical notes

The gate reliefs on site are replicas - the originals are in Ankara, as are the famous standards. What survives is at foundation level. A car is needed and facilities are minimal.

Nearby

Hattusa and Yazılıkaya are about 25 km south; Çorum and its museum are north-west.

Key facts