Seyitömer Höyük Project

UB Faculty Involvement:

Sponsoring Institutions:

  • Dumlupınar University, University at Buffalo

Funding:

  • The Seyitömer Lignite Company, University at Buffalo Foundation, The Joukowsky Family Foundation, and other private donors.

Nature of Project:

Seyitömer Höyük is located in the Seyitömer Lignite Company’s coal reserve zone in Kütahya.  It is an ancient habitation site measuring 150 X 150 meters and originally was 23.5 meters high above its surroundings.  It is located within the boundaries of the old town of Seyitömer.  The site will be excavated completely over five years (2006-2010) because the Seyitömer Lignite Company intends to mine 12 million tons of exploitable coal beneath it.  The challenge to the archaeologists is unique, presenting problems and solutions both in completing the task using the best archaeological methods available while conducting a rescue excavation.

The site has been the subject of research projects before: the Eskeşehir Museum in 1989 for one season and the Afyon Museum from 1990 to 1995.  Both excavations managed to excavate only about 1/10 of the mound.

As a result of those archaeological projects, it was learned that the mound was inhabited during the Chalcolithic, Bronze, Phrygian (Iron), Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Seljuk periods, beginning about 5000 years ago.   

In 2005, the Seyitömer Lignite Company applied to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, with an aim to initiate an excavation so that the coal reserve present beneath the mound could eventually be exploited.  For this reason, Dumlupınar University established its Department of Archaeology and then signed a protocol between the University and the coal industry to provide the required specialists to re-open the excavation.  Consequently the present rescue excavations at the Seyitomer mound began.

Status:

  • Each season begins in May and lasts until the end of October. 

    Student participation.

    Student from the US and Turkey are invited to apply. A field school from the US is in residence in June and July.  The work week is Monday to Saturday.

More information:

Seyitömer web site:  http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~clapaley

              Study abroad web site: http:wings.buffalo.edu/studyabroad/