Gritille Höyük
Gritille Höyük · Gritille
Ubaid–Uruk to Iron Age (4500–600 BCE)·Upper Euphrates Chalcolithic–Early Bronze·🇹🇷 Adıyaman Province, Samsat Plain, Turkey
About
About Gritille Höyük
Gritille Höyük in Adıyaman Province, Samsat Plain, Turkey is a Ubaid–Uruk to Iron Age (4500–600 BCE) tell of Upper Euphrates Chalcolithic–Early Bronze tradition. Multi-period Euphrates ferry village, now drowned rescue key. 4500 BCE, the site forms a stratified mound/karst mound 220×180 m, 12 m stratified, submerged under atatürk dam. Excavations since the mid-20th c. expose mudbrick houses with plastered floors, storage silos, salvage trenches architecture with diagnostic ceramics, lithics and administrative finds.
Archaeobotany and radiocarbon anchor the sequence, informing regional Upper Euphrates Chalcolithic–Early Bronze networks across the Adıyaman Province. Threats include reservoir flooding, erosion, salvage limitations; research continues on Upper Euphrates Chalcolithic–Early Bronze chronology.
Why it mattersType-site for Upper Euphrates Chalcolithic–Early Bronze Ubaid–Uruk to Iron Age (4500–600 BCE) in Adıyaman Province, Samsat Plain; key for chronology, technology and interaction.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Chronology of Upper Euphrates Chalcolithic–Early Bronze levels?
- 02Function of extramural cemetery?
Theories
- 01Demic diffusion vs local adoption
- 02Ritual aggregation centre
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.4500 BCE
- Period
- Ubaid–Uruk to Iron Age (4500–600 BCE)
- Culture
- Upper Euphrates Chalcolithic–Early Bronze
- Purpose
- Multi-period Euphrates ferry village, now drowned rescue key
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.4500 BCE
Initial construction / first occupation
c.1200 BCE
Major expansion / fortification phase
20th c.
Systematic excavation begins
On the ground
Structures & features
37.5800° N · 38.7200° E · 520 m · 3 mapped features
Gritille Höyük — Central Mound
tellCentral mound with stratified architecture Levels I–IV
37.5804° N · 38.7205° EGritille Höyük — Lower Town Workshop
workshopWorkshop/midden with pottery, slag or lithics
37.5794° N · 38.7194° EGritille Höyük — Cemetery/Gate
cemeteryExtramural cemetery or gate area
37.5802° N · 38.7192° E