Alacahöyük (2/3)

Day 2,471, 08:44 • Published in Turkey Turkey • by Baris Emek

Alacahöyük, Çorum'un 45 km. güneyinde, Alaca İlçesi'nin 17 km. kuzeybatısında yer almakta olup, Boğazköy'e 34, Ankara'ya ise 210 km. uzaklıktaki Alacahöyük Köyü yerleşim alanı içerisindedir.
Höyük, bilim alemine ilk kez 1835 yılında W.C. Hamilton tarafından tanıtılmış olup, bu yıllardan itibaren höyük Orta Anadolu'yu ziyaret eden bilginlerin uğrak yeri olmuştur. 1861 yılında ise G. Perrot Anadolu gezisi sırasında höyüğe gelmiş ve kapının sağ ve solundaki dört köşe kulenin planı ile orthostatlardan birini açığa çıkarmışır. Perrot bu çalışmadan sonra bu kabartmaların hitit dönemine ait olduğunu da ilk olarak ileri süren kişi olmuştur.



Alacahöyük is located 36 km to the northeast of the Hattusa (Boğazköy) in north central Turkey in the Çorum province. It was first excavated by Makridi Bey in 1907, but proper researches started in 1935 by Turkish Historical Association. Early excavations were carried out by H. Z. Koşay and R. O. Arık. Currently Prof. Dr. Aykut Çınaroğlu of Ankara University is working on the site since 1997.

Alacahöyük was an important city in pre-Hittite times, but after the Hittite conquest it remained in the shadow of the nearby capital Hattuša. The most important findings of the location are the artifacts from the pre-Hittite royal tombs dating from about 2500 BCE. Most of the standing monuments are from the Hittite period. The town walls with their carved orthostats have inner and outer gateways with ramps for archers. The southern outer monumental gateway was set between two towers and guarded by two great sphinxes. In the doorjambs are two 13 foot hight monoliths which were carved to create 7 foot high sphinxes. Inside this Sphinx Gate was a large Hittite building complex that still requires excavation. The bases of the two towers by the Sphinx Gate are decorated with several orthostats. Most of the reliefs and sphinxes date to 14th century BCE. The sphinxes and orthostats are replaced with replicas and the originals are moved to Anatolian Civilizations Museum in Ankara.