Anatolia Antiqua XIV (2006), p. 189-203

Burçin ERDOGU* and Ismail FAZLIOGLU*

THE CENTRAL ANATOLIAN SALT PROJECT: A PRELIMINARY REPORT ON THE 2004 AND 2005 SURVEYS

Introduction

Salt was a source of major importance in ancient times {e.g. Nenquin 1961; Multhauf 1978; Adshead 1992). Its biological role in the maintenance of human and animal health, its use in the preservation of foodstuffs, possible production functions such as tanning, pickling and other functions such as in the working of metals, in the making of cheese, during mummification, and consequently the need to move salt from salt-rich to salt- poor areas have led scholars to ascribe a huge importance to discovery, exploitation and movement of salt in ancient times. The Central Anatolia Salt Project (CASP) was initiated in 2002 with the aim of defining and explaining the social, cultural and economic impact of salt exploitation and distribution in Prehistoric Central Anatolia (Erdogu et al. 2003; Erdogu and Ozba§aran in press). Central Anatolia, with its plentiful resources, was an attractive region in prehistory, and salt was one of its main resources. Tuz Gôlii (Salt Lake) on the Central Anatolian plateau is the most important source of salt. It is a large lake measuring ca. 85x60 km. The water has a high salt content, up to 33% saline, which evaporates in summer to form salt crusts some 5-30 cm in thickness (Koday 1998- 99:131). There can be no doubt that it was also an important source of salt in prehistoric times. The overall objectives of the project were to define the use of salt, the date of its earliest use, the intensity and significance of the salt trade since prehistoric times and its significance in Central Anatolian exchange networks; interpret its social aspects, its symbolic significance in Central Anatolia, its symbolic role in marking a source in the landscape and the identification of traditional beliefs on salt. CASP consist of seven phases:

1. Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnographic work consists of traditional techniques for the harvest,

sation and distribution of salt from Tuz Gôlii and Tuzkoy-Nev§ehir in Central Anatolia, together with associated material culture. This includes an investigation of the extent to which local pottery and ovens are specifically produced with salt. Each data will be recorded on a documentation form which is produced in the Moldavian salt project (thanks to O. Weller and M. Alexianu for sending us this form) and developed by our project. The form contains not only detail observations and documentations on extraction techniques or distribution but also documentations on culturally significant or emotionally charged situations.

2. Geomorphology: Geomorphological study will be done in the Tuz Gôlii (Salt Lake) region with the aim of defining the position of former lake-shores as well as past salinity and investigating past vegetation and climate of the region. The early works (Chaput 1936; Lahn 1948; Erol 1970, 1997; Kashima et al. 1998) show that Tuz Gôlii basin covered with an extensive freshwater lake surrounded by erosional and depositional surfaces. In the south-east part of Tuz Gôlii large scale sedimentation occurred between 18,000 and 13,000 years ago and formed a wide terrace along the lake side. The sedimentation occurred as a result of a change in water level in this period, which rose 10- 30 m causing the lake to expand up to the southern edge of the basin (Kashima et al. 1998). Just before the Holocene, the water level of Tuz Gôlii began to fall and the south part of the basin terraced. Stages of sedimentation on the fan formations have also been investigated by the Japanese team (Kashima etal. 1998).

3. GIS: Geographic Information System (GIS) has been applied to archaeology for about one and half decades. The GIS computer package has been developed to allow the application of those statistical producers of spatial analysis and locational theory that are long established in settlement pattern