Yumuktepe

Yumuktepe, also known as Yümüktepe, is a tell (ruin mound) within the city borders of Mersin, Turkey. In 1936, the mound was on the outskirts of Mersin, but after a rapid increase of population, the mound was surrounded by the Toroslar municipality of Mersin.

Yumuktepe

Shown within Turkey
Location	Mersin, Turkey
Region	Mediterranean Region
Coordinates	36°48′N 34°36′E
Type	Settlement
History
Periods	Neolithic Age to Byzantine Empire

History

There are 23 levels of occupation dating from the Neolithic.

Neolithic

Occupation begins in the Neolithic, c. 6300 BC. In his book, Prehistoric Mersin, Garstang lists the tools unearthed in the excavations. The earliest tools are made of either stone or ceramic. Both agriculture and animal husbandry (sheep, cattle, goats and pigs) were among the economic activities in Yumuktepe.^[1]

Chalcolithic

In the layer which corresponds to roughly 4500 BC, remains have been found of one of the earliest fortifications in human history to exist. According to Isabella Caneva, during the Chalcolithic age an early copper blast furnace was in use in Yumuktepe. This was probably a coastal settlement, but because of the alluvion carried by the nearby Efrenk River, the mound is now 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) north of the Mediterranean shore.^{[citation needed]}

Late Bronze

Hittite Period

Yumuktepe was a part of Kizuwatna, a vassal kingdom of Hittite Empire. In a document dated to 1440 BC, a city named Pitura was mentioned. Pitura might be the ancient name of the settlement. But a recent research suggests^{[weasel words]} Elipru as the original name of the settlement. It seems, like most Hittite lands, Sea Peoples from Europe plundered Yumuktepe in 13th century BC.

Iron Age

Assyrian period

A second blow was from Assyrian Empire from Upper Mesopotamia.

Roman-Byzantine Period

During Roman Empire, a small city named Zephyrium was established to the south of Yumuktepe. But Emperor Hadrian (r. 117–138) renamed the city as Hadrianapolis. During the early Byzantine Empire, the nearby settlement of Soli (10 kilometres [6.2 mi] at the west) flourished and Yumuktepe further lost its former status.

Excavations

Excavations took place between 1936 and 1938 by the British archaeologist John Garstang (1876–1956). He was the founder of the British Institute in Ankara,^[2] have revealed a Neolithic settlement which continued up to medieval ages. However, the excavations halted during World War II and some documents in the Liverpool University were lost after an air raid.^[3] After the war, John Garstang as well as Veli Sevin of Istanbul University and Isabella Caneva^[4] of Sapienza University of Rome continued the excavations.^[5]