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Kerkenes
is an Iron Age city built on a low mountaintop in Central Anatolia.
It is very probably the place that Herodotus called Pteria, in
which case it would have been founded by the Medes around 600
BC and used as the base from which they conducted the 5-year war
with Lydia that ended at the Battle of the Eclipse in 585. Seven
kilometres of strong stone defences, pierced by seven gates, enclose
2.5km2. The entire urban area was planned to include public buildings
and urban blocks as well as a sophisticated system of water management.
The city was then deliberately torched and the defences comprehensively
slighted. According to Herodotus, the Pterians were enslaved by
Croesus, King of Lydia, before the Battle of Pteria, fought between
Cyrus the Great of Persia and the Lydians, in about 547. Later
occupation was restricted to the Kale and the Kiremitlik. An international
team has been working each summer since 1993 on the Kerkenes Dag,
using new techniques to reveal the secrets of this ancient city.
Acknowledgements
We
are grateful to the General Directorate of Monuments and Museums,
the Governor of Yozgat, Hüseyin Önal, the Yozgat Director
of Culture, Selime Dogan, the Yozgat Museum Director, Erol Özen,
the Sorgun District Governor and Mayor, Mustafa Dündar and
Yilmaz Kiliçarslan, for their enthusiastic cooperation
and support. We also thank the Yozgat Köy Hizmetleri, TEDAS
and Telekom for continuing assistance. We are deeply indepted
to the headman, Ali Erciyes, and people of Sahmuratli Village
for extending traditional Anatolian hospitality. The Kerkenes
Project is dependent on its patrons to all of whom we extend our
appreciation. Particular thanks are due to the National Geographic
Society for substantial long-term support for the Remote Sensing
program.
Click thumbnails to see our
sponsors.
For more, see our sponsors
page.
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METU
Computer Centre hosts the Kerkenes Web Page and provides
technical support. |
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DONATIONS
CAN BE CHANNELLED THROUGH THE METU DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
Tel : +90 312 210 2157
Fax: +90 312 210 1181 |
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Metu Press,
METU / ODTÜ,
06531 Ankara, TURKEY.
Tel : +90 312 210 3870-73
Fax: +90 312 210 1549 |
Copyright © Kerkenes Project - December
/ Aralık 2002
Graphic Design: Çetin ALATAŞ
Colour Separation: ARTISistem - Tel: +90 312 417 0687
Printed By: ERTEM MATBAA - Tel: +90 312 425 8225
ISSN 1302-0749
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