Conny Waters - AncientPages.com - During excavations at the ancient site of Troy, a team of archaeologists unearthed the remains of a 3,700-year-old domed oven that clearly show links with Anatolian culture in Troy, in and after the Bronze Age.
The country of the domed oven successful Troy, Çanakkale, northwestern Türkiye, Sept. 7, 2022. Image credit: Anadolu Agency
Troy represents one of the most renowned archaeological sites in the world. Situated in northwestern Turkey, Troy was last inhabited 5,000 years ago and was made famous by the Greco-Trojan War that is the subject of Homer's epic poem ”The Iliad”.
Today, the excavated area of the ancient city of Troy is located within the boundaries of the village of Tevfikiye village in the center of northwestern Çanakkale province. In 2017, the village became an archaeology park that include structures reminiscent of the Troy era, known for rich history, myths and legends.
"This year's excavations were the first in which we came come across the remains of such a large domed oven," said professor Rüstem Aslan, the head of the committee excavating the remains of the city that dates back 5,500 years."
Professor Aslan also informed that Troy’s links with Anatolia were ealier established by the findings of German archeologist Manfred Osman Korfmann, who led excavations from 1988 into the early 2000s.
“In previous years, Professor Korfmann defined Troy as an Anatolian culture,” said Aslan, adding that Korfmann was led to this conclusion from the architectural structure of Troy and the emergence of domed ovens, which are commonly found in other contemporary Anatolian sites, ” as cited by Anadolu Agency.
The oldest domed ovens so far found in Troy date back to 2000 BC, about 300 years.
The ruins of Troy IV and V are dated back to the Early Bronze III and Middle Bronze I periods. ”Domed clay ovens appear from Troy IV onward.... and houses feature domed ovens.” 1
Aslan said architectural developments in Troy, where archeological excavations have been going on for 150 years, pointed to changes in the city's culinary tradition during the period identified with Anatolian culture.
"The description that Korfmann made during his excavations that 'Troy is Anatolia' was a major focus of the next 20 years of digging. Troy is an Anatolian culture," he added.
Researchers will continue excavations of this renowned ancient site and their work will focus on the architectural dimensions of the find.
The site of Troy was added to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List in 1998.
Written by Conny Waters - AncientPages.com Staff Writer
References:
1 S. R. Steadman, G. McMahon The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Anatolia
