Figurines originated in or associated with the Usatove culture from Beşiktaş at the shore of İstanbul strait

Abstract

İstanbul, one of the most populous cities in the world, has been bolstered by numerous major transportation projects over the last two decades. These projects, ongoing at several locations, lead to unearth many geological beds, archaeological finds, settlements, and cemeteries. One of them is situated at the European shore of the İstanbul Strait, in Beşiktaş, more specifically, a triangle-shaped area between Barbaros and Beşiktaş (Çırağan) streets, approximately 170 m north of the present-day shore of the strait. This area, initially excavated with the intention of providing subway access, possesses a multi-layered archaeological site that has been investigated by the İstanbul Archaeology Museums using rescue excavations since 2016. Museum specialists state that they uncovered a cemetery dated to the Early Bronze Age (henceforth, EBA) through several conferences and papers published in popular magazines. The circular or almost circular-shaped stone heaps above graves, sometimes erected adjacent to themselves, are identified by museum specialists as kurgans, and are associated with a nomadic culture descending from the Northern Black Sea region. However, certain features, such as unique finds, burial practises, and the way the cemetery was used, indicate that it is not a nomadic culture from the 4th–3rd millennia BC. Except for a few inhumations, which are assumed to be from the late periods, cremation is the exclusive burial practise. Besides, the presence of two clay figurines, which fall within the center of this paper, makes it more challenging to clarify the cultural process and/or development that emerged at the cemetery. While these figurines have no direct counterparts found in both the southeastern Europe and Western Anatolia, they exhibit certain features of Usatove figurine types, including their main shape and both primary and secondary motifs. Therefore, Beşiktaş EBA Cemetery and its two figurines have the potential to enhance our understanding of the movements of human, material culture, and ‘ideology’ during the late 4th–early 3rd millennia BC, especially when interpreted alongside other key datasets.