Alacahoyuk Historic Site and Museum of Turkey
Alacahöyük is found 45 kilometres south of Çorum and 17 kilometres northwest of the Alaca township. The Alacahöyük village is 34 kilometres far away from Boğazköy and 210 kilometres removed from Ankara.
This tumulus, or mound, was first introduced to the planet of science by W.C. Hamilton in 1835 and afterward time, it became an area frequented by scientists who visited Central Anatolia. In 1861, G. Perrot stopped this tumulus and discovered the plan of the square tower on the left and right of the door and one in every of the orthostats.
The ritual symbol
W. Ramsey, who made great contributions to Anatolia’s historical geography, studied the tumulus along with Wilson in 1881 and located some other reliefs. In 1893, E. Chantre came to the tumulus and located the square corridors among the sphinx, the second door at the top and therefore the door frames. Chantre studied the lions on the south of the door with the sphinx and believed that the inscription found on one amongst these doors was Phrygian writing.
Later H. Winckler, who had been working in Boğazköy since 1906, decided to begin a quest within the tumulus at the invitation of Makridi Bey and İstanbul Archaeology Museum Director Halil Ethem Bey. In 1907, Makridi Bey worked for 15 days at the door with the sphinx and discovered some new orthostats ahead of the door. After drilling some places within the tumulus, he saw the poterni (entrance) on the northern fringe of the tumulus and he compared this to the potern in Boğazköy.
The primary systematic excavations of the tumulus were started by Atatürk within the Republican era. Hamit Zübeyr Koşay, Remzi Oğuz Arik and Mahmut Akok from the Turkish History Institution began excavations in 1935 which lasted until 1983. The excavations were interrupted this year and in 1997, they were started again by Professor Aykut Çınaroğlu.
Kings’ tombs in Alacahöyük
There were 13 major kings’ tombs in Alacahöyük within the Old Bronze Age, which was developed by the Chalcolithic Age and which was designed by four layers.
The tombs which are believed to belong to layers five and 7 are located during a special area of the town. thanks to their forms, these are considered to be unique tombs of Anatolia and even the Asian frontier. These tombs belong to adult men and girls.
No children or babies were buried here. In contrast to the tomb types in Central Anatolia, in Alacahöyük there's uniformity within the direction of the tombs and also the buried people. The gifts buried together with the dead are the richest and most varied that are found within the Aegean and therefore the Asia frontier within the Old Bronze Age. Among these gifts are sun disks, deer and bull sculptures, decorative pieces, fighting tools like daggers, swords and axes, and other pieces made out of cooked clay, stones, gold, silver, bronze, and copper.
The architectural system of Alacahöyük within the Old Bronze Age trusted the authentic building technique of Anatolia. Buildings constructed using this method have stone foundations, sun-dried bricks, flat ceilings, plastered floor and earth roofs. The Hittite layers that form the visible part of Alacahöyük are formed by three layers. During this age, a munition was formed within the sort of a circle with a diameter of 250 metres, and on this circle two main gates that were the entrances to town are found. one among these entrances was the eastern door with a sphinx and also the door on the western side of the tumulus.
The heads are remarkable on the sphinx protons that are carved on monolithic stone lentos. Sphinxes with inflated bodies continue top of separated short legs. There's also a double-headed eagle carrying a rabbit in his claws within the interior side of the sphinx on the east.
One of the oldest settlements of human history, Alacahoyuk is found within the city of Corum. The primary Alacahoyuk museum that opened in 1940 moved to its present site 42 years later. The collection that occupies two floors of the museum building consists of the finds from the Alacahoyuk and Pazarlı archeological sites, including remains belonging to Phrygian, Hittite and Ottoman periods. We are sure that visitors would be noticeably curious about the Alacahoyuk Museum, the gathering of which grows richer because the new archeological discoveries are made.