Early Bronze Age 3 Votive pits in Anatolia

The thesis investigates the archaeological horizon of EB III pits of Anatolia by comparing them with the pits from Küllüoba near Seyitgazi/Eskişehir, a site that has been excavated by Prof. Turan Efe since 1996. These pits were analysed with regard to the archaeological finds they yielded and the archaeological context in which they were found, as well as compared with later Hittite textual sources. The aim of the project was to shed light on the intentional deposition of artefacts in pits, a phenomenon that has been documented in several late EBA sites in Anatolia but has never been analysed in detail before. The thesis argues that these features should be identified as "votive pits" which were employed within the context of public ritual activities. It also argues that they should be contextualised within the broader dynamics of the western and central Anatolian Early Bronze Age III. This phase is characterised by the development of the first urban societies and the intensification of interregional exchange networks stretching from the northern Syria to Aegean, witnessed by the diffusion of new technologies (i.e. regarding pottery and metallurgy) and the circulation of finished products. The use of votive pits seems to be connected with these developments, and indicates that interaction with distant areas not only involved the exchange of goods but also had long-lasting impacts on the socio-cultural and ritual dynamics of the local Anatolian communities.