The place and importance of Ovaören Iron Age architecture in Central Anatolian Iron Age architectural traditions

Ovaören, where is located in the geologically wealthy Cappadocia Region of the Central Anatolian Region, represents an archaeological integrity consisting of 3 different units, 2.5 km south of the town of Ovaören in the Gülşehir county of Nevşehir province. The area, also called as "Ovaören Archaeological Settlement Area", consists of Topakhöyük and Terrace Area in the west and Yassıhöyük in the east, which is 350 m away from these units. While the studies carried out in Ovaören between 2007-2021 showed that these three units are chronologically complementary areas, Early and Middle Bronze Age layers were unearthed in Topakhöyük and Terrace Area, and Late Bronze Age and Iron Age layers in Yassıhöyük. Ovaören, one of the representatives of Hittite culture with its architecture, ceramics and small finds in the Late Bronze Age, was affected by the cultural and political change during the falling of the Hittite Kingdom, and it turned into a temporary settlement in the Early Iron Age. Ovaören, that stands out with its defensive settlement model in the Göstesin Plain to the west of the Tabal Geography in the Middle Iron Age, turned into a town within the borders of the Cappadocia Satrapy in the Late Iron Age. In this context, architectural remains and archaeological finds from the Iron Age layers in the settlement contribute to understand the Iron Age culture of the region. Iron Age layers covering this development and alteration process in Ovaören, YH 8-7 dated to Early Iron Age, YH 6-4 dated to Middle Iron Age and YH 3-2 dated to Late Iron Age of Yassıhöyük is represented. Though the architectural remains, which are the subject of the thesis, are discovered in different densities in all layers, the Iron Age architecture of Ovaören, which is evaluated under 3 headings as Early, Middle and Late, has been compared with the examples in other centers which are mentioned in depth in their own periods, and in this context, the settlement is located in the Central Anatolian Region, Iron Age. It aims to point out its place in the architectural tradition of the age.