Christoph Gerber

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A small excavation was carried out in the entrance area of the karst cave of Malkayası located on the northern periphery of the mountains in 2002 and 2004 (1.2). In the course of this, two platforms from the Middle Chalcolithic period (about the first half of the 5th millennium) were uncovered. The finds made in the course of this sondage cover the entire spectrum to be expected at such a settlement location, thus allowing an almost unique insight into the culture of this early epoch.
The pottery recovered corresponds to the finds from the Valley of the Cave of Christ. One of the most remarkable finds is a dish fragment with painting on the inside (3). A pot with its edge repaired (4) as well as a spoon (13) give an insight into everyday life there. Household pottery, projectile points, and sickle blades made of silex and obsidian (8-10), tools made of animal bones and loom weights indicate the varied activities undertaken by the cave inhabitants of that time. As is to be seen from the bone and shell finds, they lived from animal husbandry, hunting and fishing.
Among the finds are also two marble idols, an almost completely preserved ‘violin-type’ idol and a fragment of a ‘Kiliya’ statuette, showing the contacts existing with the Aegean islands and the coastal areas of Asia Minor (6). The head of another idol and an animal figure in the shape of a reptile (5) are made of clay. Another unique find are five stamped weights for fishing nets (11) which have not been previously confirmed in the coastal area.

1) View of the karst-caves of Malkayası.
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