Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
TUBA-AR-TURKISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, cilt.13, ss.121-140, 2010 (AHCI)
The custom of constructing false-domed mud-brick structures is a living tradition in a considerably large area from northern Syria to Urfa; in the past, such structures have attracted the attention of travellers exploring the region and are depicted in the travel books. Since the beginning of the 20(th) century, these domed mud-brick structures have been considered as a model in evaluating building remains with circular ground plans exposed through archaeological excavations carried out in the same region. Even though some scholars have considered domed houses as a continuing tradition from the Neolithic Period to the present, an overall assessment of the archaeological evidence indicates that besides the Pre-Pottery Neolithic and Halaf Period, these occur rather randomly with no indication of continuity. This study, in the framework of the Turkish Academy of Sciences TUBA-TUKSEK Project on the domed domestic architecture of the Suruc Plain, has revealed that the history of the present rural false-domed buildings is not very remote in time and that further archaeological investigation is needed in order to clarify their origins. Even though there have been numerous references to these buildings, no thorough documentation has previously been made.