This document summarizes the 7-year history of the Berkeley Archaeologists at Çatalhöyük (BACH) project excavation of Building 3, a Neolithic structure at Çatalhöyük in Turkey. The BACH project began in 1997 and excavated Building 3 from 1997-2003. Key events included discovering post-Neolithic burials in 1997, excavating the well-preserved roof of Building 3 in 1998, finding possible closure rituals above the final floors in 1999, and discovering the last burial of Building 3, a child in a basket, at the end of the 1999 season. Digital documentation methods like photography, video diaries, and databases were pioneered by the BACH project to
Philosophy of Education and Educational Philosophy
The Life-History of the BACH Project
1. The Life-History of
the BACH Project
CoDA
Center for Digital Archaeology
www.codifi.info
This video will help you get started in exploring the Last House on the Hill digital edition, a
multigraph about the Berkeley Archaeologists @ Çatalhöyük (BACH) project at this famous
9000-year old Neolithic mound settlement in Central Anatolia, Turkey. This video focuses on
the work of the BACH team and the 7-year history of the project. It is a guide to
understanding the way in which we collected and documented the materials that you will find
in this multigraph. If you want to read more on these topics, look at Chapters 1-4 of the
printed monograph
2. Çatalhöyük Research Project 1993N
East Mound, Çatalhöyük
North Area, East Mound
The archaeological site of Çatalhöyük comprises two mounds. This is the earlier Neolithic East
Mound that was the main focus of both the 1960s excavation and the renewed (since 1993)
project. The northern eminence of the East Mound was untouched by archaeologists until
1993, when its top 10 cm were scraped off revealing this pattern of walls. This was to be the
NORTH Area of excavation.You can see in the southwest of the mound the excavation started
in the 1960s, referred to as the SOUTH Area
3. The North Area
N
Building 1 (Çatalhöyük Research Project) 1995-1997
The first house to be excavated in the NORTH Area was Building 1 started in 1995 by the
Çatalhöyük Research Project.
4. The North Area
N
Building 3: Berkeley Archaeologists @ Çatalhöyük (BACH)
1997-2003
The next building to be excavated in the NORTH Area was Building 3 -the focus of the BACH
(Berkeley Archaeologists @ Çatalhöyük)project. Both Building 1 and Building 3 in a sense are
Last Houses on THIS part of the Hill since - unusually - they were never built over.
Characteristically the mud-brick houses of Çatalhöyük were truncated, filled in and built
over, thus forming the mound.
5. The New (2008) Chronology at Çatalhöyük
Mellaart’s Levels
New (2008) Phases
1
T
11
111
1V
V
VIA
VIB
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
pre-XII
S
R
Q
P
O
N
M
L
K
J
I
H
G
North Eminence
Building 1
Building 5
5900BC
Building 3
7400BC
After Farid (2008) Çatalhöyük Archive Reports, p.20
The two houses - Building 1 and Building 3 - that were first excavated in the NORTH Area are
probably quite similar in age in terms of the East Mound’s history, overlapping in their history
with each other and with the house below Building 1 called Building 5. According to James
Mellaart’s original scheme, these three houses have been dated to the middle of the East
Mound’s occupation (Phase VIA-VII, ca. 6900-6500BC)). According to the new (2008) dating
system at the site, Building 3 has been dated to Phase N .
6. The Birth of the BACH Project
1996
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
The BACH project was actually born in 1996 with a visit to Çatalhöyük and the decision on
the location next to Building 1, here seen in the lone raggedy-looking shelter on the northern
eminence of the East Mound.
7. The Birth of the BACH Project
1997
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
This lovely shelter -contrasting with the neighboring one over Building 1- was constructed
the following year in 1997 and became the iconic symbol of the BACH project.
8. Dates of the BACH Area Field Seasons
Field Season
Dates
1997
August 3 (12)-September 3
1998
July 18-August 24
1999
July 10-August 19
2000
July 20-August 21
2001
June 7-July 13
2002
June 3-July 15
2003
July 1-August 11
2004
August 2, burial of BACH Area
The BACH project comprised seven excavation seasons of varying duration, and one final sad
day in 2004 of filling in. In the archive of the LHotH web edition, you can choose a date
within these date spans to see what was happening that day in a video, or an image, or even
a diary entry (later), a unit excavation
9. Space 87
Space 89
Space 88
Post-Neolithic 3rd century AD
burials
1997
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Inside the BACH tent, we started to excavate the fill within the walls of Building 3 and the
three small rooms to its south (Spaces 87, 88, 89). Immediately we came across postNeolithic burials of the late Roman period C3AD.
10. Space 88
Post-Neolithic 3rd century AD
burials
1997
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Inside the BACH tent, we started to excavate the fill within the walls of Building 3 and the
three small rooms to its south (Spaces 87, 88, 89). Immediately we came across postNeolithic burials of the late Roman period C3AD.
11. Space 87
Space 89
Space 88
Post-Neolithic 3rd century AD
burials
1997
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
As we excavated one of the late Roman period C3AD (Feature 153) we made the fortuitous
discovery that it had cut through the many layers of the collapsed roof of Building 3 that can
be seen showing in the side wall of the burial cut. It helped to make sense of the striations in
deposits seen on the surface of the excavation
12. The Roof of Building 3
1998
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
The roof is one of the very few instances of a preserved roof remains in the Near East. Its
excavation was an important part of the 1998 season.
13. illustration by John G. Swogger
The Roof of Building 3
1998
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Micromorphological analysis helped the interpretation that the roof was used for a large
number of domestic activities especially in the warmer seasons. In this interpretation, the
ceiling is probably too high. Building the Replica House gave us some important clues about
this question (see chapter 22 of the book)
14. Roof
Part
it
ion w
all
the
roof
N
Screen wall
Partition wall
1998
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
During 1998, the roof took a lot of our energies, but we also excavated the post-occupational
building fill and midden south and west of the roof, retaining two cross-baulks to create
cross-sections through these complicated deposits. As we did this we were able to define two
small partition walls (F.160 and F.161) and - between them - the white plaster mass of what
we interpreted as a screen wall (F.155) that together separated Space 86 in the east and the
narrow western room Space 158
15. Abandonment and Closure of Building 3
cluster 2
cluster 1
Mirjana Stevanovic studies Cluster 1
immediately above the final floors of
Building 3
1999
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
During the 1999 season, in the deposits of fill immediately above the latest floors we came
across two deposits that have been interpreted as possible deliberate ritualized acts of
closure of Building 3. Both have been designated as “clusters” (see glossary) rather than
features. Cluster 1 in the southern end of Building 3 is a cluster of large animal bones,
especially scapulae, possibly the debris of feasting; Cluster 2 is in the center of Building 3, at
the southern end of the collapsed roof and comprises a carved cattle skull (bukranion) a
hearth, and two detached skulls.
16. Abandonment and Closure of Building 3
Cluster 2
immediately above
the final floors of
Building 3
1999
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
Cluster 2 is in the center of Building 3, at the southern end of the collapsed roof and
comprises a carved cattle skull (bukranion) a hearth, and two detached skulls.
2004
17. North
Space 158
Screen Wall and 2 partition walls
Space 86
Southwest
Platform:
F.169
Southeast
Platform:
F.167
Central Floor
Area F.606
or m
Central Platf
East
F.170
North
al
centr :
m
latfor
P
F.162
The last
floors of
Building 3
t
theas
Nor
:
tform
Pla
F.173
1999
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
By the end of the 1999 season we had reached the final floors of Building 3 and could see that
the whole of Building 3 is encompassed in the BACH area. What we could see in 1999 was the
situation in the second half of the life of Building 3 when the two small walls and screen wall
divided the space encompassed by the 4 peripheral walls into two rooms: Space 86 and Space
158. In Space 86 five platforms were defined with a lower Central Floor Area
18. Çatalhöyük
documentation
from 1993:
units,
depositional
events, Harris
matrix
In the new project directed by Ian Hodder from 1993 it was decided to excavate using
the single context method in which each depositional event is recorded as a separate
unit and is excavated wherever possible in the reverse sequence of its deposition. The
sequence of depositional events is visualized using the Harris Matrix format of
representation.
19. Units and
Features in
the BACH
Project
6149
6138
6151
6206
6144
6211
6237
6207
6150
6157
6132
6135
Feature 162 (northcentral platform)
Units of floor 1 and packing below,
assigned to Phase B3.4B
Feature
617 (burial)
Units of burial cut,
skeleton, fill and lid,
assigned to Phase
B3.4B
For example Feature 162 contains a large number of units, here expressing different
quadrants of its floor plaster and underlying packing in the final life-history phase
(B3.4B) of Building 3. This floor and packing (along with all the underlying (earlier) floors)
were cut by a pit dug for the burial of a child whose sequence of units also date to B3.4B
phase. Look in the glossary for more detailed definitions.
20. lid: unit 6206
basket: unit
6239
fill: unit 6211
Feature
617: the last
burial for
Building 3
and first for
the BACH
Project
6206
skeleton: unit
6237
6211
6237
6239
6207
cut: unit 6207
1999
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
This Feature 617 is the final burial of Building 3 - a 5-year old child in a basket - and was
discovered at the end of the 1999 season. This shows you how the different units describe
the sequence of depositional events in burials at Çatalhöyük: first the cut or pit creating an
edge and a void, then the body (in this case placed in a basket), then the fill of the pit, and
finally its clay and plaster lid to mask its position on the floor. The time-lapse movie of the
excavation helps share the experience in 3 mins of 32 hours of excavation. You can find the
full movie in the archive of the LHotH web edition
21. Daily life for the BACH Team
Priority Tour
You are encouraged to explore the Persons category in the archive of the LHotH web
edition. A person in the BACH project can have many roles; most participated in some, if
not all, field seasons of the project, either in the lab or the excavation site. In contrast to
the 1960s project at Çatalhöyük, the local workers in the new project do not as a rule
excavate. They screen and do heavy manual labor jobs. Excavation is in the hands of
professional archaeologists, often from the world of CRM, or advanced, experienced
students and researchers. The analytical work takes place on site in the labs at the
compound by a large force of “specialists”, who interact regularly on site with the
excavators in the twice-weekly “priority tours”.
22. Life in the compound of Çatalhöyük
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
The Compound at the bottom of the East Mound is the hub of social and scientific activity of
the Çatalhöyük Research Project. Here are bedrooms, laboratories, storerooms, kitchen and
dining rooms. The size of the Compound has grown even from this 2001 photo (see Chapter
25 and 26 of the primnted edition of LHotH). This is where a party is held almost every
Thursday night before the free day - Friday! You might have to sign in to the archive of the
LHotH web edition to view the party photos
23. Çatalhöyük from 1993
From 1997, the BACH project within the main Çatalhöyük project, spearheaded a
cataloging system for photography and creating a digital image record, thanks especially
to Michael Ashley. The 10,000 photographic images are embedded with rich metadata
that enable them to be meaningful for many generations and ready for you to explore
and download and re-use in the archive of the LHotH web edition. Thanks to the
Çatalhöyük Research Project team (that includes the BACH team) all the images are
licensed with a Creative Commons license. Thanks also to Michael’s and Jason Quinlan’s
rock-climbing skills, we have been able to get a view that in prehistory no-one would
have seen - from directly above.
24. Video documentation in
the BACH project
Daily Video Diary
Video documentation played an important role in recording the everyday observations and
discussions of excavators and specialists. A video for each working day of the project has
been created so that you can relive the archaeological project (at least, its working days) as it
progressed and what were mysteries earlier on became resolved as excavation proceeded or
as results came up from the labs. Smaller clips have been created for specific topics and
features on a specific day so that you can explore the progress made on a particular feature
during the project. Some of the clips have been remixed further to create new videos that are
also in the archive of the LHotH web edition.
25. Excavating life and death in Building 3
2000-2001
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
During the 2000 and 2001 seasons, progress was made in excavating and understanding the
occupation of Building 3 and its changing configurations in the location of ovens, hearths,
storage bins, floors and walls during its history. You can see the details of these in Chapter 5
of the printed edition of LHotH.
26. Excavating life and death in Building 3
2000-2001
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
During the 2000 and 2001 seasons, seven more Neolithic burial events were discovered, one
in the northeast platform (F.631). See the details of the burials in Chapter 13 of the book.
27. Excavating life and death in Building 3
2000-2001
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
During the 2000 and 2001 seasons three more burials were excavated in the north-central
platform (F.634, F.644. F.647). See the details of the burials in Chapter 13 of the printed
edition of LHotH.
28. Excavating life and death in Building 3
2000-2001
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
During the 2000 and 2001 seasons, the three earlier child graves in the Central Floor Area (F.
648, F.756, F.757) were excavated. See the details of the burials in Chapter 13 of the printed
edition of LHotH.
29. Life-history
of the house
7000 BC
7000 BC
1996
2002
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
By the end of 2002 we had excavated down past the earliest floors to the underlying midden
and were ready to begin building up the life-history of Building 3. You can see from the video
collection in the archive of the LHotH web edition that we had been working to understand
the sequence of phases in the house life history since 2000. This drawing from James
Mellaart’s book. This is also the topic of Getting Started presentation: The Life History of
Building 3 in the LHotH web edition.
30. Life-history
of the house
7000 BC
7000 BC
1996
2002
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
The Replica House (see Chapter 22 of the printed edition of LHotH) will also help visualize life
inside Building 3. This is also the topic of Getting Started presentation: The Life History of
Building 3 in the LHotH web edition.
31. North
the zones of
Building 3
Space 158
Space 201
Space 86
wall/partition
“clean” white platforms
“dirty” kitchen & ladder area
“dirty” food preparation & storage
7000 BC
7000 BC
1996
2002
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
central floor area
2003
2004
By the end of 2002 we had reached the earliest floors of Building 3 and realised that in the
early part of its history, before the partitioning walls in Phase B3.4A, Building 3 comprised
one large room that we designated Space 201. Partitioning transformed this space into the
two rooms, Space 86 and Space 158. We grouped the changing configuration of features into
three zones within Building 3:
The South-and-West Zone referred to sometimes as the “dirty” area of the building was the
center for domestic activities around food and resources. This zone was further divided into a
zone encompassing the small western room Space 158 and the southwest platform (F.169)
that was a focus of food preparation and storage, and a zone that included the south-center
lower area which we sometimes referred to as the “kitchen” and the southeast platform (F.
167) which was the location for the ladder entrance.
The Northeast Zone referred to sometimes as the “clean” area of the building comprised the
white plastered platforms (F.162, F.173, F.170) that were the location for burials and presumably - not domestic activities.
The Central Floor Zone is a lower area connected directly to the “kitchen”; this acted as a
transitional zone between “clean” and “dirty” areas, and was also the location for child burials.
32. Life-History of Building 3 - 50 years?
Life-History of the BACH Project - 7 years
These are the eight phases of occupation of Building 3. Two phases not represented in this
illustration are the phase of closure and abandonment (Phase 5A, that is included in the
separate supplemental image that can be perused at your leisure) and the phase of postNeolithic burial of Late Roman visitors, or occupants of Çatalhöyük. The aim to construct
the life-history of Building 3 hugely refined the scale at which the excavation was
recorded, but also added time and skilled labor into the equation. However, the detailed
life-history of the building is the reward (see Getting Started presentation: the Life History
of Building 3 in the LHotH web edition
33. Burials in Space 87
Excavated
in 2012
Space 87
Space 89
Space 88
Building 3
2002
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Another focus of 2002 was the excavation of the small rooms Space 87, Space 88, and Space
89. Space 87 turned out to be very complicated. Not only is it clearly part of a larger building
to its south and west (excavated later, see the CRP Archive Report 2012, and Getting Started
presentation #2: The Life History of Building 3), but the platform that took up most of the
space covered at least 9 burial events - more than the total number of burials in Building 3!
34. The walls and the doorway of Building 3
the doorway
in the East
wall (F.633)
7000 BC
1996
1997
2003
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Most of 2003 was taken up with the study of the walls, the technology of building
materials and house construction, including the properties of bricks and mortar (see
chapter 6 of the printed edition of LHotH for details on this). We also made the
spectacular discovery that the strange “pit” in the northeast corner of Building 3 that had
been a mystery ever since 1999 was in fact a doorway (F.633) in the East wall.
35. Feature
633: the
early door
into
Building 3
2003
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
It’s fun to follow this mystery from when in 1999 we had no idea how to make sense of
the NE corner of Building 3 to 2003 when we finally discovered that it was a door by doing
a search for Feature 633 in the videos of the archive of the LHotH web edition.
36. ceremonies of closure: BACH
becomes invisible
2004
7000 BC
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
The BACH Project finished excavation in 2003, but the team continued on at Çatalhöyük for
two more years studying the materials and preparing their publication. After all the deposits,
floors and walls of Building 3 and Spaces 88 and 89 had been removed, on August 2, 2004
we also had a ceremony of closure for the project as seen in this movie. The empty gap left
by the removal of the buildings was filled in again, the shelter was removed, and in the end it
was difficult to see where all the 7 years of activity had been.
37. The New NORTH Shelter (2008)
And by 2008 the proud new North shelter covered the whole of the old NORTH Area and the
new 4040 Area to its south
39. BACH Forgotten 2008
And they have no idea of the seven years of vibrant life that once filled the area. And that is
one of the reasons we have created the web edition of LHotH. So that we do not forget. So
that we do not forget