THE 2012 AKYURT - KALABA TUMULUS SALVAGE EXCAVATION

This article concerns the excavations of and finds from the Tumulus in Ankara, Akyurt, at the Quarter of Kalaba. The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations carried out a salvage excavation here in November 2012. The Tumulus dates to the early Roman period. The burial chamber, made of cut andesite blocks of large size, was discovered with its frontal chamber and open roof dromos. The identification of the burial chamber was preceded by the discovery of two limestone osthoteca burials and one earth burial during the excavation of the soil at the Tumulus. They date to the Roman period. The silver kharon coin found in the basic earth burial helps determine the precise date of this burial. Furthermore, the Tumulus soil yielded a 4th century BC silver coin minted in the city of Byzantion. We think this coin is extraneous to the Tumulus. It appears that smugglers recently pillaged the burial chamber. Most of the burial gifts were removed and the remainders were damaged during the robbery. Some rich burial gifts and gold coins were, nevertheless, found in the burial chamber, unnoticed by the robbers. This article provides in-depth information about these finds.