Oymaağaç Mound is located 7 km northwest of the center of Vezirköprü. The Vezirköprü Oymaağaç excavations, which began in 2005 and excavations in 2007, are continuing this year under the direction of Prof. Dr. Rainer Ö. Chizchon, a German-Turkish citizen. A team of approximately 20 experts, including Prof. Dr. Chizchon, Head of the Archaeology Department at Uşak University, and Associate Professor Dr. Mehmet Ali Yılmaz, a faculty member at Ondokuz Mayıs University, will be working on the excavation.
Oymaağaç, which bears traces of at least 6,000 years of history, is known to be the sacred city of Nerik of the Hittites. Excavations to date have unearthed hundreds of valuable artifacts, including underground staircases, sacred fountains, and cuneiform tablets, and traces of the Chalcolithic and Iron Ages have been found in this region. During the excavations, a tunnel was also reached, which was believed to have been used as a temple and had a spring at the end.
Asc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Ali YILMAZ
Links: Official Web Site | Instagram
Excavations in Niksar Castle have been started to reveal the cultural assets. 2021 Niksar Castle excavation was carried out under the scientific consultancy Dr. Turgay YAZAR of member Ondokuz Mayıs University Art History Department and instructor under the direction of Tokat Museum. In addition, Assoc. Dr. Davut YİĞİTPAŞA from the Archeology Department Ondokuz Mayıs University, Dr. Suayip CELEMOGLU from the Department of Art History, Dr. Bilge BAHAR from the Department of Art History, Prof. Dr. Fadime Suata ALPRASLAN from the Department of Anthropology at Istanbul University, Exp. Danişment Hüseyin ŞAHİN, Exp. Özgür DÜLGER, Exp. Didem GÜZEL, Mahmut GİRİŞEN, İremnur İSKENDER and 18 students from Samsun Ondokuz Mayıs University Art History Department, Archeology Department and Cumhuriyet University Art History Department attended.
Niksar Castle, located on the hill between Çanakçı Stream that joins Kelkit Stream and Maduru Stream that joins this creek in Niksar district center, was established during the Persian origin Pontus Kingdom, was enlarged during the Roman and Byzantine periods, and was repaired and used during the Danishmend, Seljuk and Ottoman periods. When it was built, the city walls that define the inner castle area formed three separate lines as inner, outer and middle city walls.
The city, which was probably captured by the Turks in 1076 after the Battle of Manzikert, became the first throne center (capital) of the Danishments. Niksar Castle is an important settlement in terms of being one of the first castles that Turks settled in Anatolia. In the second largest castle of Anatolia, which dominates the district center; There are ruins of a madrasa, two baths, two mosques, a church and a prison. Fetih Mosque, located at a point dominating the Inner Castle, is important for Turkish-Islamic architecture as it is one of the first Turkish mosques in Anatolia. The places built adjacent to the mosque are thought to belong to the palace of the Danişment.
The excavations carried out in the castle will enable to reveal the historical phases of the castle, the cultural assets such as the palace, the conquest mosque and the Turkish bath, which are thought to be in the castle and will also contribute to the castle studies in Turkey.
Project Title: Archaeological Survey of Tokat Province, Central, Zile, Turhal, and Almus Districts
Project Number: YA016005 (2022)
Research Team: Ast. Prof. Dr. Şengül Dilek FUL - Ast. Prof. Dr. Murat Tekın - Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hatice Uyanik - Prof. Dr. Davut YİĞİTPAŞA - Assoc. Prof. Dr. Aygün KALINBAYRAK ERCAN - Prof. Dr. Tekin SUSAM - Ast. Prof. Dr. Kemal ERSAYIN
With the Archaeological Surface Survey project in Tokat Center, Zile, Turhal and Almus districts, it is aimed to reveal the ancient fabric of the region by carrying out the identification, inventory and scientific evaluation of the ancient cultural assets in Tokat Center, Zile, Turhal and Almus districts. For this purpose, as a result of the studies that started in Zile in 2022, 2 rock tombs, 2 tumuli, 2 castles, 1 open-air sacred area, 2 necropolis areas, 1 ancient water channel and 2 graffiti dating to ancient age were identified and recorded. In addition, examinations were also made in the remains of 2 registered tumuli, 1 open-air sacred area and 1 ancient water channel and 1 castle that is not registered but known from previous publications. Studies in 2023 continued in Zile and Turhal districts. As a result of the studies carried out, 1 castle, 1 watchtower, 1 sacred area, 1 necropolis area and a hillside settlement were unearthed in Turhal district; In the Zile district, 1 hilltop settlement, 1 mound, and 1 castle were identified. During the ongoing work in Zile in 2024, examinations were carried out in 3 castles, 4 mounds, 2 hilltop settlements, 5 flat settlements, 1 watchtower, 1 hillside settlement, 4 tumuli, 4 rock tombs, 1 ancient water canal, 1 sacred area, and 1 workshop (?). In addition to these centers, cultural assets dating to ancient times such as pressed balance stones, column fragments, column capitals, and inscribed block stones, which were either used as re-used material in the walls of village houses or were lying idle, were encountered in Zile and Turhal. The 2025 work was carried out in Tokat city center, Turhal, and Almus districts. In studies conducted at these centers, three sacred sites, one mound, one hillside settlement, two rock tombs, three necropolises, one castle, and one watchtower were examined in Almus; one castle, six rock tombs, four tumuli, and one mound settlement were examined in the center of Tokat. In Turhal, drone footage was taken of an Ancient Greek inscription previously discovered in a castle. Based on all this data and our previous studies (2013-2019), it is possible to conclude that the Turhal and Zile districts were important settlement centers in antiquity.
This project aims to address the historical development of the region through a holistic approach by identifying the settlement areas, sacred sites, and tomb typologies that constitute the cultural heritage of Tokat and its surroundings, extending from antiquity to the present day. As a result of this study, a cultural inventory of Tokat will be prepared, enabling the scientific documentation of the city's archaeological and cultural heritage.
