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The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (Turkish:
Anadolu Medeniyetleri
Müzesi) is located on the south side of Ankara
Castle in the Atpazarı area in Ankara, Turkey. It consists of the old Ottoman Mahmut
Paşa bazaar storage building, and the Kurşunlu Han. Because of Atatürk's desire to establish a Hittite museum, the buildings
were bought upon the suggestion of Hamit Zübeyir Koşay, who was then
Culture Minister, to the National Education Minister, Saffet
Arıkan. After the remodelling and repairs were completed (1938
-1968), the building was opened to the public as the Ankara
Archaeological Museum. It is one of the richest museums in the
world.
Today, Kurşunlu Han, used as an administrative building, houses
the work rooms, library, conference hall, laboratory and workshop.
The old bazaar building houses the exhibits. Within this Ottoman
building, the museum has a number of exhibits of Anatolian archeology. They start with the Paleolithic
era, and continue chronologically through the Neolithic, Early
Bronze, Assyrian trading colonies, Hittite, Phrygian, Urartian,
Greek, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods.
There is also an extensive collection of artifacts from the
excavations at Karain, Çatalhöyük, Hacılar, Canhasan, Beyce Sultan,
Alacahöyük, Kültepe, Acemhöyük, Boğazköy (Gordion),
Pazarlı, Altıntepe,
Adilcevaz and Patnos as well
as examples of several periods.
The exhibits of gold, silver, glass, marble and bronze works
date back as far as the second half of the first millennium BC. The
coin collections, with examples ranging from the first minted money
to modern times, represent the museum's rare cultural
treasures.
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations reaching the present time with
its historical buildings and its deeply rooted history was elected
as the first "European
Museum of the Year" in Switzerland on April 19, 1997.
The
history of the museum
Open square in front of the museum entrance
The first museum in Ankara
was established by Mübarek Galip Bey, Directorate of Culture, in
1921, in the section of the Castle of Ankara called Akkale. In
addition to this museum, artifacts from the Augustus
Temple and the Byzantine Baths were also collected. Upon
recommendation of Atatürk and from the view of establishing
an "Eti Museum" in the center , the Hittite artifacts from the region were sent to
Ankara and therefore a larger museum was needed.
The Director of Culture at that time, Hamit Zübeyir Koşay and Saffet
Arıkan, Minister of Education recommended that the Mahmut Paşa
Bazaar and the Inn be repaired and converted into a museum. This
recommendation was accepted and restoration continued from 1938 to
1968. Upon the completion of repairs of the bazaar, where the domed
structure is, in 1940, a committee chaired by German Archaeologist
H. G. Guterbock arranged the
museum.[2]
In 1943, while the repairs of the building were still in
progress, the middle section was opened for visitors. Repair
projects of this part were carried out by Architect Macit Kural and
repair work upon tender was performed by Architect Zühtü Bey. In
1948 the museum administration left Akkale as a storage house, and
the museum was in four rooms of Kurşunlu Han the repairs of which
were completed. Restoration and exhibition projects of the part
around the domed structure were prepared and applied by Architect
İhsan Kıygı. Five shops were left in their original form, and the
walls between the shops were destroyed and thus a large location
was provided for exhibition. The museum building reached its
present structure in 1968. Kurşunlu Han, which has been used as an
administration building, has research rooms, a library, a
conference hall, a laboratory and workshops, and the Mahmut Pasha
Vaulted Bazaar has been used as the exhibition hall.
History of
buildings
A historical view of
Kurşunlu Han, now the main museum
building.
The Anatolian Civilizations Museum is in two Ottoman buildings
located near Ankara Castle, in the historical Atpazarı district of
Ankara. One of the buildings is Mahmut Paşa Bedesteni and the other
is Kurşunlu Han (inn, caravanserai).
The Mahmut Paşa Bedesteni was built by Mahmut Pasha, one of
ministers (viziers) of Mehmed II the Conqueror during 1464-1471. The
building does not have any inscriptions. In some sources, it is
recorded that pure Angora garments were distributed here. The
design of the building is of the classical type. There are 10 domes
covering a rectangle designed to enclose the location, and there
are 102 shops facing each other.
According to historical records and registry books, the Kurşunlu
Han was built as a foundation (vakıf) to finance Mehmet Pasha's
(Mehmet the Conqueror's vizier) alms giving in Üsküdar, Istanbul. It also does not
have an inscriptions. During the repairs of 1946, coins of the
Murat II period were discovered. The findings indicate that the Han
existed in the fifteenth century. The Han has the typical design of
Ottoman Period hans. There is a courtyard and an arcade in the
middle and they are surrounded by two-storey rooms. There are 28
rooms on the ground floor, 30 rooms on the first floor. The rooms
have furnaces. There is a barn with an "L" type on the ground floor
on west and south directions of the rooms. On the north side of the
han there are 11 shops and 9 shops on east side and 4 shops facing
each other within the garden. The inn (han) was built by Mehmet
Pasha and in 1467 Mehmet Pasha was promoted to Prime Minister
(Grand Vizier). Upon orders by Mahmut Pasha the vaulted bazaar was
built. He kept his position until 1470. He had his mosque, soup
kitchen and madrasa in Üsküdar, and his body is buried there.
These two buildings constituting the museum today were abandoned
after the fire in 1881.
Exhibited
artifacts
- Palaeolithic Age (....8000): The
Age is represented by the finds uncovered in the Antalya Karain
Cave. People of Palaeolithic Age were hunter gatherers using stone
and bone tools. The stone tools are displayed under three
categories; Lower Paleolithic Age, Middle Paleolithic Age and Upper
and Late Upper Paleolithic Age.
- Neolithic Age (8000-5500) :
During this age first villages appeared and agriculture began. The
artifacts from Çatalhöyük and Hacılar, which are the most important sites of
Neolithic Age, are exhibited in the museum. The collection includes
the Mother Goddess sculptures, wall paintings, clay figurines,
stamps, earthenware containers, and bone made agricultural tools.
The most impressive parts of this exhibit are hunting scene on
plaster from 7th millennium BC., a reproduction of a Catalhoyuk
room with bull heads mounted onto walls, Mother Goddess Kybele
(later Cybele), obsidian tools, wall paintings of erupting Hasan
Mountain and the town – may be the world’s first city map and the
wall paintings of leopard.
- Chalcolithic
Age (Copper-Stone) (B.C. 5500-3000): In addition to
stone tools, copper was processed and used in everyday life during
this age. The artifacts recovered in Hacılar, Canhasan, Tilkitepe,
Alacahöyük and Alişar are exhibited in the museum. The
collection includes a large collection of stone and metal tools,
goddess figurines, seals, and decorative jewelry.
Bronze figurine of a naked woman breast-feeding a baby, from a
grave in Horoztepe.
- Early Bronze Age (B.C. 3000-1950):
People of Anatolia amalgamated copper and tin and invented bronze
at the beginning of the 3000 B.C. They also processed the known
metals with casting and hammering techniques. In addition to
valuable metal artifacts buried as grave goods in royal tombs in
Alacahöyük, artifacts from Hasanoğlan, Mahmatlar, Eskiyapar,
Horoztepe, Karaoğlan, Merzifon, Etiyokuşu, Ahlatlıbel, Karayavşan,
Bolu, Beycesultan Semahöyük, Karaz-Tilkitepe are represented in the
Old Bronze Age section of the museum. The Hatti tribes dominate the
Bronze Age display. The collection includes solar discs,
deer-shaped statuettes, thinner version of female figurines and
gold jewelry. There is also a reconstruction of a burial ceremony
which emphasizes the religious practices of this ancient
people.
- Assyrian Trade Colonies (B.C. 1950-1750): In
this period, writing emerged in Anatolia for the first time. Since
Akkadian times, Mesopotamians were aware of Anatolian resources and
riches. As a result, they engaged in broad trade relations,
spearheaded by Assyrians and with them they brought in their
languages and cylinder and stamp seals which later was developed
into a writing system. Over 20,000 clay tablets, inscribed in
Assyrian cuneiform, shed light to this period. Most of the written
documents are concerned with trade, economy, and law. Tin,
textiles, and clothes were brought by the Assyrian donkey caravans
for the local people and these goods were exchanged for silver and
gold. Kültepe was the center of the trade network. As a result we
witness an explosion in the diversity of the finds. Cuneiform
tablets, drinking vessels in the shape of sacred animals like bull,
lion, eagle, boar, rabbit, which were used in religious ceremonies,
cult objects, cylinder and stamp seals and their impressions, all
kinds of weapons and metal cups of artistic value made of clay,
stone, gold, silver, lead, copper, bronze, precious stones and
tiles from the Assyrian trade colonies were discovered at Kültepe,
Acemhoyuk, Alisar and Bogazkoy. Another interesting class of finds
related to this 200 year period is rhytons of Kultepe, a special
group of ceramic art which constitutes the basis of the Hittite
culture.
Bronze tablet from Çorum-Boğazköy dating from 1235 BC
- Hittite Period
(B.C. 1750-1200): The ancient Hittite’s first political
union was established near the crescent of the Kizilirmak River in
Anatolia around 2000 B.C. The important sites are Boğazköy (Hattusa), İnandık, Eskiyapar, Alacahöyük,
Alişar, Ferzant. The highlight of the Great Hittite Empire section
is the relief of the God of War taken from the King's Gate at Boğazköy (Hattusa). Embossed bull figure containers,
various fruit bowls and vases with animal shapes, infamous İnandik
vase that depicts a wedding ceremony, tablets of government
archives as well as the seals of the kings, bronze statues of
fertility gods, bulls, and deer are other interesting displays. The
exhibit also includes pictures from Bogazkoy, reconstruction of a
religious ceremony, reconstruction of King’s Gate at Boğazköy and
pictures from the excavation at Boğazköy. One of the most important
artifacts is the tablet in Akkadian scripts (1275-1220 B.C.) - a
correspondence from Egyptian Queen Nefertari (wife of Ramses II) to
Hittite Queen Puduhepa (wife of Hattusili III) written after Kadesh
Peace Treaty - the first peace treaty in the world history, dated
1275-1220 B.C. found at Boğazköy.
- Phrygian
Period (B.C. 1200-700) : The Phrygians, so-called
Sea People, came to Anatolia via Balkans in 1200 B.C. They acquired
control over Central Anatolia and made Gordion their capital city.
The finds from the royal tumulus at Gordion form the majority of
the section. The tumulus measured 300m (984 ft.) in diameter and
50m (164 ft.) in height . The reproduction of the tomb of King
Midas, found in the ancient tumulus, is also displayed here. Carved
and inlaid wooden furniture (Figure 25), hinged dress pins, ritual
vessels, depictions of animals such as lions, rams and eagles, the
reconstruction of a burial ceremony and the statue of the Mother
Goddess Kybele to whom the Phrygians worshipped as their main deity
are represented in this section.
- Late Hittite Period (B.C.
1200-700) : After the fall of the Hittite Empire as a
result of the invasion of the Phrygians, some of the Hittites moved
to south and south-east Anatolia and established states. The most
important sites of this period are Malatya-Arslantepe, Karkamış (Carchemish) and Sakçagözü. The 10-domed old
bazaar forming the center hall of the museum, houses the reliefs
and statues from Neo-Hittites period. The theme of war is
emphasized in the reliefs with soldiers and chariots. Also,
rock-cut reliefs portraying the Hittite rulers and the gods of the
Hittite pantheon, statues of powerful animals such as lion and bull
are represented.
- Urartian Period
(B.C. 1200-600) : The Urartuans lived in East
Anatolia during the same period as the Phrygians. The most
important Urartian sites are Altıntepe, Adilcevaz, Kayalıdere, Patnos, Van, Çavuştepe. Urartians made new advances in
architecture and mining.
- Lydian Period (B.C.
1200-546) : The origin of Lydian art comes from the
Bronze Age in which
there were relations, friendly or hostile, between their ancestors
and the Hittites. Lydians made spectacular progress in Iron Age especially from Gyges period to
Croesus (685 BC to 547 BC).
The exhibited artifacts mostly date from the 6th century BC.
- Classical Period and Ankara through the ages:
The collection includes Greek, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine
Period artifacts such as statues, jewelry and decorative vessels
made of gold, silver, glass, marble, and bronze as well as coins
with examples ranging from the first minted money to modern times.
In addition, there is a section displaying the finds uncovered
recently from Ankara’s surroundings.
- Coins represent exceptional cultural assets.
Galleries
- Building
Entrance gate of the museum
|
|
- Museum Galleries
Mother Goddess Cybele,
frontal view
|
Mother Goddess Cybele, lateral view
|
Hittite monument, an
exact replica of monument from Fasıllar
|
A statue in the courtyard
|
Bronze religious standard symbolizing the universe, used by
Hittite priests
|
Stag statuette, symbol of a Hittite male god
|
Bronze ceremonial standard of the Hittites
|
Chimera with a human head and a
lion's head; Late Hittite period
|
|
|
Reconstruction of the tomb of King Midas
|
|
|
Marble head of a Roman woman
|
Piece of jewelry, a necklace
|
Piece of jewelry, a bracelet
|
Piece of jewelry, a mirror
|
References
- ^
Museum's official
website
- ^
For a more extensive discussion of Hans Guterbock's exile in Turkey
and his saga in coming to the US from Turkey, see Turkey's Modernization:
Refugees from Nazism and
Atatürk's Vision by Arnold Reisman.
See also
External
links
Coordinates: 39°56′18″N 32°51′43″E / 39.93833°N
32.86194°E / 39.93833;
32.86194
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