Kilise Tepe in Rough Cilicia before the Late Bronze Age: An Overview of the Architecture, Pottery Traditions, and Cultural Contacts

Kilise Tepe is the only ancient settlement with pre-Hellenistic levels in Goksu Valley in southern Turkey that has been excavated. The archaeological work conducted at the site has produced valuable data about the local culture and its links with the neighbouring areas during the Bronze and Iron Ages. This article presents the preliminary results of the excavations of the Early and Middle Bronze Age levels conducted in 2007 and in 2011, with a general evaluation of the stratigraphy and related ceramics, followed by a brief discussion focusing on the destruction at Kilise Tepe at the end of the Early Bronze Age II period and the cultural changes that occurred subsequently. It is argued that, although the inhabitants of the settlement and the valley had developed cultural ties with the surrounding regions earlier, only during the Early Bronze Age III period the area became substantially integrated into the regional trade network.