The mysterious route of obsidian carried from Bitlis thousands of years ago

Bitlis Eren University (BEU) prepared the "Bitlis Province in Prehistoric Times Project" in order to determine how the obsidian stones unearthed in the historical sites in question were transported from Bitlis and how they were processed.

Within the scope of the project approved by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, it was planned to conduct surface research in the volcanic Nemrut and Süphan mountains, as well as in the whole city.

The project, in which scientists from BEU and different universities take part, will attempt to determine how obsidian stones traveled from Mount Nemrut and Mount Süphan to the Levant region.

"Obsidian was continuously taken from Mount Nemrut and Mount Süphan"

BEU Faculty of Arts and Sciences academic member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yunus Çiftçi, who examined the obsidians in the Nemrut Caldera, said that the "Bitlis Province in Prehistoric Ages Project", which they prepared last year and submitted to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, was approved this year.

Çiftçi stated that within the scope of the project, surface research will be carried out throughout Bitlis on obsidian quarries, settlements of ancient cultures, their locations and road routes, and gave the following information:

"A study will be conducted on obsidian resources in the Nemrut and Süphan Mountains in the region. The reason for this is that in archaeological excavations carried out in settlements in the Levant or Southern Levant, in Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan, approximately 17 thousand years ago, it was determined that obsidian was taken from the Nemrut and Süphan Mountains in Bitlis. These results are 17 thousand years old. Again, approximately 11 thousand years ago, it was determined in settlements such as Göbeklitepe, Boncuklu Tarla and Körtiktepe. Obsidian taken from the Nemrut and Süphan Mountains was constantly carried to these regions."

Çiftçi said that people used obsidians as tools because metals and minerals were not discovered thousands of years ago, and that with the emergence of obsidian, people went to distant places, especially volcanic lands, to produce higher quality materials.

"It is known that obsidian was used continuously until approximately 6 thousand years ago."

Çiftçi, who emphasized that the project is very comprehensive, said, "Did they learn about obsidian from the cultures living here or did they find it while traveling? We will focus on this. In the studies in the Levant region, it is seen that the first obsidians were used in spearheads, arrowheads, knives, cutting and piercing tools, and in jewelry and ornaments because it is a valuable raw material. When we come to places like Göbeklitepe, Boncuklu Tarla, Körtiktepe, 7 thousand years later, it is seen that it was used in small tools, arrowheads, piercings used in bead making and many similar tools. It is known that obsidian was used continuously until approximately 6 thousand years ago."

Çiftçi, who stated that obsidian, which was used continuously before and after the Neolithic Age, was preferred due to its quality and cutting properties, said, "Archaeological excavations in the Levant region date back to earlier times. It has been confirmed through analyses that 20-25 percent of the obsidian found there came from Nemrut and Süphan in the Bitlis region. It has also been proven that the materials in Körtik Tepe were mostly taken from here. There is also evidence from approximately 10,000 to 11,000 years ago."

"We will start surface research in September"

Çiftçi stated that the project covers the whole province, but the focal points are the Nemrut and Süphan Mountains and the nearby areas, and noted the following:

"The reason we wanted Bitlis in its entirety was to find answers to these questions: 'Did people know this region before, did they have road routes, did they settle here?' Were there people living and settling within the borders of Bitlis 17,000 years ago? Where did they process the material? Since the material was large, did they have to process it here and make arrowheads, spearheads, cutting and piercing tools and take them away in small form?

We are investigating these. With this project planned to last 3 years, we will investigate especially Nemrut and Süphan Mountains and their surroundings, road routes, and Bitlis in general and finalize this. We will start the surface survey in September with a team formed by expert researchers and academics from BEU and different universities. We will go out to the field and conduct surface surveys in line with these objectives."