4 thousand years ago, 'Port City' Kayseri
While the work continues uninterruptedly at Kültepe Kaniş-Karum Ruins, where archaeological finds and documents that date Kayseri's history back 6,000 years ago, it was determined that the trade of the region, which did not have a sea, was quite developed 4,000 years ago. Prof. Dr. Fikri Kulakoğlu, Head of the Kültepe Excavations, stated that in the cuneiform writings on the tablets found during the excavations at Kültepe Kaniş-Karum Ruins, minerals and precious stones from Central Asia were found in the region. "Materials unique to those regions were brought here as well. These goods, which were not only brought to Kültepe, were also sold to the interior of Anatolia. We know that these goods were sold as far as the Aegean and Black Sea Regions." Therefore, Kültepe became a 'port city' as the ancient Assyrians called it, a center that we can call 'Anatolia's port' 4 thousand years ago. Excavations under the direction of Prof. Dr. Fikri Kulakoğlu at the Kültepe-Kaniş-Karum Ruins on the Kayseri-Sivas Highway continue uninterrupted, and the findings shed light on history. Noting that the region became the port of Anatolia 4,000 years ago with its trade, Prof Dr Kulakoğlu said, "Kayseri is right in the heart of Turkey. Thanks to this, we already know today that it is a place that has relations with almost every region. Apart from that, thanks to especially Assyrian merchants, we can learn data not only in Anatolia, but also in Mesopotamia but also in far more distant regions. Some of the names and words on some tablets must belong to different places than the Asia Minor region we know completely. Secondly, precious metals, tin, gold, and stones such as lapis lazuli coming from the part going as far as Central Asia are also found here. It certainly shows us that Kültepe has a relationship with these regions. Traders are brought in, goods are exchanged mutually, but in the end, we understand that those regions are known. Apart from these, we guess that perfume oils also came from the part that goes to Central Asia today. The goods from there have reached us. If we need to ask about the origin of the Silk Road in the Middle Ages, it is very clear that there was a trade network going from Central Asia to Anatolia. Materials unique to those regions were brought here as well. These goods, which were not only brought to Kültepe, were also sold to Anatolia. We know that these goods were sold as far as the Aegean and Black Sea Regions. Therefore, Kültepe has become a 'port city' as the ancient Assyrians said. Therefore, 4,000 years ago, it became a center that we can call the 'port of Anatolia'.
Ceramics dating back 6,000 years have also been found
Underlining that they have uncovered a history of up to 6,000 years with the ceramics unearthed in the excavations in Kültepe, Prof Dr Kulakoğlu said, "In our new excavations, we have uncovered a history not only 4,000 years ago, but much earlier than that, even up to 6,000 years ago. Again, valuable items such as ceramics and jewellery from distant regions are also found here at that time. These are the materials that have come as a result of this whole network of relationships. When we say Kültepe, a map comes to life in front of us, of course there is Anatolia, but when we look to the East, we include Central Asia as well.