Paleogeographical and Geoarchaeological Research in the Tarsus Berdan Plain
Project no. 22305 · Status: Kapanmış · 2020
Summary
<h1>ABSTRACT</h1><p>The Tarsus Plain is part of Çukurova and the Mediterranean Sea in the south; Bolkar Mountains to the north and northwest; It is located in a region bordered by Misis Mountains in the east. One of the most important settlements of its period, Gözlükule Mound is located on the Tarsus Plain. The mound, a significant settlement in the Neolithic period, has been inhabited uninterruptedly until today.</p><p>Our thesis study called “Paleogeographical and Geoarchaeological Research in the Tarsus Berdan Plain” consists of 6 chapters. In the introduction, the geographical location of the study area, the aim, and the method have been emphasized. In the second and third chapters of the thesis, the physical geography and archeology of Tarsus and its surroundings have been explained. In the fourth chapter, the analyzes applied to the sediment samples obtained from the Tarsus Plain have been given in detail. In the fifth part of the study, the paleogeography-geoarchaeology of the region has been re-evaluated, and in the last sixth, the final results of the study have been explained.</p><p>In this study, detailed analyzes have been made on the sediment samples obtained from the core drillings carried out in the Tarsus Plain. Laser diffraction grain size analysis of 300 sediment samples, XRF, CNS/CN elemental analysis of 145 sediment samples, and paleontological analysis of 140 sediment samples was carried out. Radiocarbon-14 dating has been made by Tübitak MAM on 5 shell samples of different depths. In the light of these analyzes, new scientific contributions to the paleogeography of the region have been explained.</p><p> </p><p>According to the results of the analysis, it has been proven that the shoreline was intruded towards the north of the Tarsus Plain due to the transgression that took place in the Early Holocene, however it could not reach as far as the Gözlükule Mound. The coastline, south of the Gözlükule Mound, has moved towards the open sea again due to filling with the alluvium carried by the Tarsus Stream and the Seyhan and Ceyhan Rivers in the region during the Middle and Late Holocene. It has been proven that a lagoon was formed in the south of Gözlükule Mound due to the processes that developed in the Middle and Late Holocene. Because of continued sediment accumulation, the lagoon gradually turned into a lake and then a delta-flood plain. Wetlands in the form of swamps, which have remained as traces of these processes on the plain, have also been dried by the drainage works. The Karabucak Swamp, which occupies a small area in the south of Tarsus today, is the last remnant of these environments.</p>