Alacahoyuk

Our trip started in Ankara, the capitol of Turkey.  The next day, we were on the road meandering towards our ultimate destinations in southeastern Turkey.  One of our first stops was the very interesting Hittite city of Alacahöyük, which dates back to 5500 BC, and continues up to 300 BC.  Keeping in mind that one of the focuses of this trip is the investigation of megalithic stones at the various sites, this place did not disappoint.  It had an interesting mix of the huge stones which I assume are the oldest, with the smaller and cruder stones used in the newer construction.   It looked as if the older site was deconstructed and some of the megaliths were reused, while others were left strewn about.  

 

Here is the Sphinx Gate.  Note the strong Egyptian influence.

These polygonal walls are reminiscent of those at Saqsayhuaman in Peru.

The excavated royal tombs at the site included human bones, animal bones and numerous finely done bronze castings.

These castings have been moved to the national museum in Ankara for safe keeping.  I am sure that they are priceless! Note the cow and deer themes.

 

Here are the remains of a megalithic wall.

You can see how the older and bigger stones have been repurposed in the newer and cruder construction.

I found these stones as I was wandering "off trail".  They were located near the center of the ruins.  These kind of oddities are routinely found in very old and mixed sites such as this.  Note the very finely carved grooves.  Who did that, and what were they used for?  It's just one of many mysteries that we encountered on this trip!