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The treasure deposits of Troy: rethinking crisis and agency on the Early Bronze Age citadel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2012

Christoph Bachhuber
Christoph Bachhuber
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
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Abstract

The treasure deposits of Troy have been largely studied in isolation from both architectural developments and other depositional contexts in Troia II–III. The corpus has been perceived as little more than a catalogue of information that can be assessed to outline various trends related to metallurgical production, expanding networks of exchange and fluctuations in economic wealth. Considerations of agency have been few and limited. This study relates the content and context of the treasures to depositional and architectural patterns that begin in Troia II. Meaningful continuities and transformations between Troia II–III ultimately challenge the widely held reconstruction that the treasures were a concealment of wealth in anticipation of an attack. The study arrives at an alternative explanation with a consideration of the relationship between the destruction and abandonment of the Troia II central megaron complex and the deposition of treasure. The central megaron complex and the treasure deposits represent two distinct and divergent strategies of élite initiative on the citadel. The study concludes with a consideration of the inherently destabilising practices of treasures deposition, the final destruction of Troia III and the end of the Early Bronze Age in Anatolia.

Özet

Troya'daki hazine gömüleri büyük çoğunlukla hem mimari gelişmelerden hem de Troya II–III evreleri diğer gömülerinden bağımsız olarak incelenmiştir. Bu nedenle bu çalışmalar sonucu oluşturulmuş yazılı açıklamalar metalurjik üretim, iletişim ağlarındaki genişleme, ekonomik refahtaki dalgalanmalar gibi farklı çizgiler izlenerek oluşturulabilecek taslak niteliğindeki kataloklardan daha fazla bilgi vermemektedir. Dönemsel faaliyetleri göz önüne alan çalışma çok az sayıda ve kısıtlıdır. Bu çalışma Troya II ile başlamak üzere gömüleri ve mimari modelleri ilişkilendirerek gömünün hem içeriğini, hem de ortaya çıkarıldığı ortamı incelemektedir. Troya II ve III arasında gözlenen anlamlı süreklilik ve değişmeler, geniş bir kesim tarafından kabul gören -hazine gömülerinin tahmin edilen bir saldırı için refahın gizlenmesi- olduğu görüşüne karşı fikirler ortaya çıkarmıştır. Bu çalışma, Troya II merkezi megaron kompleksinde meydana gelen yıkım ve terk edilmiş olma ile hazine gömüleri arasındaki ilişkiyi değerlendirerek alternatif bir açıklamaya ulaşmıştır. Merkezi megaron kompleksi ile hazine gömüleri kale durumundaki bu kentte elit inisiatifinin birbirinden farklı ve zıt iki stratejisini temsil eder. Çalışma yöre halkına miras kalmış olan düzensiz gömü uygulaması, Troya III deki nihai yıkım ve Anadolu'da Erken Bronz Çağ'ın bitimini dikkate alarak bir sonuca ulaşmaktadır.

Type
Research Article
Information
Anatolian Studies , Volume 59 , December 2009 , pp. 1 - 18
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute at Ankara 2009

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