January 21, 2009
The Avkat Archaeological Project in Turkey: Landscapes and Resources
John Haldon
Professor of History and Hellenic Studies, Princeton
Minutes of the 16th Meeting of the 67th Year
The meeting was called to order by President George Hansen at 10:15 AM.
George Hansen led the invocation. Charles Ufford read the minutes of the previous meeting on January 14th when Sean Wilentz spoke on “The Age of Reagan.”
Michael Kaplan introduced his guest, Michael Bilinger.
The next meeting will be on January 28 in the Friends Center at 10:15 AM when Robert Peck from the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, will speak on “The Discovery of the Gorilla and its Impact on Society: From the Darwinian ‘Link’ to King Kong”.
The attendance today was 98.
The following new members were welcomed: Robert Bruce Craig, A.C. Reeves Hicks, and Paul Bernard Lerner.
Mr. Hansen reported that David Dodge passed away on January 20. He was a driving force in the Old Guard and will be sorely missed He was honored with a moment of silence.
Dick Hanson introduced today’s speaker, Dr. John Haldon, Professor Byzantine studies at Princeton University. He has concentrated on the social, economic, institutional, and political history of the Middle East from the 7th to the 11th century, and is the director of the Euchaita/Avkat Archaeological Survey. He is the author of more than a dozen books, and was the senior fellow of Byzantine studies at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C. from 2004 to 2007.
After inquiring how many Old Guard members had been to Turkey, Dr. Haldon doubted that any of us had been to the remote village, known today as Euchaita, which is the location of the Avkat Archaeological Survey in north central Turkey. It has never been famous or important. Today it has about fifty dwellings. It is on the northern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and relatively arid. The survey project is using modern technology to study the changes in the size of the village population and the land use of the surrounding area over the past two thousand years. Euchaita was on the northern edge of the Hittite empire in the second century BC. Historical accounts report that Xerxes marched an army of 100,000 soldiers across the area by Xerxes. In the 8th and 9th centuries AD there were Arab invasions along the major route that passes through this area, when Euchaita was the eastern headquarters of the Byzantine army. Would the areas that were cultivated in those different eras have supported such large armies? The historical sources seem highly implausible.
Saint Theodore the Recruit, who was martyred in the fourth century, is revered in Euchaita. Also, there is a mausoleum holding the remains of St. Culp.
Haldon displayed many aerial photos of the cultivated fields, the village, the Byzantine fortress, and the surrounding mountains. The cultivated areas were smaller in ancient time than today, and by calculating the size of the fields, they can estimate the population of the village during different eras. He explained how the survey team used ground-penetrating radar to map selected areas digitally. The team also used magnetometry to locate and determine the size and shape of ancient structures deep underground, using computerized satellite imagery to map the exact location of the underground features. With this technique two people were able to locate the below-ground structures of the ancient fortress in four days, whereas a traditional archaeological dig would have taken a team of 30 people 6 or 7 weeks to achieve the same result. They have produced a detailed diagram of the buildings in the fortress during Byzantine era. Also, they identified the remains of what might have been churches in the village. The shortcoming of this technique is that you cannot determine chronology from it. The local people developed friendly relations with the team, and were convinced that the survey team was looking for buried treasure.
Haldon showed photos of Roman tombstones, altar columns, Roman road markers, tiles, coins, Turkish grave markers, and other objects, which have been found lying on the ground throughout the area. But there was no forum, no monument, or other large public structure in Avkat in the past. The survey team consisted of many graduate students, interns and faculty from the sponsoring universities.
Dr. Haldon answered questions after his talk. What was the size of the armies moving through this area? He referred to accounts of 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers during 1071 AD, but he believes that number would have stripped the whole area of food supplies. Haldon guesses that the actual size of the army was no more than 25,000. Another questioner asked about how well the Byzantines forecasted and planned the provisioning of their armies. They organized, planned well, and stored food in granaries and special storehouses. They also taxed the local residents to pay for the costs of supporting the army.
Respectfully submitted,
David McAlpin
Web reference to the Avkat Survey:
http://www.princeton.edu/avkat/links/Report2007final.pdf
George Hansen led the invocation. Charles Ufford read the minutes of the previous meeting on January 14th when Sean Wilentz spoke on “The Age of Reagan.”
Michael Kaplan introduced his guest, Michael Bilinger.
The next meeting will be on January 28 in the Friends Center at 10:15 AM when Robert Peck from the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, will speak on “The Discovery of the Gorilla and its Impact on Society: From the Darwinian ‘Link’ to King Kong”.
The attendance today was 98.
The following new members were welcomed: Robert Bruce Craig, A.C. Reeves Hicks, and Paul Bernard Lerner.
Mr. Hansen reported that David Dodge passed away on January 20. He was a driving force in the Old Guard and will be sorely missed He was honored with a moment of silence.
Dick Hanson introduced today’s speaker, Dr. John Haldon, Professor Byzantine studies at Princeton University. He has concentrated on the social, economic, institutional, and political history of the Middle East from the 7th to the 11th century, and is the director of the Euchaita/Avkat Archaeological Survey. He is the author of more than a dozen books, and was the senior fellow of Byzantine studies at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C. from 2004 to 2007.
After inquiring how many Old Guard members had been to Turkey, Dr. Haldon doubted that any of us had been to the remote village, known today as Euchaita, which is the location of the Avkat Archaeological Survey in north central Turkey. It has never been famous or important. Today it has about fifty dwellings. It is on the northern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and relatively arid. The survey project is using modern technology to study the changes in the size of the village population and the land use of the surrounding area over the past two thousand years. Euchaita was on the northern edge of the Hittite empire in the second century BC. Historical accounts report that Xerxes marched an army of 100,000 soldiers across the area by Xerxes. In the 8th and 9th centuries AD there were Arab invasions along the major route that passes through this area, when Euchaita was the eastern headquarters of the Byzantine army. Would the areas that were cultivated in those different eras have supported such large armies? The historical sources seem highly implausible.
Saint Theodore the Recruit, who was martyred in the fourth century, is revered in Euchaita. Also, there is a mausoleum holding the remains of St. Culp.
Haldon displayed many aerial photos of the cultivated fields, the village, the Byzantine fortress, and the surrounding mountains. The cultivated areas were smaller in ancient time than today, and by calculating the size of the fields, they can estimate the population of the village during different eras. He explained how the survey team used ground-penetrating radar to map selected areas digitally. The team also used magnetometry to locate and determine the size and shape of ancient structures deep underground, using computerized satellite imagery to map the exact location of the underground features. With this technique two people were able to locate the below-ground structures of the ancient fortress in four days, whereas a traditional archaeological dig would have taken a team of 30 people 6 or 7 weeks to achieve the same result. They have produced a detailed diagram of the buildings in the fortress during Byzantine era. Also, they identified the remains of what might have been churches in the village. The shortcoming of this technique is that you cannot determine chronology from it. The local people developed friendly relations with the team, and were convinced that the survey team was looking for buried treasure.
Haldon showed photos of Roman tombstones, altar columns, Roman road markers, tiles, coins, Turkish grave markers, and other objects, which have been found lying on the ground throughout the area. But there was no forum, no monument, or other large public structure in Avkat in the past. The survey team consisted of many graduate students, interns and faculty from the sponsoring universities.
Dr. Haldon answered questions after his talk. What was the size of the armies moving through this area? He referred to accounts of 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers during 1071 AD, but he believes that number would have stripped the whole area of food supplies. Haldon guesses that the actual size of the army was no more than 25,000. Another questioner asked about how well the Byzantines forecasted and planned the provisioning of their armies. They organized, planned well, and stored food in granaries and special storehouses. They also taxed the local residents to pay for the costs of supporting the army.
Respectfully submitted,
David McAlpin
Web reference to the Avkat Survey:
http://www.princeton.edu/avkat/links/Report2007final.pdf