The Theories on the Localization of Nerik Reconsidered

Abstract

During the archaeological survey carried out in 1972 in the Middle Black Sea Region by a team directed by Professor Dr. U. B. Allum, Chairman of the Department of the Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Cultures of the Faculty of Letters of the University of İstanbul under the auspieces of the Turkish Historical Association, the Ministry of National Education and the University of İstanbul, it was decided to send a preliminary expedition party to the southern and western neighbouring sectors of the region. The purpose of this expedition was to gain a general idea about the topographic structure and the intensity of the ancient settlements or other cultural activity /oci of the region, upon which the later investigations would be based. This survey was realised in two phases : the first covers the area between Samsun-Havza-Vezirköprü-Durağan, the second DurağanKargi-Osmancik-Gümüşhactköy-Merzifon. We have carried out the second part. The results and finds of the main survey between SamsunBafra and Bafra-Alaçam and the first step of this investigation will be published by Professor Allum. But, we would like to announce that the amount of the known mounds has been threefolded. It is hoped that the collected material will clarify the interrelations of the central and coastal cultures in the pre-Hittite and Hittite Anatolia.