The Thrace Stone Axe Project (TSAP) was established in 1997. It consists of a small working party. One of the scopes of the project is to study the relationship between geology and archaeology with respect to prehistoric production techniques of stone axes. The richness of the polished stone tool finds from the systematic excavated sites in Turkish Thrace as Aşağıpınar and Hocaçeşme enable us to better understand the Neolithic and Chalcolithic societies. The recent discoveries of axe production sites in Turkish Thrace region help us to examine the raw material procuring of these societies. At first, the study was limited to Turkish Thrace region. Progressively, we aim to enlarge this study area to Anatolian sites. Especially at the initial stages of such a study, we wish to enlarge our operation area towards the south and east for the possibility to compare the information on polished stone tools from prehistoric sites in Southeast Europe with those of the Turkish Thrace region.

The researchers currently working on the project are Dr O. Ozbek (director and archaeologist), Professeur Y. Erkan (project petrologist) and K. Erol (M.S.project petrologist) TSAP was partially funded by the French Institute of Anatolian Studies (IFEA) between 1997 and 1999.

Field Members in the past years:

Onur Ozbek, Archaeologist, Institut Français d'Etudes Anatoliennes (IFEA) in Istanbul. ozbekonur@altern.org

M. Akif Işın (Archaeologist, Director of Tekirdağ Museum) Tekirdağ.

Monique Ricq de Bouard (Archaeologist and petrologist) CNRS Centre de Recerches Archéologiques du CNRS, Sophia Antipolis, Valbonne, France.

Yavuz Erkan (Head of the Mineralogy and Petrography Department) Mineralogy and Petrography Department of Hacettepe University in Ankara.

Kenan Erol (Assistant, Geology engineer) Mineralogy and Petrography Department of Hacettepe University in Ankara. kerol@hacettepe.edu.tr

Satelite view of the southern borders of the study area (Adapted from spotimage.fr)

Metamorphic outcrops in the Gallipoli peninsula

Metamorphic rocks near Tekirdağ

Stone Axe rough-outs collected during the field surveys.

Selected Publication:

OZBEK, O. 2000, "A Prehistoric stone axe production site in Turkish Thrace: Hamaylıtarla" Lubjana.Documenta Prehistorica XXVII.7th International Neolithic Seminar, University of Ljubljana : 167-171.

OZBEK, O. 2001, "Gelibolu Yarimadasinin Kuzeyinde yeni bir prehistorik tas balta atölyesi: Buruneren "Türk Arkeoloji ve Etnografya Dergisi. Anıtlar ve Müzeler Genel Müdürlügü, Kültür Bakanlıgı, Ankara .

OZBEK, O. and K. EROL 2001, "Etude petrographique des haches polies du Hamaylitarla et Fenerkaradutlar (Turquie)" Anatolia Antiqua , IX, Bibliothèque de l'Institut Français d'Etudes Anatoliennes d'Istanbul, De Boccard, Paris : 1-7.

EROL. K. ve O. OZBEK 2002, "Neolitik Dönem Cilali Tas Baltalarında Arkeometri çalismaları ve Güneybatı Trakya' dan Bir örnek " Mavi Gezegen Popüler Yerbilim Dergisi, 6, Jeoloji Mühendisligi Odası, Ankara : 72-75.

Prepared by Onur Ozbek, Chercheur associeé Institut Français d'Etudes Anatoliennes Palais de France, 22, Nuri Ziya Sk., 80072, Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turquie Tél : 00 90 212 244 17 17 ou 00 90 212 244 33 27 Fax : 00 90 212 252 80 91 ozbekonur@altern.org