View of the excavation site at Alacahöyük [Credit: AA] |
Çınaroğlu said the ingots were used for the production of various artefacts, adding that the remains dated back to 3,700 years ago.
Excavations at Alacahöyük [Credit: AA] |
The ingots are under protection and will be sent to the General Directorate of Mineral Research and exploration (MTA) to find out the origin of the copper, according to Çınaroğlu.
Two copper ingots were among the finds during this years excavations [Credit: AA] |
“Because it is so big, we can understand that it also served other neighbouring places. The granaries around the factory show that it has a capacity for 4,000 people,” he added.
A water channel has also been discovered during the new excavations around the workshop.
“We found it this year in the factory. This surprised me because it shows that they attached importance to hygiene,” Çınaroğlu said, adding that his team believed the workshop would continue to reveal new artefacts that would surprise the archaeology world.
Source: Hurriyet Daily News [August 18, 2015]