Boğazköy, Türkiye. Insights into the Unknown Culture of the Galatians in Central Anatolia. Work in the Years 2022 to 2023

Abstract

Around 278 BC, Celts (Galatians) – recruited as mercenaries by Nicomedes I of Bi­thynia – arrived in Anatolia from south-eastern Europe and, after protracted battles, settled in central Anatolia, including Boğazköy. To the south-east of Kesikkaya and on the north-western slope of Büyükkale, structures from this period have been investigated on a large scale for the first time in decades, shedding new light on this epoch. On the one hand, a gap in the cultural history of north-eastern Central Ana­tolia has been closed in connection with the Iron Age and Roman features that have been researched in recent years. On the other hand, insights into the differentiated settlement structure of this period are possible for the first time.