During the 2024 joint fieldwork of Freie Universität Berlin and Ege Üniversitesi, we explored the eastern lower Bakırçay plain, mapping geomorphological features. Collaborating with archaeologists, we investigated the ancient Bakırçay River’s shifting course, focusing on fluvial traces and elevations to better understand its historical hydrology. Stay tuned for our findings!
The 2nd Milestone Workshop of the TransPergMicro project, held on January 10-11, 2025 at the Orient-Institut in Istanbul, brought together an interdisciplinary range of scholars to explore the concept of social metabolism in historical contexts. The event was intended as a further ‘milestone’ in advancing our understanding of material and energy flows between societies and their environment, with a particular emphasis on the project’s research focus, i.e., the Pergamon Micro-Region between the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods.
We are happy to announce the 2nd Milestone Workshop of the interdisciplinary TransPergMicro project, titled “Social Metabolism and Historical Human-Environment Interaction: The Pergamon Micro-Region and Beyond”. The workshop will take place on 10. – 11. January 2025 in Istanbul, with online participation also available.
We are excited to announce the upcoming International Symposium on Human and Ecology Relations Through the Ages, taking place from 4–6 December 2024 at Ege University in Izmir.
In the first session, Felix Pirson of the German Archaeological Institute and the TransPergMicro project will give a presentation titled: „Human Environment Interaction in the Pergamon Micro-Region: Challenges and Perspectives for Interdisciplinary Research.“
The upcoming 47th International Mediterranean Survey Workshop will take place from December 6-7 in Istanbul (Türkiye). The workshop is organized and hosted by Elif Koparal and Felix Pirson in cooperation with German Archaeological Institute (DAI) Istanbul, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi (MSGSU), and Koç Üniversitesi Anadolu Medeniyetleri Araştırma Merkezi (ANAMED).
Pergamon Excavation House, the heart and center of the Pergamon Excavation, opened its doors to visitors from Bergama on Saturday, September 7, 2024. This special event, organized for the first time within the scope of ‘Pergamon Meetings’ with the contributions of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye and Bergama District Municipality, aimed to offer participants a day full of history and archaeology.
Pergamon Kazısının kalbi ve ana merkezi olan Pergamon Kazı Evi, 7 Eylül 2024 Cumartesi günü kapılarını Bergamalı ziyaretçilerine açtı. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı ile Bergama İlçe Belediyesinin katkılarıyla düzenlenen ‘Pergamon Buluşmaları’ kapsamında ilk defa gerçekleştirilen bu özel etkinlik, katılımcılara tarih ve arkeoloji dolu bir gün sunmayı amaçladı.
We are excited to announce that four new articles from the TransPergMicro project have been recently published in the latest volume of the Istanbuler Mitteilungen. These articles shed light on various aspects of Pergamon and the micro-region during the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
Discover the latest TransPergMicro research presented at the 2024 Landscape Archaeology Conference. We’re excited to highlight Joris Starke’s award-winning poster on the Araplı alluvial fan’s development during the Roman Imperial period. Additionally, delve into Robert Busch’s agro-ecological modeling and Fabian Becker’s analysis of the ‚3rd century crisis‘ in Pergamon. Also featured is Moritz Nykamp’s poster on Göbekli Tepe’s landscape evolution.
The publication offers a collection of papers held in 2022 at a workshop organized by the DFG-funded TransPergMicro project. The interdisciplinary contributions reflect on micro-regions as spaces of socio-ecological interaction on a theoretical, methodological and empirical level. They convey the current state of knowledge for various regions of the Mediterranean and reveal perspectives for future research.
The Selinos River, now known as Bergama Çayı, plays a significant role in shaping the urban landscape of the city. This was highlighted at the annual TransPergMicro workshop, where the relationship between urban development, changes in natural space, and the river’s dynamics were analysed and discussed. The initial findings, presented in this blog post, will be incorporated into a TransPergMicro sub-project.
In exploring sedimentary profiles obtained by vibra-coring in the Bakırçay plain, our interdisciplinary fieldwork investigates the development of alluvial fans in the Pergamon micro-region. We aim to uncover the intricate interplay between sediment dynamics and historical settlement patterns. At the same time, our study of ‚chocolate bars‘ provides insights into ancient pottery production and highlights the relationship between human activity and the landscape in the Pergamon Micro-Region.
The Sultan Tepe site, discovered in 2009 and revisited in 2019 and 2020, near Pergamon reveals intriguing findings. The non-invasive survey suggests a complex history: a potential villa with a courtyard, a sanctuary, or even a mansio. Geophysical data points to a 175 x 100 m structure, possibly a villa. Pottery spans late Hellenistic to Byzantine periods. Despite uncertainties, this interdisciplinary approach offers valuable insights into the region’s historical development. The full study will be in ‚Istanbuler Mitteilungen.‘
We are pleased to announce the release of two new publications that showcase the latest findings and research conducted by our team. Find out more in this blog post.
The article, titled „Mid- to Late Holocene geomorphodynamics in a long-term settled mountain catchment in the Pergamon micro-region, western Turkey,“ investigates the impact of climate change and human activity on the rural settlement patterns and geomorphodynamics in the Tekkedere valley during the last 6000 years. It is the first detailed study to address this issue using alluvial sediments from a long-term settled valley in the hinterland of Pergamon, a major ancient city in western Turkey.
