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Tepecik-Çiftlik mound is located on Çiftlik Plain within the borders of Çiftlik District of NiÄŸde Province, located 1 km away from the district center. Excavations in the settlement included in the Volcanic Cappadocia region in Central Anatolia were carried out by Assoc. Prof. Erhan Bıçakçı.
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Çiftlik Plain is about 1500 m high from the sea and is composed of a mixture of pumice and ash erupted from the surrounding volcanic mountains. The oval-shaped mound is 9.60 m high from the plain and 300 m to 170 m in size. As a result of the excavations, various archaeological layers belonging to the Non-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic Period, the Chalcolithic Period, and the Late Roman-Early Byzantine Periods were unearthed.
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So far, a very significant part of the data related to the Neolithic period has been obtained from the 5th, 4th, and 3rd layers. Well-preserved architectural elements of the 5th layer were not observed, and this level is represented mostly by tombs. In the 4th layer, although the open areas were excavated more, well and poorly preserved architectural elements or structures were unearthed. On the other hand, a vast number of dwellings belonging to the early and late periods of the 3rd layer were found. These dwellings had differed from those of the previous layers, and their style also changed over time. Carbon 14 data obtained from the Pottery Neolithic Period layers (the 5th, 4th, and 3rd layers) have been dated to 7000 BC (6850-6000 cal. BC).