An Example of Cromleck Structures fom Kars: Baykara Necropolis

Abstract

Kars-Ardahan Plateau is a geography where cultural transitions between the Caucasus and Anatolia are common. The fact that geography has favorable conditions for transhumance has made the region much more important in ancient times. Independent tombs also occupy an important place in the region where there are many signs of nomadic cultures. Cromleck graves in the Caucasus appeored to appear at the beginning of II. Millennium B. C. The tombs where these structures emerged as an extension of the Central Asian kurgan tradition followed a round plan and were surrounded by ovalshaped stones and graves. In this study, the cromleck-plated tomb we found in our previous surveys in Baykara village of Selim district of Kars was examined and a comparative study was done with the similar ones in the Caucasus region.