Taş Tepeler

Sayburç · Structure

Structure AB (Sayburç)

A heavily damaged building east of Sayburç's relief-bearing special building, built directly on bedrock — recorded in the excavation report but too eroded to describe in detail. (Not to be confused with Karahan Tepe's Structure AB.)

The Sayburç excavation. (Site view; not a photograph of this find.)
The Sayburç excavation. (Site view; not a photograph of this find.) Wikimedia Commons

01

Quick facts

Area
east of the relief-bearing special building
Construction
built directly on bedrock, like the rest of the settlement
Condition
heavily damaged, affected by the hillside slope
Plan
limited / damaged — full outline and features not recoverable at present
Note
a Sayburç building; distinct from Karahan Tepe's well-known Structure AB

02

What little is known

Sayburç's Structure AB is one of its most lightly documented buildings, and this entry is kept short on purpose. It lies east of the relief-bearing special building and, like everything else at the site, was built directly on bedrock. But it is heavily damaged — worn by the inclination of the hillside — so its full plan and internal features cannot be recovered on present evidence; the excavation report can describe it only as a damaged structure of limited exposure.

It is worth flagging a name clash: this is Sayburç's Structure AB, a minor eroded building, and should not be confused with Karahan Tepe's Structure AB, the famous rock-cut pillar chamber. They share a label from separate site lettering schemes and nothing else.

03

What is still open

Almost everything a full account would carry — plan, dimensions, function, and how AB relates to the neighbouring special building — remains unresolved because of the damage. This page should be treated as a placeholder that fuller excavation and publication may or may not be able to expand.

04

Sources

Sources & further reading1 reference
  1. Özdoğan, E. (2024). Sayburç: a mid-9th millennium BC site in the foothills of the Eastern Taurus. Documenta Praehistorica 51: 44–58. Open-access preliminary report of the first excavation seasons; source of the lettered special buildings. doi:10.4312/dp.51.23

Full bibliography: the Taş Tepeler reference library →

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Last reviewed 7 October 2026. Something wrong?