Oylum | |
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Coordinates: 36°41′52″N37°10′50″E / 36.69778°N 37.18056°E | |
Country | Turkey |
Province | Kilis |
District | Kilis |
Municipality | Kilis |
Population (2022) | 517 |
Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
Oylum is a neighbourhood of the city Kilis, Kilis District, Kilis Province, Turkey. [1] The village had a population of 517 in 2022. [2]
In late 19th century, German orientalist Martin Hartmann listed the village as a settlement of 15 houses inhabited by Turks. [3]
Oylum is home to a höyük mound with evidence of settlement dating as far back as the Chalcolithic. [4] Settlement continued into the Bronze and Iron Ages. [4] Some or all of the settlement was destroyed by fire twice in the Middle Bronze Age. [4] A third destruction event in the Late Bronze Age may be associated with Šuppiluliuma I's military campaign in Syria. [5]
The name of the site during this period of settlement has not been definitively determined. [5] "Oylum might be the Ulisum/Ullis referred to in the third millennium BC and the Ullaza/Ukulzat/Kuilzila of the second millennium BC." [5] Alternatively, Oylum has been suggested as the location of Hassuwa. [4]
Excavations have revealed a palace or administrative building dating to the Middle Bronze Age I period that was destroyed by fire. A well-preserved pottery kiln was discovered that was built during the Middle Bronze Age II period on top of the palace ruins. [6]
Bronze Age artifacts discovered at Oylum Höyük that contain inscriptions include a fragmentary cuneiform tablet from the Hittite period, which has been identified as a treaty between the Hittite King and a local ruler; [4] a lapis lazuli cylinder seal with a cuneiform inscription indicating that it belonged to a vizier named Bitna; [5] and a tablet written in Old Babylonian concerning a commercial debt. [5] Non-epigraphic finds suggest that Bronze Age Oylum shared a similar material culture to nearby Alalakh. [5]