Pazarlı Mound (Çikhasan)
Pazarlı Mound lies about 22 kilometres north of the centre of Alaca district, between the villages of Mustafa Çelebi, Dağ Karapınarı and Çikhasan — hence its alternative name, “Pazarlı Höyüğü (Çikhasan)”.
Excavation and Layers
Excavations carried out in 1937–1938 under H. Ziya Koşay uncovered a rich Phrygian layer above the Chalcolithic-period levels. The most significant finds come from these Phrygian strata, dated to the 7th–6th centuries BC.
Relief Plaques
The mound’s most striking feature is that the walls of its houses and temple were covered with terracotta relief plaques. These plaques depict warriors, lions, mountain goats, sphinxes and bulls, and are counted among the important examples of Phrygian art in Anatolia.
Fortress and Cave Remains
The upper part of the mound preserves a fortress and its associated remains, though the original wall foundations have been damaged over time by both natural and human factors. On the fortress’s upper north side, a cave entered from the east still preserves its chambers, an upper floor and ventilation shafts. The rock and fortress mass is split in two by the west–east “Bazar Deresi” stream valley; Byzantine-era coins have been found at the uppermost level.
Place in Phrygian Art
Pazarlı’s relief plaques offer important testimony to how religious and military symbols were worked into architecture in Phrygian-period Anatolia. The combination of power symbols such as lions and bulls with mythological figures such as sphinxes shows that the belief world of the period carried both native Anatolian and Near Eastern influences together. This makes Pazarlı one of Central Anatolia’s provincial examples of Phrygian art.
Place in Çorum’s Museum History
Finds from Pazarlı Mound are displayed in the collections of the Çorum Museum and the Alacahöyük Museum. The mound was one of four principal excavation sites — alongside Alacahöyük, Hattusa and Kuşsaray — featured in the Çorum Museum’s inaugural exhibition in 1968, giving it a central place in the museum’s founding story. For the district’s general history, see History of Alaca.