Yarıkkaya
Yarıkkaya is a limestone outcrop and hilltop settlement located about 1.6 kilometres northeast of the centre of Boğazkale district, roughly 2 kilometres north of Yazılıkaya.
Excavation
Following a preliminary survey led by Harald Hauptmann in 1966, excavations were carried out on the plateau area and its slope, revealing a cultural deposit about two metres thick.
Layers and Structures
Five layers were identified in the plateau section. Based on pottery finds, the excavation director dated layers 4 and 5 to the Late Chalcolithic period of Alişar, and layers 1–3 to phase Ia of the Early Bronze Age. In layer 2, rectangular houses with mudbrick walls reinforced with timber were uncovered, along with associated rectangular structures thought to have served as stables or storerooms; all were enclosed within a surrounding wall, forming a walled farmstead complex. In layer 3, buildings are more sparsely spaced but follow the same layout, with clay benches, hearths and ovens inside. Layer 4 revealed four buildings arranged at regular intervals, some with stone foundations and floors plastered with grey clay. Layer 5 produced no clear architectural remains, only a mudbrick-lined pit containing animal bones, charcoal and ash.
Finds and Burial Custom
Pottery from all layers shares similar characteristics: coarse wares burnished black outside and red inside are common, alongside beige, grey, yellowish and red-slipped examples. Besides plain vessels, there are incised wares filled with white paste in diamond, spiral and snail-shell patterns, showing some resemblance to finds from Büyük Güllücek Mound in Çorum. Ground-stone finds include bracelets of marble. The plateau area shows evidence of intramural burial: beneath house floors, burials were placed inside large storage jars (pithoi) in a hocker (foetal) position, some accompanied by bronze sheet bracelets.
Visiting
Yarıkkaya rounds out the archaeological picture of the Hattusa–Yazılıkaya area — a site of high scholarly value, though with limited visitor infrastructure. For the district’s general history and the Hittite capital, see History of Boğazkale and Hattusa.