Area C: the Iron Age bastions of the acropolis
Area C is on the south-eastern slope of the small mound, near a sector where, during the removal of the surface layer of earth, two Hittite era cuneiform tablets were found. Initially planned to be a stepped trench for determining the settlement sequence, over the course of the last campaign is was extended to a length of 10m and stretching over 25 metres of the slope. Here the complex Iron Age system of terracing and fortifications was revealed on the eastern slope of the acropolis. Above a stone glacis with double curtain, above and below, there is an earthwork bastion between deep and slightly curving brick walls, the upper surface of which was reinforced by a grid of small walls. The artificially accumulated earth comes from the ruins of Bronze Ages buildings, with clear traces of having been destroyed by fire. Below this imposing mass of earth there is a thick clayey deposit containing pottery from the Middle Iron Age and resting directly upon the virgin soil.
