Yassıkaya is on a broad rock spur on the southern bank of the Gözeren Stream, in the mountainous part of the Ovaköy area east of Karadeniz Ereğli. Sources give its distance from Ereğli as 20 to 27 km. Both sides of the valley are rocky and the slopes behind are wooded.
The settlement dates to the Early Bronze Age, around the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, and is the first prehistoric settlement found on the coast between the Kocaeli Peninsula and Sinop. As there are no dense architectural remains, it is thought to have been a campsite. The pottery found here is close to the Early Bronze Age pottery of Thrace.
The settlement was noticed by local archaeologist Cumhur Nalcı; it was excavated jointly by Prof. Dr. Turan Efe and the Ereğli Museum. We found no information about any facilities for visitors at the site, so we don't give directions here.
Before you go
- If you want to see the site, first call the Ereğli Museum (+90 372 323 45 57) for information about access and permission.
- As it is in a rocky, wooded valley, don't go alone or unprepared.
