Natural resources: obsidian

Ellery Frahm – April 2011

Introduction

Refer to typology for list of MZS items linked to these volcanoes.

Nemrut Dağı

Latitude	38.65°N
Longitude	42.23°E
Summit Elevation	2948 m
Volcano Type	Stratovolcano

Nemrut Dağı is an active stratovolcano (the last reported volcanic activity was 400 years ago), and about 270,000 years ago, it experienced a major caldera collapse, creating a circular basin about 7 km (4 miles) by 8 km (5 miles) in diameter. The western half of the caldera is filled with a lake, and the eastern half is covered by subsequent lava domes and flows. Obsidian in the caldera has been dated to 24,000 ± 14,000 and 34,000 ± 6000 years old, making it among the youngest in the Near East. This impressive caldera is the reason that Nemrut Dağı has been called “one of the most spectacular volcanoes of eastern Anatolia” (Yılmaz et al. 1998: 175). This is one of two peralkaline obsidian sources in the Near East, and its obsidian was widely distributed.
There is, quite unfortunately, another archaeologically significant mountain named “Nemrut Dağı” in Turkey, one known for its huge statues, part of what is interpreted as a first-century B.C. tomb.

Link to Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program:
http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0103-02=

Link to Google Maps:
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=38.621532,42.244322&z=12

Bingöl B

Latitude	39.06°N (approximate)
Longitude	40.76°E (approximate)
Summit Elevation	N/A (secondary deposition)
Volcano Type	unknown (secondary deposition)

Bingöl B is the term for calcalkaline obsidian sources also near the city of Bingöl, namely Alatepe and Çatak. These obsidians are younger than Bingöl A obsidians, about one million years old. Their origins are also relatively unclear, and obsidian from Alatepe and Çatak cannot be chemically differentiated. These blocks are also highly rounded but a bit larger, as much as 30 cm in diameter. Their shapes also indicate movement by water or mudflows. These obsidians are reportedly more variable in appearance, often black or gray, sometimes brown or red, occasionally exhibiting flow bands. This suggests that the obsidian originated from the upper shell of a rhyolitic lava dome.

Link to Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program:
N/A - volcanic origins unclear; source represents secondary deposition

Link to Google Maps:
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=39.060656,40.754799&z=12

Tendüret Dağı

Latitude	39.37°N
Longitude	43.87°E
Summit Elevation	3584 m
Volcano Type	Shield volcan

Tendüret Dağı lies east of Meydan Dağı, northeast of Lake Van, and southwest of the city of Dogubeyazıt and Mount Ararat. It is a shield volcano with twin peaks, about 6 kilometers apart, and a lake-filled crater at the summit. Obsidian occurs north-northeast of the western peak and due north of the eastern peak, possibly elsewhere. Tendüret Dağ is a potential source of RDC’s “Bayezid” obsidian specimen.

Link to Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program:
http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0103-03=

Link to Google Maps:
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=39.354917,43.866459&z=14