In this post, we are very happy to spotlight VANTAM, the Research Center for History and Archaeology of Van Region. This lively institution, funded ca. 60 years ago and constantly evolving, represents a hub of scientific and archaeological explorations in the Van province. Read more about it through the words of Gonca Dardeniz, VANTAM’s Director, to whom we are very grateful!
Please tell us something about yourself!
July 2021
Gonca Dardeniz (she/her) visiting soda-lakes around Erçek, Van. This visit was particularly joyful as I found a chance to watch endemic birds and flamingos in several lakes located around Van.
My name is Gonca Dardeniz, and I am a Near Eastern archaeologist specializing in the third and second millennia BC in Anatolia. My formal training both in archaeology and chemistry leads me to focus more on interdisciplinary studies. My research particularly focuses on metallurgy, vitreous materials, and integrated artisanship and how ancient technologies impacted social complexity. I use complementary methods of archaeology, geology, and the archaeological sciences, and I benefit from theoretical discussions on political economy and social complexity.
As of June 2021, I have assumed the role of Director at Istanbul University’s Research Center for the History and Archaeology of the Van Region.
Can you tell us something about the history of the Research Center For History And Archaeology Of The Van Region?
The Research Center for History and Archaeology of Van Region, VANTAM in short, was established in 1967 by Professor Afif Erzen, who started to work in eastern Anatolia in the late 1950s. With his vision and enthusiasm for the art and archaeology of the Van region, the Center was officially launched on May 25th, 1967.
Since its inception, cultural and social research conducted at VANTAM has covered the whole of eastern Anatolia, with its focus on the province of Van. Besides Professor Erzen, leading scholars in various fields – mostly Urartian archaeology – such as Professors Taner Tarhan, Oktay Belli, Veli Sevin, Ali Dinçol, Belkıs Dinçol, and Altan Çilingiroğlu – conducted research via the Center, which became the hub of scientific explorations. Toprakkale, Çavuştepe, Van Old City-Castle and mound, Giyimli (Hırkanis), İmikuşağı, Dilkaya, Lower and Upper Anzaf Fortresses, Altıntepe, and Hakkari are some of the excavations and surveys led by Istanbul University in the region. The Center has also supported numerous BA and MA theses along with PhD dissertations.
The center has served (and continues to serve) scholars as a guest house while they conduct their research in the region. It is located at the center of the city of Van, close to Lake Van. The Center covers 13 hectares, with cherry, sour cherry, and apricot trees in its grounds. Two buildings are available for researchers. Stakeholders and guest researchers may conduct scientific research there after obtaining the necessary permits.
VANTAM is about 20 minutes walking distance from the Archaeology Museum of Van, which takes about 5 minutes by car. The Museum displays finds from archaeological research supported by the Center since 1967. I also would like to note that Van Museum is unique with its Urartian collections.
What are the main goals of the Center today?
The center, with its half a century of history in the region, is well-known and appreciated among scholars working especially on Urartian archaeology. Starting from 2021, we would like to expand its spatial and temporal interests.
The main objective of the Center is to conduct interdisciplinary research that centers around the social, economic, natural, and archaeological history of the wider region, which encompasses eastern Anatolia, the Caucasus, and Iran. Subjecting the relationships between these regions to extensive research in social and natural sciences along with the humanities constitutes the main objective of the Center. Along these lines, the Center primarily focuses on leading research in the social sciences and humanities while coordinating research among national and international researchers to develop collaboration.
VANTAM provides research facilities for academics who work in the Van region, eastern Anatolia, the Caucasus, and Iran. Consequently, the Center aims to contribute to the development of national and international dialogue centered around academic and scientific research. The Center has long been developing and maintaining infrastructure for scientific research under the auspices of Istanbul University. The infrastructure at the Center is used to support scientific research through social work and applied projects, which will expose science and scientific research to a wider audience.
Our new leadership and advisory board consists of archaeologists, ancient historians, art historians, philologists, anthropologists, geologists, palynologists, and geographers who reflect the diversity of the new themes with which VANTAM will be actively engaged. We also aim to focus on the third and second millennia BC in the region as well as on recent history. We will be developing paleo-research (e.g., climate, environment, lake) in the coming field seasons. Our team is preparing projects on the tangible and intangible heritage of the region. Aside from all of these, I personally would like to do more work for women and children of the region, such as a special library for children. We aim to integrate the center into the region.
Which activities do you carry out on a regular basis, and what are the main projects you are involved in?
Since the late 1950s, Istanbul University has been actively involved in excavations and surveys in the region. With a break in 2019, we plan to return to field projects that focus particularly on ancient metallurgy and paleoenvironment.
Recently, we acquired co-funding with Iran to research the ancient metallurgy of Iran and Anatolia. Titled MET-IR-AN, our main focus is to investigate the emergence of arsenical copper technology during the period 4000–2000 BC in southeastern Iran and eastern Anatolia. We will use complementary methods of archaeology and archaeometry to study objects, slag, and mineralogical samples.
Another research topic is 1st millennium BC Egyptian blue (or Urartian blue) production in the region. We are analyzing Egyptian blue fragments as well as collecting natron samples from the regional lakes to identify possible raw material/product relations. Natron is a mineral (i.e., soda) used as an ingredient for glass and vitreous material production during the 1st millennium BC.
How many people are linked to the Center, and from where do they come from? Are students also part of the Center? If so, how do they collaborate?
Regarding the directory and advisory boards, a total of 15 academics is affiliated with the Center. We also have two staff members, one of whom resides at the Center. In terms of researchers linked to VANTAM, we have academics and students from Turkey, Iran, Armenia, Germany, Italy, France, and the States. They conduct their own research in the field or in the museum (with necessary permits), or sometimes they come as a team member affiliated with a Turkish field project.
Students are or may become part of the Center. Since its opening, the Center has supported numerous BA, MA, and PhD students, some of whom have become prominent scholars today. Students at any level can visit and stay at the Center, whether for their own project or affiliated to a scientific project related to the region.
What about the future? How do you envisage the Center in the next 10 years? Which new projects would you like to begin, given the opportunity?
We are at the beginning of the 21st century and, as we all know, everything is changing and will continue to change. While the Center goes back 60 years, one cannot think of practicing the same techniques in research on the archaeology and history of the region. Thus, shifting towards more interdisciplinary, integrative research approaches is a must. The Center aims to be involved in diverse applications of cutting-edge scientific research in the social sciences, such as the use of synchrotron light. We will be supporting studies focusing on diverse social and natural sciences.
In the next 10 years, VANTAM plans to evolve in scholarly as well as physical terms. Recently, Istanbul University has been planning to improve the existing buildings and to construct a new building with lab facilities. We would like to establish a study collection which will be useful for scholars and students who would like to gain hands-on experience using excavation materials (mostly ceramics). Our collaboration with the Van Museum started recently (December 2021) and we plan to continue similar training programs in order to help educate the next generation of students and museum personnel. Furthermore, while I serve as the director of VANTAM, women and kids will have priority in becoming part of the center’s NGO mission.
How do you communicate your activities outside of Academia? How can Mar Shiprim readers follow what you do?
We frequently update the bilingual (Turkish-English) webpage and we share all upcoming news, symposia, and related publications there.
For projects and collaboration, you can email: edebiyat.vantam@istanbul.edu.tr
Thanks a lot to Mar Shiprim, and we look forward to seeing you at VANTAM!