October 15, 2026

by Catherine Scott

With support from the Richard C. MacDonald Iliad Endowment , Catherine Scott and her team of researchers conducted a season of experimental archaeology in western Anatolia, building and testing three types of fire installations based on Bronze Age archaeological evidence. Below, the research team shares what they learned and how their findings will inform future research at Kaymakçı :

Thanks to the support of the Archaeological Institute of America and the Richard C. MacDonald Iliad Endowment, we had a very successful season of experimental research on fire installations in western Anatolia.

Fieldwork began in April 2026. We produced bricks in three sizes using clay-rich sediment from around Lake Marmara, drawing on archaeological comparanda: small (c. 20 x 11.5 x 6 cm, n = 507) and medium (c. 23 x 20 x 6 cm, n = 152) bricks were based on examples from hearths at Kaymakçı, while large (c.…