Archaeological Ethnography of the Battle of Aslıhanlar (29–30 August 1922): A Case Study of Public Archaeology, Visual Storytelling, and Interactive Map Design

Abstract

Our article seeks to determine the functions of visual communication design through the lens of modern conflict and public archaeologies. The Battle of Aslıhanlar, which took place in the triangle of the villages of Çal Köy, Allıören, and Yüğlük in Kütahya from 29 to 30 August 1922, was the focus of our experimentation. Our archaeological survey project was carried out in 2013; interviews with local people, a review of the literature available and our observations of local myths and traditions that emerged after the war constitute the basis of our article. We categorized these sources for the project design in order to form a storytelling narrative, so that the viewer could participate in the process of conflict as well as the ongoing research. We foresaw three major challenges while categorizing this complex dataset: equivalence of visual language; variable outputs of the multi-dimensional research methods; and interactivity for creating a live social platform. We responded to these challenges by developing a graphic design concept and an interactive map of the data. Our design surrounds the viewer with a historical timeline, which includes all of our research findings in one interactive interface.

Notre article tente d’établir quels sont les rôles que la communication visuelle remplit, à travers l’étude d'un conflit moderne et des approches de l'archéologie publique. Le sujet de notre enquête est la bataille d'Aslıhanlar qui se disputa du 29 au 30 août 1922 dans le triangle formé par les villages de Çal Köy, Allıören et Yüğlük dans la province de Kütahya. Un relevé de terrain effectué en 2013, des entrevues avec la population indigène, un examen de la littérature à notre disposition et nos observations sur les mythes et traditions locales qui ont vu le jour après la guerre constituent les éléments sur lesquels nous avons basé notre étude. Nous avons classé ces sources dans la phase d’élaboration de notre projet, le but étant de composer un récit qui permette à un participant de prendre part au déroulement des évènements du conflit et à la recherche en cours. Nous avons anticipé trois enjeux majeurs liés à la classification d'un ensemble complexe de données : équivalence du langage visuel, résultats variables suivant les méthodes de recherche multidimensionnelle employées, et interactivité dans la création d'un réseau social en direct. Nous avons répondu à ces défis par le développement d'un concept infographique et par la création d'une carte interactive. Notre projet d'infographie comprend une frise chronologique contenant tous les résultats de notre étude en une seule interface interactive. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Unser Artikel versucht, die Rolle der visuellen Kommunikation aus der Sicht einer neuzeitlichen Auseinandersetzung und der Öffentlichkeitsarchäologie zu bestimmen. Die Schlacht von Aslıhanlar, die am 29. und 30. August 1922 in einem von den Dörfern von Çal Köy, Allıören und Yüğlük gebildeten Dreieck in der Provinz Kütahya stattfand, steht im Mittelpunkt unseres Experimentversuches. Eine Geländeaufnahme in 2013, Befragungen der ansässigen Gemeinschaften, eine Bewertung der Literatur und unsere Beobachtungen der einheimischen Mythen und Traditionen, die nach dem Krieg entstanden, bilden die Grundlage unserer Untersuchung. Wir haben diese Quellen in der Entwicklungsphase des Projektes in Kategorien eingestuft, sodass eine erzählerische Geschichte, die den Beschauer an dem laufenden Forschungsprozess beteiligt entsteht. Wir hatten drei größere Herausforderungen bei der Kategorisierung dieser komplexen Datenmenge vorgesehen: die Gleichwertigkeit der visuellen Sprache, die unterschiedliche Wiedergabe mehrdimensionalen Forschungsmethoden und die Gestaltung einer interaktiven sozialen Plattform. Wir haben es versucht, diese Probleme mit einem grafischen Konzeptentwurf und einer interaktiven Karte zu lösen. Unser Design umfasst eine historische Zeitlinie, die alle Ergebnisse unserer Untersuchung in einer interaktiven Schnittstelle einschließt. Translation by Madeleine Hummler

Keywords:

• Battle of Dumlupınar
• Turkish War of Independence
• Greco-Turkish War
• visual storytelling
• graphic design

Mots-clés:

• Bataille de Dumlupınar
• guerre d'indépendance turque
• guerre gréco-turque
• narration visuelle
• infographie

Stichworte:

• Schlacht von Dumlupınar
• türkischer Unabhängigkeitskrieg
• griechisch-türkischer Krieg
• visuelle Erzählung
• grafische Darstellung

Acknowledgements

We thank our colleagues Burhan Şohoğlu, Gizem Kahraman, Elif Erginer, Eyüp Dağlı, and Samovar Sami for their support and assistance with the field investigations. We thank Arif Teke, the former mayor of Zafertepe-Çalköy, Hasan Özpunar, Gabriel Moshenska, Robert Carter, David Wengrow, Ferhat Çanakale, the people of Zafertepe-Çalköy, Allıören, Yüğlük, Zafertepe Çalköy, and Yüğlük villages for their support of the survey. We would also like to thank The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, The Turkish General Staff, The National Parks, Metin Türktüzün, the manager of the Kütahya Museum, for permission to carry out this survey. The various elements of the project were generously funded by the Bravo Digs Barton Grant.

Notes

1 A data source consisting of various kinds of information related to the subject. It presents this information through a digital medium. The authors are currently seeking funding to launch a website.

2 In our society, we are bombarded with information in the form of images. In these times, a designer's main struggle is to create a meaningful visual reading from society's massive information pool. In accordance with this idea, graphic design seeks to create legible meaningful visual stories, which clarify complex information webs (GDFB, 2012).

3 A digital map that is composed of multi-layered information sets according to viewers' needs.

4 A database that provides our map design with multi-layered neutral information derived from a variety of sources.

5 A strategically selected visual medium for communication with the chosen target groups.

6 An open source map provides all of its database freely to its users. Users can transform and contribute to the map with their local geographical knowledge.

7 This refers to the segmentation of information. A branching system presents the data and information step by step in order to avoid cognitive over-load for the users of our database.

8 A timeline which allows its users to freely travel, reach the displayed information, and also contribute to their knowledge.

9 A common User Experience Design, which tests the measures, usability and efficiency of a designed experience and graphical user interface.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Can Aksoy

Biographical Notes

Ö. Can Aksoy is a PhD candidate at UCL Qatar. He coordinates the Battle of Aslıhanlar Research Project. His research interests include Iron Age warfare in the Arabian Peninsula, neo-Assyrian warfare, modern conflict archaeology in Turkey, use-wear analysis of metal weaponry, and rock art of Saudi Arabia and Oman. Since 2005, he has conducted fieldwork and artefact studies in Turkey, the UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Oman.

Ziyacan Bayar

Ziyacan Bayar is a PhD candidate and research assistant at Dokuz Eylül University, the Institute of Fine Arts, Art & Design Department. His early research mainly focussed on the relation of new media and exhibition design. He is particularly interested in human–computer interaction, user experience design, and cartography as a field of communication.