Arslantepe: the Sapienza University Archaeological Project in eastern Anatolia 60 years on

Abstract

Research and excavation at the site of Arslantepe (the mound of the lion) in Eastern Anatolia have been carried out annually since 1961 by several generations of archaeologists, professors and scholars, in a multinational team lead by the Sapienza University of Rome, in strong collaboration with the Turkish authorities and colleagues. The long-term activities have allowed to bring to light a long sequence of occupation dated at least from the 5th to the 1st millennium BCE. The most revolutionary results are those dated to the 4th millennium, when Arslantepe was the centre of a primary state system. A palace rose at Arslantepe in the second half of the 4th millennium, the excellent state of preservation of which and the artefacts found inside it have provided central information for the understanding of the dynamics that brought to the origin of State in the Near East. The importance of the Arslantepe research project shall be discussed in the present paper, with its strictly scientific and multidisciplinary approach and the international composition of its team. The main results obtained in these nearly 60 years of activity, that have now brought the site under evaluation for the inclusion within the Unesco World Heritage list, shall be presented.