The lands of Turkey extending like a bridge between the continents of Europe and Asia, are surrounded by three seas; the Black Sea in the north, the Mediterranean Sea in the South and the Aegean Sea in the West. The country also has the Marmara, an inner sea connecting the Mediterranean with the Black Sea through the Straits of Canakkale and Istanbul. With this unique location at the center of many trade and migration routes between the continents, these lands have been a home to many civilizations and cultures as well as a site for many clashes and wars shaping the history of the world. 

The archaeological sites mainly in the central and eastern parts of Turkey reveal the earliest representations of cultures and civilizations in these lands. Hattians, Akkadians, Assyrians, Hittites, Phrygians, Lydians, Persians, Romans, Byzantinians, Greeks, Helens, Mongols, Seljuks, Ottomans, Turks, and others and those whose origins still remain in msytery have left magnificent traces of their ways of life. Although the civilizations and languages of some of these peoples are long dead, the splendid structures and artifacts they left behind give us useful hints about their daily life. Anatolia which has cradled such a great number of civilizations in its history of thousands of years, is consequently one of the richest geographies in the world with its archaeological sites. 

The Ottoman Empire that ruled in Anatolia and a vast region extending from Europe to Asia and Africa for over 500 years, permitted the nations of the empire to maintain their religion and culture, allowing survival of many historical and cultural monuments, mosques, synagogs, churches and the-like to date.

During the collapse of the Ottoman Empire that was drawn into the World War I, almost all lands of the Empire were occupied by the Allies. Occupation extended till the borders of central Anatolian city of Ankara with the Greek invasion, leaving Turks literally nowhere to breath. Turks, started a full-scale War of Independence led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and repelled Greek invaders and forced all occupation forces of the Allied nations out from the borders of now Republic of Turkey that was proclaimed in 1923. During the occupation of the Allies, many historical artifacts were smuggled abroad.

First archaeological works began in Turkey in late 1800s as a result of individual efforts by Osman Hamdi Bey, an art expert, a prominent and pioneering Turkish painter who was also an accomplished archaeologist and founder of the Istanbul Archaeology Museum and the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts, known today as the Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts. In 1884, Osman Hamdi Bey led promulgation of a state regulation, known as "Asar-i Atika Nizamnamesi", to prohibit historical artifacts from being smuggled abroad. The regulation was a giant step in constituting a legal framework of preservation of the antiquities. Osman Hamdi Bey earned the title of "father of Turkish archaeology" with his such initiatives. 

Following foundation of the Republic, Great Leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk ordered establishment of the Turkish Historical Society in 1931, the Turkish Institute of Archaeology in 1934 and the Faculty of Language, History and Geography in Ankara in 1936. 

The first archaeological excavations were carried out under the leadership of Hamit Zubeyr Kosay in Ahlatlibey town of the capital city Ankara in 1933.   

Two years later, Kosay and Remzi Oguz Arik began heading the excavations in Alacahoyuk, one of the most important Hittite settlements in Anatolia. 
When Turkey began educating its own archaeologists, it became clear that a number of historical works of arts had already been smuggled abroad. Today, the Ministry of Culture & Tourism, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are working for return of precious Anatolian treasures displayed in museums in many countries from the United States to Russia, from Italy to France. 

Academicians and students from the archaeology departments of many universities are working hard to unearth underground treasures. The ongoing archaeological excavations throughout Turkey are listed below: