MALATYA / ISTANBUL 

Pottery fragments uncovered during surface excavations at the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Arslantepe Mound, located in Türkiye’s Malatya province, indicate the site may date back 8,000 years, researchers say.

Prof. Francesca Balossi Restelli, head of the excavation team at Arslantepe, shared with Anadolu that excavations have been ongoing since July and that the site, which has hosted numerous civilizations, is considered to be the birthplace of Anatolia’s earliest city-state.

Restelli said that while previous research traced the mound’s history to around 4700 BC, this season’s discovery of pottery fragments suggests its origins stretch back to 6000 BC.

Highlighting the significance of the find, Restelli said:
“We can study more and learn more. When we examine the mound’s surface, we encounter pottery fragments that clearly show traces of the Late Neolithic Period, known as the Halaf Period. We can say with certainty that the site dates back to at least 6000 BC, possibly even earlier.

She further added: "These are Halaf-period ceramics. At that time, there were strong connections with Northern Mesopotamia. Halaf ceramics are known (to be) from northern Iraq and northern Syria, and finding them in this part of Anatolia is highly significant. These discoveries reveal the broad and strong cultural ties of the Late Neolithic Period.”  

No other Halaf-period mounds known in Malatya region

Restelli noted that the main goal of the excavations is to uncover the earliest settlement layers at Arslantepe.

“There are many mounds and hills along the banks of the Euphrates and Tigris. But in the Malatya region, we do not know of any other mound belonging to the Halaf Period, and so far we have not come across one. In our current excavations, we are searching for the earliest layers of Arslantepe. The last layer we uncovered dates back to 4700 BC, where Ubaid Culture pottery was found. If we dig deeper, we can gain a much clearer understanding of its 8,000-year history," she explained.