30 September 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

Excavations of Aççana Mound, the Capital of the Mukish Kingdom, Continue

2021 excavations have started at Aççana Höyük, the old city of Alalah, in Hatay’s Reyhanlı district. The ancient city of Alalah was the capital of the Kingdom of Mukish, which was located in the Amik Plain in the past.

In Aççana mound, where excavations began in the 1930s by the British archaeologist Leonard Woolley, the 2021 season excavations are continuing under the chairmanship of Associate Professor Murat Akar, Head of the Department of Protohistory and Pre-Asian Archeology from the Hatay Mustafa Kemal University (MKU).

Head of Aççana mound, Associate Professor Murat Akar, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that Alalah is one of the most important archaeological settlements in the Amik Plain, where traces of the Bronze Age can be unearthed.

Akar gave information about the mound, whose history dates back 4,000 years, and said:

“The Late Bronze Age is a period of the emergence of great empires. We are in a period when the Hittite Empire in Anatolia, the Egyptian Empire in the south, and the Mitanni Empire on the Euphrates and Tigris axis existed. The most important point where the traces of the wars, diplomatic agreements, and commercial relations of these great empires with each other can be followed in this period is the Amik Plain. In other words, the Hittite Empire wants to be an effective power in the Amik Plain, as do the Egyptian and Mitanni empires. One of the biggest reasons for this is the agricultural richness of the Amik Plain, which is one of the most important features also the present day. This is a geography that we can define as a food store for great empires.”

the Kingdom of Mukish
Excavations of Alalah (Aççana Höyük), the capital of the 4,000-year-old Mukish Kingdom, continue. Photo: Lale Köklü Karagöz / AA

“Another reason is its geopolitical importance, that is, it is located on all trade routes and interacts with all Eastern Mediterranean cultures with its connection to the sea. For this reason, in the studies we conducted here, we see the traces of the domination of the Mitanni Empire in certain layers of the city, and in the following periods, we see that the city came under the control of the Hittites.”

Akar stated that in the ancient DNA researches they have carried out in recent years, they have obtained very important data on human mobility due to migration and trade that took shape in the international age.

Analyzes of human skeletons revealed that the individuals were representative of the local population.

Stating that they have examined many human skeletons so far, Akar continued his words as follows:

“The Amik Plain is the center of international activity of the Bronze Age, but according to our analysis of the majority of the human skeletons found in the tombs we uncovered here, these individuals represent the local population. In fact, this shows us the role and importance of the local people of the region in the international arena of the period, which is extremely exciting for us. Because while we were doing this study, we wanted to ask the following about this period when the international activity of the Late Bronze Age was experienced; (If all the individuals we uncovered during the excavations at Aççana Mound if all individuals describe the local community, where are the foreigners, for example, the Hittites who came to this region?) This is part of our work.”

Stating that the excavations in the region have been going on for 21 years and that they are trying to understand the temple and the urban texture shaped around the temple with the excavations, Akar said, “Because we are in an excavation area where we can obtain rich data from service buildings to workshops and working places needed to keep the temple alive. In this area where we have been working since 2012, we are trying to understand the development of the city in different cultural layers and its relationship with the temples.” used the phrases.

Banner
Related Post

134 ancient settlements discovered north of Hadrian’s Wall

26 May 2022

26 May 2022

134 ancient settlements have been found during a survey of the region north of Hadrian’s Wall in the United Kingdom....

Roman mosaic found under the pavement in the narrow streets of Hvar

13 February 2022

13 February 2022

In the Old Town on the Adriatic island of Hvar, Croatia, a Roman mosaic was unearthed beneath a narrow street....

The inner wall was reached during the excavations of the tomb of the poet Aratos in the Soli Pompeiopolis Ancient City

13 August 2021

13 August 2021

The inner wall was reached during the excavations of the tomb of Aratos, the famous poet and astronomer of the...

The Oldest-Known Center of Prophecy “Claros”

16 June 2021

16 June 2021

Claros is an ancient Ionian settlement located in the hamlet of Ahmetbeyli near Ozdere, approximately 50 kilometers south of Izmir....

Archaeologists discovered a Thracian tomb from the time of the Odrysian kingdom in southern Bulgaria

13 September 2023

13 September 2023

Archaeologists from the Haskovo Regional Museum of History discovered a third Thracian tomb with murals the likes of those in...

Iron Age and Roman Skeletons Discovered on Alderney

19 May 2021

19 May 2021

Well-preserved skeletons from the late Iron Age and Roman periods were found in Alderney, one of the channel islands. The...

Return of a 4,250-year-old Hattian golden beak-spouted ewer to Turkey

27 October 2021

27 October 2021

The 4,250-year-old golden beak-spouted ewer was returned to the Anatolian Civilizations Museum by the Gilbert Art Foundation. Culture and Tourism...

Researchers Finds Nearly 500 Ancient Ceremonial Sites in Southern Mexico with Lidar Technique

26 October 2021

26 October 2021

A team of international researchers led by the University of Arizona reported last year that they had uncovered the largest...

Urartian King Argishti’s shield reveals the name of an unknown country

30 January 2023

30 January 2023

The inscription on a bronze shield purchased by the Rezan Has Museum revealed the name of an unknown country. It...

Archaeologists uncovered a second mosaic in Rutland Roman villa in England

29 November 2022

29 November 2022

Archaeologists report they have uncovered a second mosaic at the site of the 2020 mosaic discovery at the Roman villa...

Early humans appreciated geometry and symmetry and were intentionally crafting spherical shapes 1.4 million years ago, according to a new study

7 September 2023

7 September 2023

An examination of 150 round, baseball-sized stones discovered at a site where early humans lived 1.4 million years ago shows...

Morocco team announces 1.3 million years major Stone Age find

29 July 2021

29 July 2021

A multinational team of archaeologists announced the discovery of North Africa’s oldest Stone Age hand-ax manufacturing site, going back 1.3...

4000-year-old sword found in Finland

12 October 2021

12 October 2021

A Bronze Age sword dating back as far as 1700 B.C.was discovered broken in items in Finland this previous summer...

Tomb of a Roman doctor buried with unique surgical tools unearthed in Hungary

28 April 2023

28 April 2023

Hungarian archaeologists discovered the tomb of a Roman doctor 1st-century man buried with high-quality surgical tools near the city of...

The World’s Oldest Smiling Water Flask with Emoji will be on display

4 July 2021

4 July 2021

After the collapse of the Hittite Empire, the Late Hittite States was established in Anatolia and Syria. One of these...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *