Research > Archaeological Fieldwork > Sapienza "Grandi Scavi" > Arslantepe, Italian Archaeological Mission in Eastern Anatolia (MAIAO)
Director: Francesca Balossi Restelli
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The Italian Archaeological Mission in Eastern Anatolia operates at the site of Arslantepe, located in the Malatya plain in Eastern Türkiye. Excavations began in 1961 under the direction of Salvatore M. Puglisi, professor at Sapienza University of Rome, in collaboration with Piero Meriggi of the University of Pavia. From 1962 onward, the Mission became an exclusive project of the Roman university (Grande Scavo Sapienza), and over the years its direction passed to Alba Palmieri, Marcella Frangipane and, currently, to Francesca Balossi Restelli, Full Professor of Prehistory of Southwestern Asia.
Located only a few kilometres from the right bank of the Euphrates, the site of Arslantepe appears as an artificial mound rising approximately 30 metres high and covering 4.5 hectares. Its present shape is the result of the accumulation of numerous occupation phases that followed one another without interruption from 4700 BC until 712 BC, when the settlement was destroyed by Sargon II, king of Assyria. After its fall, the area was reoccupied in the Late Roman period, when a small rural village developed in relation to the Roman legion stationed along the Euphrates to defend the empire’s eastern frontier. The final phase of use of the mound dates to the medieval period, when the site became a burial ground.
Although ancient sources attest the toponym as Malitiya in the Hittite period and as Melid, Meliddu or Meliteya in Neo-Assyrian and Urartian texts, the site is today known as the “Hill of the Lions”. The modern name derives from Turkish arslan (“lion”) and tepe (“hill”), in reference to the famous “Lion Gate” of the Neo-Hittite phase, partially visible on the tell’s surface and fully brought to light during the first excavation campaign (1932–1939) led by the French archaeologist L. Delaporte. The monument is now housed in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara.
For over 65 years, annual excavation and research campaigns have been carried out thanks to the financial support of Sapienza University and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The Mission’s historical archive is preserved in the department’s facilities, distributed between the Faculty of Humanities and the former Sciarra Glassworks. It comprises hundreds of analogue and digital documents, including excavation diaries, forms, drawings, plans, sections, and photographs of various formats.
The Mission is strongly multidisciplinary and international in spirit: numerous and fruitful collaborations are maintained with various departments of Sapienza, as well as with several Italian and foreign research institutes and universities, within the framework of a solid cooperation project with Türkiye.
Thanks to the commitment and long-term dedication of the Mission, in July 2021 Arslantepe was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, a recognition of outstanding scientific and cultural significance.
Collaborators:
- Lucia Mori
- Elisa Biancifiori
- Nevio Danelon
- Bibliography
https://www.zotero.org/groups/2506985/arslantepebib/library
Further details about this research:
- Research type: Sapienza "Grandi Scavi"
- Location of the excavation: Malatya, Turkey
- Research topic: Archaeology in Eastern Anatolia
- Fundings: Ateneo Grandi Scavi Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale MUR