JOIN TODAY
JOIN TODAY

Massive Bronze Age Palace Discovered

News November 5, 2013

(Anadolu/Wikimedia Commons)
SHARE:

Kultepe Hoyugu Site
(Anadolu/Wikimedia Commons)
ANKARA, TURKEY—Excavations at the Kultepe mound in central Turkey have revealed a large building that could be a royal palace from which rulers administered the Bronze Age city of Kanesh. Though the team of Turkish archaeologists has yet to completely excavate the building, preliminary work suggests its dimensions are enormous. According to a Ankara University archaeologist Fikri Kulakoglu, the 4,500-year-old structure may be larger than any other building known from the period.  Further work at Kultepe will not only reveal the extent of the palace, but is expected to yield evidence of Kanesh's role in an extensive international trade network. 

Recommended Articles

Features July/August 2021

The Ugarit Archives

Thousands of cuneiform tablets written in a distinctive script tell the dramatic story of a Bronze Age merchant city in Syria

Read Article
(Dick Osseman/ Wikimedia Commons)

Digs & Discoveries November/December 2019

The Wrath of the Hittites

Read Article
(Lucas Stephens)

Digs & Discoveries September/October 2019

Volcano Viewers

Read Article
(İnan Ulusoy)

Digs & Discoveries March/April 2018

The Mesopotamian Merchant Files

Read Article
(Mike P. Shepherd/Alamy Stock Photo)

More to Discover

Features September/October 2013

Wolf Rites of Winter

Archaeologists digging a Bronze Age site on the Russian steppes are using evidence from language and mythology to understand a remarkable discovery

Read Article

  • Features September/October 2013

    Tomb of the Vulture Lord

    A king’s burial reveals a pivotal moment in Maya history

    Read Article
    (© Kenneth Garrett)

  • Letter from Norway September/October 2013

    The Big Melt

    The race to find, and save, ancient artifacts emerging from glaciers and ice patches in a warming world

    Read Article
    Norway melting ice patch
    Courtesy Oppland County Council, Photo: Johan Wildhagen/Palookaville

  • Artifacts September/October 2013

    Roman Writing Tablet

    A tablet bearing a birthday party invite includes the earliest Latin script penned by a woman

    Read Article
    (© The Trustees of the British Museum/Art Resource, NY)

  • Digs & Discoveries September/October 2013

    No Changeups on the Savannah

    Read Article
    (Private Collection/J.T. Vintage/The Bridgeman Art Library, Werner Forman/Art Resource, NY, Pat Benic/Copyright Bettmann/Corbis/AP Images)