THE BEGINNING OF THE IRON AGE AT ARSLANTEPE: A¹⁴C PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The Iron Age chronology at Arslantepe is the result of the interpretation of Luwian hieroglyphic inscriptions and archaeological data coming from the site and its surrounding region. A new round of investigations of the Iron Age levels has been conducted at the site over the last 10 years. Preliminary results allowed the combination of the archaeological sequence with the historical events that extended from the collapse of the Late Bronze Age empires to the formation and development of the new Iron Age kingdoms. The integration into this picture of a new set of radiocarbon (14C) dates is aimed at establishing a more solid local chronology. High precision 14C dating by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and its correlation with archaeobotanical analysis and stratigraphic data are presented here with the purpose of improving our knowledge of the site’s history and to build a reliable absolute chronology of the Iron Age. The results show that the earliest level of the sequence dates to ca. the mid-13th century BC, implying that the site started developing a new set of relationships with the Levant already before the breakdown of the Hittite empire, entailing important historical implications for the Syro-Anatolian region at the end of the 2nd millennium BC.

Petrographic and geochemical analyses of Late Bronze and Iron Age pottery assemblages from Arslantepe (Malatya, Türkiye): Insights into the local organization of the production and extra- regional networks of exchange

“…1). The excavations conducted continuously since 1961 by the Italian Archaeological Expedition in Eastern Anatolia from Sapienza University of Rome (MAIAO) allowed the discovery of a long and detailed sequence, mostly anchored to high precision 14C dating stretching from the end of the 5th millennium BC to the Byzantine era (Frangipane 2019;Vignola et al 2019;Manuelli et al 2021).…”

“…Here, a sequence of monumental structures, which spans from the 16th to the 10th centuries BC, were investigated for over 10 years (Pecorella 1975; Palmieri A 1973: 65-80; Manuelli 2013: 39-48). In 1971, the beginning of the activities on the southern sector marked the interruption of the large-scale investigations of the historical levels; nonetheless, a signi cant series of Late Bronze Age I domestic structures, dated to the 17th and 16th centuries BC, have been unearthed over the years (Palmieri A 1973 have been conducted over a large area, leading to the discovery of an uninterrupted sequence from the mid-13th to the 7th century BC (Manuelli et al 2021). In 2016, a new area was opened with the aim of connecting the northern sector with the inner part of the settlement.…”

Storage and Food Control in the ‘Amuq from the Late Bronze to the Iron Age: The Archaeological Evidence

“…In particular, some of the round and oval pits (such as K1574) that measure 4.5 m long and almost 2 m deep surpass the standard size for household activities. The pit dated to the 11th century BC (Manuelli et al 2021), fig. 7 shows traces of chaff plaster and is connected to an open-air surface that reaches the mound wall; but when compared with the evidence from Late Bronze Age/Iron Age levels at Alalakh, Chatal Höyük and Tille Höyük, the dimensional differences are not striking (Fig.…”