THE 2023 JOINT TURCO-ITALIAN EXCAVATIONS AT KARKEMISH

The 2023 Joint Turco-Italian excavations at Karkemish focused on clarifying the urban development of the site from the Early Middle Euphrates phases of the third millennium BCE through the Late Bronze and Iron Ages. Investigations on the acropolis further exposed the LB II palace complex and identified monumental structures later cut by Iron Age and Classical interventions. In the Lower Palace area, new evidence emerged for LB II administrative buildings, including a pebble-paved roadway and inscribed materials, alongside Iron Age occupational phases. Excavations in the Outer Town revealed well-preserved Iron III domestic and productive units, including an olive-press installation, while work continued in the Yunus necropolis. Conservation measures and the installation of a protective shelter over Katuwa’s palace further enhanced the preservation and presentation of the archaeological park.