Excavations at Karkemish I. The Stratigraphic Sequence of Area G in the Inner Town (OrientLab Series Maior 3)

The aim of the Turco-Italian Archaeological Expedition at Karkemish is to implement a long-term integrated research strategy seeking to elucidate the history of the town, explore its urban layout and cultural sequence through the ages, contextualize the site within its landscape, and conserve and present the site to the public. In this regard, the new investigations are of importance to further investigate the role of the city, especially during the Late Bronze Age II (hereafter LB) as the seat of the imperial Hittite viceroy, Iron Age I and II (hereafter IA) as the capital of a Neo-Hittite kingdom, and in IA III as part of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Relevant to the reconstruction of the urban history of the city are also the exploration of the Classical (Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine) and Islamic periods. We present here the final report of the excavations of the Turco-Italian Expedition at Karkemish during the 2012, 2013 and 2014 seasons in Area G. Our investigations there had two aims: investigating the chronological sequence of the Inner Town and shedding light on the urban layout of this area, located to the West of the Lower Palace Area at the foot of the Acropolis too.