Karkamış

Seals and prints determined to belong to a female administrator named Matiya were recently discovered during excavations carried out in the ancient city of Karkamış in southeastern Turkey's Gaziantep province.

Karkamış was the most important administrative center in the region of the Hittite Empire, which ruled over Anatolia and Mesopotamia for centuries.

The Gaziantep Archaeology Museum, where the Roman-era clay seal impressions, which is the world's largest collection of clay seal impressions from the ancient city of Zeugma, and the skeletal remains of the extinct Maraş Elephant, are on display, offers the opportunity to examine the history of Anatolia in chronological order.

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The excavations that have been carried out in Karkamış, one of the world's most important ancient cities, lying along the borders of Turkey and Syria, have unearthed 250 kiln bullae (impression seals), for the first time this year. The bullae were used by top state officials in the Hittite Empire.

A Turkish-Italian team has completed the first part of their seven-season-long excavation works in an ancient site in the town of Karkamış, located in the province of Gaziantep on the Turkish-Syrian border, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on July 14. 

Turkey-backed Syrian rebels seized control of nine areas, including the village of Dabiq, from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on Oct. 16, largely imposing border security between the Turkish towns of Kilis and Karkamış, the military said on Oct. 17, as the country's foreign minister said the next target was al-Bab. 

The tourist gate and ticket house are ready at the ancient city of Karkamış, where Turkish troops crossed last month into Syria and ousted Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants from the border.

Archaeological excavations are continuing in the southeastern province of Gaziantep’s ancient city of Karkamış. At the head of the excavations, Professor Nicola Marchetti provided information about the excavations at a press conference. He said establishing an archaeology park in the ancient city would draw many tourists to the region.