Karkemish
Karkamış · Carchemish · Kargamiš
Late Bronze Age to Iron Age (c.1400–717 BCE) with Neolithic–Medieval overburden·Hittite viceregal → Neo-Hittite Luwian/Aramaean·🇹🇷 Gaziantep Province, Euphrates borderland, Turkey
About
About Karkemish
Twin-mound Syro-Hittite capital (ancient Karkamish/Carchemish) straddling Turkey–Syria on the west bank of the Euphrates at the Sajur confluence. Inner Town 90 ha (55 ha Turkey, 35 ha Syria) with citadel acropolis, Lower Palace, Outer Town and river harbour. Late Bronze Hittite viceregal seat, Iron Age Neo-Hittite kingdom famed for basalt orthostat reliefs, hieroglyphic Luwian inscriptions, Storm-God Teshub processions and Lion Gate. Destroyed 717 BCE by Sargon II, later Achaemenid–Roman. Excavated by Woolley & Lawrence 1911–14, re-excavated 2011– by Italian-Turkish team with an archaeological park since 2019.
Why it mattersKey for Neo-Hittite art, Luwian hieroglyphs and Bronze–Iron transition on Euphrates; type-site for Carchemish ware.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Location of Late Bronze harbour?
- 02Extent of Syrian Outer Town under minefields?
Theories
- 01Euphrates ford toll model
- 02Storm-God syncretism with Teshub/Hadad
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- EBA tell founded 3rd mill. BCE; monumental Iron Age c.1000 BCE
- Period
- Late Bronze Age to Iron Age (c.1400–717 BCE) with Neolithic–Medieval overburden
- Culture
- Hittite viceregal → Neo-Hittite Luwian/Aramaean
- Builders
- Luwian Neo-Hittite dynasty of Karkamish (Katuwa, Suhis)
- Purpose
- Euphrates ford capital, Storm-God cult centre and caravan toll state between Anatolia and Assyria
- Abandoned
- 717 BCE Assyrian conquest; sporadic Roman
- Rediscovered
- 1876 George Smith; 1911 Woolley/Lawrence
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c.3000 BCE
EBA town on Euphrates terrace
c.1400–1200 BCE
Hittite viceregal capital under Suppiluliumas
c.1000–850 BCE
Neo-Hittite kingdom florescence, orthostat carving
717 BCE
Annexed by Sargon II, palace burned
2011
Turco-Italian excavations & archaeological park opened 2019
On the ground
Structures & features
36.8290° N · 38.0150° E · 360 m · 3 mapped features
Karkemish — Citadel Mound
citadelAcropolis with Storm-God temple, palatial quarters and hieroglyphic staircases
36.8295° N · 38.0145° EKarkemish — Lower Palace and Orthostat Gate
palaceSuhi–Katuwa Lower Palace east gate with lion orthostats and procession reliefs
36.8285° N · 38.0155° EKarkemish — Outer Town river harbour
harbourEuphrates terrace harbour and ford, EBA–Iron Age watergate
36.8280° N · 38.0165° E
Gallery