Arslantepe

Overview

On the edge of Malatya, a low mound rises from a sea of apricot orchards. It looks like little more than a dusty hill, yet inside it archaeologists found some of the oldest swords in the world, painted walls from the age of the first cities, and the palace of a Neo-Hittite king. This is Arslantepe, “Lion Hill”, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2021. With a guide, join our Arslantepe tour.

For anyone curious about how states and power first took shape, Arslantepe answers in mudbrick, copper and paint. So it is a place for patient travelers, best paired with a visit to the Malatya Museum.

Where the State Was Born

Arslantepe lies near Malatya, on the Tohma River, a tributary of the upper Euphrates. Overall, the mound covers about 4 hectares (10 acres) and rises some 30 meters (100 feet) above the plain. In antiquity, however, the city was known as Melid.

People lived here from the Chalcolithic period onward, and the layers of the mound cover more than four thousand years. Since 1961, a team from Sapienza University of Rome has led the excavations.

History of Arslantepe

Temples and palaces of the first cities

In the late 4th millennium BC, at the time of the Uruk culture of Mesopotamia, a great complex of temples and buildings rose on the mound. Inside, for example, archaeologists found many clay sealings, a sign of an early administration. Around 3000 BC, however, fire destroyed this settlement.

The oldest swords

In the 1980s, Marcella Frangipane’s team found a cache of nine swords and daggers cast from arsenic copper. They date to about 3300–3000 BC, so they are the oldest swords known so far. Three of them are inlaid with silver. A rich “Royal Tomb” of the same era held more fine metal objects and another sword.

Hittites and Neo-Hittites

Later, Melid became a fortified regional capital of the kingdom of Isuwa. Around 1350 BC, the Hittite king Šuppiluliuma I conquered it on his way to fight the Mitanni. After the fall of the Hittite empire, Melid became the capital of a Neo-Hittite kingdom, with a palace and stone sculptures of lions and rulers. The Assyrian king Sargon II sacked the city in 712 BC.

What to See at Arslantepe

The painted walls

The most moving sight on the mound is a set of mudbrick walls with red and black paintings, from one of the monumental buildings of the 4th millennium BC. They show how richly the first rulers of the city decorated their buildings.

The excavated mound

Around the painted walls, the excavations expose the foundations of temples, storerooms and later houses. Because the layers lie open, you can read the history of the mound like a cross section.

The swords in the Malatya Museum

The famous swords and spearheads are on display in the Malatya Museum in the city, together with other finds from the excavations.

Malatya, the City of Apricots

Arslantepe sits on the outskirts of Malatya, surrounded by orchards. Malatya is one of the most important apricot-growing areas in the world, so try its dried apricots. The Italian excavations of Sapienza University of Rome still continue.

How to Visit Arslantepe

Getting to Arslantepe

• From Malatya: drive or take a taxi to the northeastern outskirts of the city.
• Combine it with Mount Nemrut to the south and the rest of Eastern Anatolia.

Local tips for Arslantepe

• Check that the site is open before you go, since it was closed for maintenance in 2025.
• Visit the Malatya Museum to see the swords and sculptures.