Arslantepe Mound: UNESCO-Listed Palace of the First State

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1. What is Arslantepe Mound?
2. How do you get to Arslantepe Mound?
3. When is the best time to visit Arslantepe Mound?
4. What is the history of Arslantepe Mound?
5. What is Arslantepe Mound famous for?
6. What can you see at Arslantepe Mound?
7. Frequently asked questions about Arslantepe Mound
8. What do the official records say about Arslantepe Mound?

What is Arslantepe Mound?

Arslantepe (“Lion Hill”) is a settlement mound on the Malatya plain, the first site of the city of Malatya. Layer upon layer of houses, temples and palaces built over thousands of years have raised it about 30 m above the surrounding orchards. It covers roughly 4.5 hectares.

Its fame rests on what archaeologists found in the layers of the Late Chalcolithic, around 3400–3100 BC: a complex of public buildings, temples and storerooms that shows a ruling elite organising work, food and goods long before writing reached this region. A sudden destruction sealed the buildings, so walls, plaster, floors and even wall paintings survived. UNESCO describes the site as an exceptional testimony to the emergence of early administrative elites, and inscribed it as a World Heritage Site in 2021.

The fragile mud-brick layers of the palace are sheltered under protective roofs, so you see the walls much as the excavators found them.

How do you get to Arslantepe Mound?

Arslantepe is in the town of Orduzu, about 7 km north-east of Malatya city centre in the Battalgazi district. It is a short taxi ride from the centre. Malatya Erhaç Airport (MLX), about 26 km west of the city, has daily flights from Istanbul and Ankara. Battalgazi (Eski Malatya) is a few kilometres away and makes a natural pairing for a half-day trip.

Opening hours change through the year, so check them before you visit. The site was closed for maintenance from 1 September 2025, and the new Arslantepe Visitor and Welcome Centre opened on 4 October 2025; check the official listing for the current situation before you go.

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When is the best time to visit Arslantepe Mound?

Spring and autumn. Summer afternoons on the Malatya plain are very hot, so in July and August go at opening time. In spring the orchards around the mound are in blossom.

What is the history of Arslantepe Mound?

People lived on this spot from at least the 6th millennium BC. The provincial culture directorate notes a temple of around 5000 BC; later layers run through the Bronze Age, the Hittite and Late Hittite periods, a Roman village and a Byzantine cemetery.

The key period is the Late Chalcolithic. In the 4th millennium BC the settlement became a centre of power: archaeologists uncovered a mud-brick palace complex dated to around 3300–3000 BC, two temples, storerooms and corridors. More than 2,000 clay sealings, used to close containers and doors and record who handled them, show a system of control over goods without writing. Nine swords of arsenical copper, dated to the late 4th millennium BC, are the earliest swords known anywhere. In the early 3rd millennium BC a rich tomb, known as the Royal Tomb, was built with metal grave goods.

In the Late Hittite period, in the early 1st millennium BC, Arslantepe was Melid, capital of a kingdom on the Euphrates. Its palace gate was decorated with lions, which gave the mound its modern name.

The French archaeologist Louis Delaporte excavated the Neo-Hittite levels between 1932 and 1939, finding the lion sculptures and the colossal statue of a king, now in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara. Since 1961 an Italian mission from Sapienza University of Rome has excavated here, led successively by Piero Meriggi and Salvatore Puglisi, Alba Palmieri and Marcella Frangipane. Arslantepe was added to the UNESCO Tentative List in 2014 and inscribed on the World Heritage List on 26 July 2021. Damage to the site was reported after the earthquake of 6 February 2023.

What is Arslantepe Mound famous for?

• One of the earliest palaces. A seat of centralised power from around 3400–3100 BC, with temples, storerooms and audience spaces.
• The earliest swords. Nine arsenical copper swords from the late 4th millennium BC.
• Sealings. More than 2,000 clay seal impressions recording the movement of goods.
• Preserved walls. Mud-brick walls standing to a good height, with plaster and painted decoration.
• The Lion Gate of Late Hittite Melid, whose sculptures are now in Ankara.

What can you see at Arslantepe Mound?

The palace complex. Under the roofs are the corridors, storerooms and temples of the Late Chalcolithic palace. Look for the plastered and painted walls, which UNESCO describes as still in excellent condition, and the storerooms where the sealings were found.

The later levels. Above and around the palace are the remains of the Bronze Age, Late Hittite, Roman and Byzantine settlements that make up the upper part of the mound.

The visitor centre. Opened on 4 October 2025, the Arslantepe Visitor and Welcome Centre has an exhibition hall, a simulation area and a café, and introduces the site before you climb the mound. It has hosted temporary exhibitions of finds from the Malatya Museum’s stores.

Finds elsewhere. Pottery, weapons, seals and tools from Arslantepe are in the Malatya Museum in the city (check whether it is open), and the Late Hittite sculptures are in Ankara.

Frequently asked questions about Arslantepe Mound

What do the official records say about Arslantepe Mound?

The first site of the city of Malatya is Aslantepe Mound, in the town of Orduzu, 7 km north-east of today’s Malatya. Excavations here showed that a city-state was founded in Malatya about 6,000 years ago. The giant stone statue of Tarhunza, the king of Malatya of this period, and the lion statues that decorated the palace gate were found in excavations carried out in the 1930s. These statues and stone reliefs are displayed in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara.

Malatya, called “Melita” in the Kültepe sources, appears as “Maldia” in Hittite sources. In the Late Hittite city-states its name was “Milidia”. The Romans gave the city the name “Melitene-Melita”. The city, which the Arabs called Malatiyye, took its present name when it passed into the hands of the Turks, and so the name of the city has stayed the same for 3,500 years. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Malatya Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)