A VIEW FROM THE EAST. ARSLANTEPE AND THE CENTRAL ANATOLIAN WORLD DURING THE LATE BRONZE AND IRON AGES: INTERACTIONS AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT

Fifty years of excavations and researches at Arslantepe have given us the possibility to analyze the development of the settlement from the beginning of the Late Bronze to the Middle Iron Age. In spite of long interruptions and scattered remains, especially compared to the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age activities, a clear Late Bronze-Iron Age sequence is well-recognizable. This is mainly due to the recent resumption of studies and investigations on the so-called Hittite and Neo-Hittite phases which are shedding more light on the changes occurred on the site in relation to the increasing Hittite pressure and to the following establishment of the new Kingdoms. Artefact's analysis and ceramic sequence allow to better understand these phenomena and their processes, identifying the intensity of the relations, recognizing the cultural changes and trying to trace the reasons of the transformations.