Pottery as an indicator of interregional changing relations in the upper Euphrates valley. The case of the Late Bronze-Iron Age assemblages from Arslantepe/Malatya

Different cultural worlds tend to converge in the Upper Euphrates Basin. The archaeological evidence for this area shows that throughout the Late Bronze Age, connections with Central Anatolia prevailed, while during the Iron Age a set of wide-ranging influences had a noticeable impact. There is a long history of investigation on these periods at the site of Arslantepe. Louis Delaporte was the first to work on the Neo-Hittite levels, discovering the famous "Lions' Gate." Subsequently Italian excavations in the northeastern sectors of the mound brought to light a sequence of occupation spanning from the Old Hittite Kingdom to Neo-Hittite phases. Recent investigations carried out since 2008 in the same area unearthed a monumental building connected with the use of the "Lion's Gate" and a series of previous occupation levels. This paper will focus on the analysis of the pottery inventories from the Imperial Hittite and Neo-Hittite phases in order to clarify the changing patterns of relations between Arslantepe and its neighbouring regions during the Late Bronze and Iron Ages