Museum offers tour of Anatolian chronology

GAZİANTEP

The Gaziantep Archaeology Museum, where the Roman-era clay seal impressions, which is the world’s largest collection of clay seal impressions from the ancient city of Zeugma, and the skeletal remains of the extinct Maraş Elephant, are on display, offers the opportunity to examine the history of Anatolia in chronological order.

Located in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, the museum sheds light on the history of Anatolia, which has hosted many civilizations throughout its history. The museum, which was redesigned by the Culture and Tourism Ministry in 2017 as a contemporary museum, displays historical artifacts unearthed during excavations in Gaziantep and the region.

Artifacts from the Bronze Ages, Hittite, Hurrian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Eastern Roman, Islamic and Ottoman periods are shown in separate sections in the museum.

In the section where various steles, especially the “Tesup God of the Storm” belonging to the Late Hittite period, are exhibited, the characteristic palace structure of the period has been revived.

From the Chalcolithic period, when the sense of ownership emerged, to the Roman period, cylinder seals and stamp seals are exhibited in the museum, along with the clay seal impressions from the Roman period, which were unearthed from the ancient city of Zeugma and is the world’s largest collection of clay seal impressions.

The skeletal remains of the extinct Maraş Elephant and the 3,700-year-old water bottle with the expression “smile” on it, which was unearthed about four years ago in the excavation site in the ancient city of Karkamış, are among the remarkable artifacts in the museum.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Gaziantep Archaeology Museum Director Özgür Çomak said that it was the city of culture and tourism, adding, “Gaziantep is also the city of museums. The Gaziantep Archeology Museum, which is one of the most important of these, has an important collection of works from the Roman period, Iron Age, Middle Bronze period, and especially from the Hittite period. The artifacts begin from the Paleolithic period in 1425 B.C. and continue to the Republican period and are shown in chronological order.”

Stating that the Gaziantep Archaeology Museum has an important place for Anatolian history, Çomak said: “In our museum, we offer the opportunity to see the history of Gaziantep, the history of Anatolia, and a very wide range that reflects almost all periods in Anatolian chronology without interruption. We have an important museum with artifacts from the principalities period. In this respect, we are different from other archaeology museums.”

Çomak invited visitors to the museum, which is rich in terms of collection and home to the world’s largest and most important seals, seal impressions and fossil collections.