History and archaeology / Mound (höyük)
Kültepe (Kanesh-Karum) Archaeological Site
Kocasinan, Kayseri
The mound and lower city of Kanesh-Karum, the Assyrian trading colony where 23,500 cuneiform tablets, Anatolia's first written documents, were found.
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Its story
Kültepe is 20–21 km northeast of Kayseri, beside the village of Kültepe (Karahöyük) attached to Kocasinan. The city, whose ancient name was Kanesh or Nesha, was an important settlement from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC; its fame, however, comes from the trading colony (karum) founded by Assyrian merchants at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. The approximately 23,500 cuneiform tablets recovered from private houses are the documents that begin the written history of Anatolia; the oldest traces of the Hittite language and of the Indo-European language family are also seen in these texts. The site has been on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List since 2014; the finds are displayed at the Kayseri Archaeology Museum.
Key facts
- Period
- Early–Middle Bronze Age
- Admission
- May be paid; opening hours should be confirmed on site
- Getting there
- About 21 km from Kayseri
- Visit duration
- 1 hour
Trip purpose
- Photography
- Quiet
Location
38.85065, 35.63464
Where to eat nearby
No food & drink venues listed nearby.
Map data: © OpenStreetMap contributors; Overture Maps
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Source: Web derlemesi (doğrulanmalı): https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kültepe | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kültepe | https://kayseri.ktb.gov.tr/TR-183407/kultepe.html