3. Cilt - Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY IN NORTHERN TYANIS:PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE FIRST CAMPAIGN(2006) OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PAVIAL. D’ALFANSO*At the beginning of the ’60, Piero Meriggi, famous scholar of languages, writingsand cultures of pre-classical Anatolia, Professor of Linguistic at the Universityof Pavia, took part to the fi rst archaeological missions at Arslantepe/Malatya,directed by Salvatore Puglisi. In that occasion he undertook a series of surveys incentral Anatolia in order to fi nd out and locate archaeological sites of interest forhis studies 1 .Meriggi explored various zones of central Anatolia, beginning from the areaaround Malatya, and then continuing towards the West, after a careful reading ofthe reports of previous surveys by scholars such as Forrer, Gelb, Mellaart, Arıkand Özgüç.Some 50 years later, the group of research headed by Prof. Mora (chairfor Hittitology and Ancient Near Eastern History at the University of Pavia) hascultivated the plan to resume archaeological activities in this region. The membersof the group have been cooperating with archaeological Missions in Syria for morethan 10 years. The excavation of Tell Shioukh Fawqani (5 Km south of Karkemish1995-1998), the excavation of Tell Misherfa/Qatna (1999) and the excavation ofTell Ashara/Terqa (2000-2006) will be mentioned here 2 .Beyond these Syrian missions, the group has planned in recent years anextension of the archaeological activities to Central-South Anatolia. In fact, theOrientalists of the University of Pavia, who have been traditionally concernedwith the Hittite culture, are presently focusing on historical, epigraphic andarchaeological research on the southern area of infl uence of the Hittite cultureduring the II and I millennium B.C. That is, Northern and Central Syria and Central-South Anatolia.* L. D’ALFONSO, Università degli Studi di Pavia, Dip. Scienze dell’Antichità, Sez. Orientalistica,Corso Strada Nuova, 65, 27100 Pavia/ITALY1 For the survey of Meriggi s. d’Alfonso-Mora 2007, 819-820, with references to the publications.S. also Forlanini-Marazzi 1986, Pl. XI for the area visited by the scholar.2 On this missions s. lastly Al-Bahloul-Barro-d’Alfonso 2005, and Rouault-Mora 2006 withreference to further literature.1