Norsuntepe
Norşuntepe · Norsun Tepe
Chalcolithic–Iron Age (c.4000–800 BCE)·Ubaid → Early Transcaucasian → Hurrian → Hittite → Urartian hinterland·🇹🇷 Elazığ Province, Altınova (Keban), Turkey
About
About Norsuntepe
Keban rescue tell on Upper Euphrates Altınova plain, 2.5 ha, 35 m high, now partially drowned under Lake Keban. Chalcolithic (Ubaid) to Iron Age sequence (c.4000–800 BCE) with EBA palace (20×14 m, buttressed mudbrick, pillar hall), Uruk pottery, Transcaucasian burnished ware, fortified MBA citadel with storerooms. Hittite pottery palace destroyed c.1200 BCE. Excavated 1968–74 by Harald Hauptmann (German Archaeological Institute) before Keban Dam flooding, key for Altınova cultural sequence from Late Chalcolithic to Urartian.
Why it mattersType-site for Altınova sequence; earliest monumental palace east of Euphrates before Arslantepe.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Relationship to Tepecik/Tülintepe micro-states?
- 02Extent under water?
Theories
- 01EBA palatial emergence independent of Uruk
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.4000 BCE Chalcolithic village
- Period
- Chalcolithic–Iron Age (c.4000–800 BCE)
- Culture
- Ubaid → Early Transcaucasian → Hurrian → Hittite → Urartian hinterland
- Builders
- Altınova agro-pastoral communities
- Purpose
- Altınova plain centre, Euphrates crossing and metallurgy control
- Abandoned
- c.800 BCE post-Hittite
- Rediscovered
- 1967 Keban survey; 1968 Hauptmann
- Excavation
- Excavated
c.4000 BCE
Ubaid layers on virgin soil
c.3000 BCE
EBA palace with pillar hall built
c.1600 BCE
Hittite fortified citadel
1974
Excavation halted by reservoir flooding
On the ground
Structures & features
38.6189° N · 39.4700° E · 845 m · 3 mapped features
Norsuntepe — EBA palace
palacePillar-hall palace, level 8, 3000 BCE
38.6190° N · 39.4700° ENorsuntepe — MBA citadel storerooms
fortificationHittite-period silos and fortification
38.6185° N · 39.4705° ENorsuntepe — Chalcolithic terrace
settlementUbaid terraced village exposure, west slope
38.6182° N · 39.4695° E
Gallery