The UCLA Karamanmarash Valley Survey
The K.marash Survey:
These surveys are being carried out with the co-operation of the Kahramanmara¤ Museum and the Turkish Ministry of Culture, and the Department of Antiquities and Heritage. Financial support for the survey was provided by the National Geographic Society, the Institute of Archaeology, UCLA and various private donors. The Ahmanson Foundation supported the photographic work with the stele in the Gaziantep Museum.
The Name of the Survey Region:
The name of the Valley in which we are surveying, "Karaman" means hero in Turkish, and "marash" is the ancient name of the main town in the Valley . The town was called
"Marash" around the time that time the Incirli stela was made -
when the Neo Assyrian kings conquered the Valley and made it a
province in their empire. See J.D. Hawkins's entry in the
Reallexikon der Assyriologie under "Marqas" for
additional information about the history of the name.
Description of the Survey and Results
The survey was done from 1993-4. (Carter 1995, 1996) We located two hundred and twenty seven archaeological sites, which range in date from the Paleolithic to Islamic periods. The total area surveyed extensively now is approximately 1100 sq. km.
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This page created by Lynn Swartz and
last updated on May 1, 1996. Please send comments to: swartz@ucla.edu