Malatya Museum

Malatya, the 28th most populous city in Turkey, is a province located between the Mesopotamia region, where the oldest and most advanced civilizations were born, and Central Anatolia. Malatya is also of great geopolitical importance due to the intersection of historical caravan routes and being located in the most strategic part of the upper Euphrates river.

Historical artifacts unearthed during the excavations carried out between 1931 and 1937 in Malatya, which bears the traces of all civilizations that have lived in Anatolia since 8000 BC, were exhibited in the Ankara Anatolian Civilizations Museum since there was no museum in the city. Malatya Museum, which was opened to visitors for the first time in 1979, was renovated in 2001 and gained a more modern appearance.

Malatya Museum, where a total of 15,000 artifacts belonging to the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, Hittite, Urartian, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman periods are exhibited, has also been enriched with the finds from the excavations under the Karakaya Dam Lake within the borders of the province. Pirot, Caferhöyük, Köşkerbaba, İmamoğlu and Değirmentepe mounds and the artifacts unearthed from Arslantepe Mound, which have been excavated since 1961, are among the most important artifacts that bring the past to the present. Apart from excavations, the artifacts were brought to the museum by grant, purchase or confiscation. The main works exhibited in the museum can be classified as follows:

Neolithic Sculptures

It was unearthed during the excavations in 1985 and BC. The first examples of sculptures made of limestone dating back to 8000 B.C. and the materials used in the development of agricultural culture (knife, sickle, arrowhead, chisel, punch, knife) are examples of this group.

Sword and Spearheads

These artifacts were found in the 1st layer of the Arslantepe Höyük old bronze age. B.C. These artifacts dating back to 3200-3000 years were made of bronze. Arsenic alloy and some silver inlaid.

Human Grave

B.C. The young woman’s corpse found in this tomb, which was found in the Chalcolithic age level of 4000 BC, was found lying in the child’s womb with the thought that “it is necessary to go to the world as it is”. Also, ornaments and kitchen utensils were found inside the tomb.

Seal Prints

The seal impressions found collectively in Arslantepe mound date back to Malatya in the BC. It shows that it was a trade center between 3200-3000 BC. These finds point to the primitive accounting system and the first birth of bureaucracy.