Arslantepe

UNESCO World HeritageChalcolithic–Iron Age5 km from Malatya

A mound near Malatya with a palace complex of around 3000 BC, where the oldest known swords were found, together with thousands of clay sealings from its storerooms. World Heritage since 2021.

Plan the visit Its place in history

Plan your visit

Time to allow

About 1–2 hours

For a first visit at an easy pace.

Stay in

Malatya

5 km away as the crow flies, so allow more on the road.

On a trip

Where it began

Day 4 of 5.

Hours and tickets

Check before you go

Opening hours and prices change: see muze.gov.tr (opens in a new tab).

Times are our estimates. Distances are straight lines.

Its place in history

Read the chapter before you go.

9600–3000 BCFirst villagesHunter-gatherers raised the stone circles of Göbekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe before anyone farmed.

first

Oldest known swords. Arslantepe swords (arsenical copper, some silver-inlaid), c. 3300–3000 BC. Confirmed How sure we are →

first

Among the oldest evidence of a bureaucracy (sealed storerooms). Arslantepe palace and clay sealings, c. 3300–3000 BC. Qualified How sure we are →

From here

Sleep nearby

Malatya

5 km. Arslantepe.

Next on the trip · Day 4

Amida

About 172 km as the crow flies. Diyarbakır’s black basalt city walls, almost six kilometres around, with the Hevsel Gardens running down to the Tigris.

The whole trip

Where it began

5 days, 9 places, Gaziantep to Mardin.

Open in OpenStreetMap (opens in a new tab) · Directions to Arslantepe (opens in a new tab)

Also nearby

museum
Arslantepe Open-Air Museum
Palace complex
museum
Malatya Museum
Arslantepe finds

Location precise · Source (opens in a new tab)