Alaca Höyük

A golden spouted jug, which dates back to 4,250 years and belongs to the period of Hattians, one of the ancient civilizations of Anatolia, has been returned to Turkey and now adorns the shelves of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara.

A welcoming ceremony was held on Oct. 26 at the museum to mark the return of the ancient work.

Works that have been carried out in the ancient site of Alacahöyük, one of the first archaeological excavations of the Republic era, aim to reveal the detailed cultural timeline of the 7,000-year-old city.

The 2021 season excavations at the Alacahöyük ancient site, where the first archaeological excavations of the Turkish Republic were carried out, will be resumed after the completion of the weed control that has been continuing since July 3.

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On a plate hanging on the entrance of a museum, located at the foot of the Ankara Castle in the Turkish capital Ankara, there is the seal of Hittite King IV Tuthalia (1250-1220 B.C). Along with it, "Anatolian Civilizations Museum 1921" is written.

But behind that plate is hidden an extraordinary history of civilization.

The archaeological sites in the Central Anatolian province of Çorum, home to the Hittite capital Hattusha and Alacahöyük, which has the title of Turkey's first national excavation area, are now empty due to the coronavirus pandemic and waiting to welcome excavation teams and visitors again.

The first ever dam built in Anatolia, constructed by the Hittites in Çorum’s Alacahöyük some 3,300 years ago, will welcome visitors soon as environmental works and the facilities around the dam have been completed

I recently visited Çorum with a group of friends to see and to learn about the history of Anatolia. But this time I returned from Çorum, which I have visited countless times before, with sadness. 

A dam and a mound have been unearthed in the central Anatolian province of Çorum. The Örükaya Dam and Mound, estimated to date back 2,200 years ago, will be restored to serve tourism

The Central Anatolian province of Çorum, which is home to the Hittite capital Hattusha and the ancient site of Alacahöyük, Turkey's first national excavation field, expects to host half a million tourists a year after work carried out by the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the Çorum Governor's Office is completed. 

Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Çorum deputy and parliament's administrative chief Salim Uslu said they have initiated works to move Hittite civilization artifacts at the Anatolian Civilizations Museum in Ankara and the Hittite Sun Course Monument in the capital's Sıhhiye Square to the Central Anatolian province of Çorum.