‘Excavations in Mersin-Yumuktepe (Turkey): from Villages to Towns and Cities’.
University of Salento, Piazza Tancredi 7, 73100 Lecce (LE), Italy.
The research, started in 2002 and it is led by Prof. Giulio Palumbi, consists of diachronic research into the ancient societies of Cilicia, in southern Turkey, from the first Neolithic villages (7000 BC) to the medieval citadels (8th century AD). The excavations enable researchers to trace thousands of years of historical and cultural development entirely within this one site, with integrated studies on the evolution of the environment, economy, society, technology and trade relations, and with particular focus on circuits of cultural exchange in the Mediterranean area.