The history of archaeological research in Anatolia and the territory of present-day Turkey spans several millennia and encompasses the remains of numerous ancient civilizations, settlements, monuments, and cultural landscapes. Anatolia and the surrounding regions were described by ancient historians, geographers, and travellers, who recorded information about cities, monuments, and other features of the landscape. However, the systematic study, documentation, and excavation of archaeological sites developed primarily from the nineteenth century onward, gradually transforming earlier antiquarian interest into a more organized archaeological discipline.
18th century
1764–1766 – Chandler, Revett and Pars The antiquarian Richard Chandler, architect Nicholas Revett and artist William Pars travelled to Greece and Asia Minor between 1764 and 1766. Unlike earlier antiquarian investigations , the expedition focused specifically on the systematic documentation of ancient architecture. The investigators measured surviving buildings, prepared architectural plans, recorded inscriptions, produced detailed drawings, documented architectural decoration, and compared the archaeological remains with descriptions preserved in ancient literary sources. In western Anatolia they investigated major ancient cities including Ephesus, Miletus, Priene, Didyma and Teos.
19th century The nineteenth century marked a transition from antiquarian exploration toward more systematic archaeological investigation in Anatolia. Expeditions increasingly involved architects, artists, epigraphists, and archaeologists, while excavation became an important method for documenting and interpreting ancient sites. At the same time, the Ottoman government established archaeological institutions and introduced legislation aimed at regulating excavations, antiquities, and the removal of archaeological finds from Ottoman territory.
1838 – Charles Fellows and Lycia British traveller Charles Fellows explored southwestern Anatolia and the region of ancient Lycia. His investigations included the ancient city of Xanthos, where he documented monumental tombs, sculptures and architectural remains. Fellows' expeditions contributed to growing interest in Lycian archaeology, and numerous sculptures and architectural fragments documented during his expeditions were subsequently transferred to the British Museum.
1856 – Early investigations at Hisarlık Archaeological investigations of the Hisarlik mound, widely identified with the site of ancient Troy, preceded the excavations conducted by Heinrich Schliemann in Hisarlik. In the 1850s, Frank Calvert investigated the mound.
1863–1874 – John Turtle Wood and Ephesus British architect John Turtle Wood began excavations at Ephesus in 1863 with the principal objective of locating the ancient Temple of Artemis. After several years of investigation, Wood's excavations located the remains of the Artemision in 1869.
1869 – Establishment of the Imperial Museum The Ottoman government formally established the Müze-i Hümayun (Imperial Museum) in 1869.
1869 – First Ottoman Antiquities Regulation The Ottoman government issued an antiquities regulation in 1869, establishing an early legal framework for the administration of archaeological discoveries and antiquities. Further regulations followed in 1874 and 1884, progressively strengthening state control.
1870 – Heinrich Schliemann at Hisarlık Heinrich Schliemann began large-scale excavations at the Hisarlık in 1870, seeking the remains of the city described in Homer's Iliad. His excavations revealed a sequence of successive settlement layers at the site.
1873 – Miletus A French expedition conducted archaeological work at Miletus in 1873, including excavation of the ancient theatre.
1878 – German excavations at Pergamon Large-scale German excavations at Pergamon began in 1878, led by Carl Humann with the involvement of archaeologist Alexander Conze. The excavations uncovered major monuments on the acropolis, including the Great Altar of Pergamon and its monumental sculptural decoration.
1883 – Osman Hamdi Bey's expedition to Nemrut Dağı In 1883, Osman Hamdi Bey and Osgan Efendi travelled to Nemrut Dağı and conducted archaeological investigations of the site. The expedition was organized by the Ottoman government and represented an early example of archaeological fieldwork undertaken by Ottoman officials and scholars.
1895–1898 – Excavation of Priene German archaeologists excavated Priene between 1895 and 1898. The investigations documented the city's streets, public buildings, sanctuaries, water systems and residential areas.
20th century Following the discovery of cuneiform tablets at Boğazköy during nineteenth-century investigations, further tablets were recovered in the early twentieth century. Between 1901 and 1905, German scholar Waldemar Belck visited the site several times and discovered additional cuneiform material. The discoveries contributed to the identification of Boğazköy as the site of Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite Empire.
1907- Alacahöyük In 1907, Ottoman archaeologist Theodor Makridi Bey, working on behalf of the Imperial Museum, conducted investigations at Alacahöyük, including work at the site's monumental Sphinx Gate.
1910–1914 — Sardis In 1910, American archaeologist Howard Crosby Butler began large-scale excavations at Sardis, the ancient capital of Lydia. Conducted with the support of the Ottoman Imperial Museum and funded by the American Society for the Excavation of Sardis, the expedition continued through 1914 and investigated the Temple of Artemis, parts of its precinct, and the ancient necropolis, where more than 1,100 tombs were excavated.
1961–1965 — Çatalhöyük Systematic excavations at Çatalhöyük began in 1961 under the direction of James Mellaart and continued through 1965. Excavations revealed densely packed Neolithic houses containing wall paintings, reliefs, figurines, pottery, burials, and a range of domestic installations, providing evidence for the settlement’s architecture, material culture, and burial practices.
1986 — Hattusa becomes a UNESCO World Heritage Site In 1986, Hattusa, the capital of the Hittite Empire, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The site includes the remains of the ancient city's temples, royal residences, fortifications, monumental gates, and the rock sanctuary of Yazılıkaya.
1987 — Nemrut Dagi In 1987, Nemrut Dağı was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
1988 — Hierapolis, Xanthos-Letoon and further heritage recognition In 1988, Hierapolis-Pamukkale and Xanthos-Letoon were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
1995 — Göbekli Tepe In 1995, systematic excavations at Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Anatolia began under the direction of German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt, following earlier surveys conducted by Istanbul University and the German Archaeological Institute. The excavations revealed monumental T-shaped limestone pillars and associated structures dating to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period.
1998 — Archaeological Site of Troy becomes a UNESCO World Heritage Site In 1998, the Archaeological Site of Troy was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
21st century In July 2025, archaeological excavations at Salkaya in Elazığ Province, eastern Turkey, revealed a Roman bath complex dating to approximately 1,700 years ago. Covering about 75 m², the bathhouse contains separate hot, warm and cold rooms, a hypocaust underfloor-heating system, sweat rooms, pools, and channels for fresh and wastewater. The structure was first investigated after a farmer discovered a Roman mosaic while planting trees in 2023, after which ground-penetrating radar identified the larger complex, excavations in 2024 confirmed the bathhouse.
In July 2025, archaeologists from Van Yüzüncü Yıl University identified a large fortified settlement on the Tirişin Plateau near Beşbudak village in Van's Gürpınar district, at an elevation of around 3,000 metres. The complex includes an inner fortress, nearly 50 rooms or living spaces, and approximately 4 kilometres of stone defensive walls constructed largely from local basalt. Archaeological evidence indicates that the area was used during multiple periods, including the Iron Age and medieval period, while rock art in the wider area points to much earlier human activity. Circular structures resembling kurgans and evidence associated with pastoralism were also recorded, suggesting that the settlement may have served both defensive and pastoral functions.
In January 2026, archaeological excavations at the North Street of Smyrna’s Agora in İzmir, Turkey, revealed a mosaic floor dating to the 4th–6th centuries CE. The approximately 3 × 4 metre mosaic contains interlocking 12-sided geometric panels, plant motifs, small cross designs and a central Solomon’s knot. Archaeologists have not yet established whether the building was a private residence or a public space. The area was subsequently reused during the 19th century, when later structures were built over the ancient mosaic.
In January 2026, a hiker discovered a series of prehistoric rock paintings on exposed rock surfaces in the Kayseri region of central Turkey. The paintings depict human-shaped figures interpreted as possible female, male and family figures, and experts noted similarities with prehistoric rock art from other parts of Anatolia, including Hakkari, Van, Mersin, Antalya and Çatalhöyük. The paintings have been provisionally estimated to date to around 6000 BCE, although their chronology remains uncertain and is to be investigated through pigment analysis, surface-erosion studies and comparisons with other prehistoric rock art.
In January 2026, researchers reported evidence of an early cranial surgical procedure on a human skull from İkiztepe Höyüğü near Samsun in northern Turkey, dating to approximately 5,000 years ago. The skull displays an intentionally made surgical opening with healed bone edges, indicating that the individual survived the operation for a period afterward. The find adds to evidence for prehistoric surgical practices in Anatolia, alongside earlier examples reported from sites such as Aşıklı Höyük and Çatalhöyük.
In January 2026, archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Lystra in Konya, central Turkey, recovered an intact bronze reliquary cross from a burial area associated with a church. The two-part cross, dated to the 9th–11th centuries CE, bears geometric decoration and was permanently sealed using rivets, preventing it from being opened without damaging the object. Archaeologists reported that a small gap revealed no identifiable contents, although a piece of shroud-like fabric was visible, the cross was cleaned and conserved by specialists without being opened.
In February 2026, previously undocumented underground spaces were documented beneath Molla Zeyrek Mosque in Istanbul’s Fatih district, which occupies the former Byzantine Pantokrator Monastery complex. The subterranean structures include vaulted chambers, narrow corridors and a large cistern or water-storage system, reflecting the infrastructure associated with major Byzantine institutional complexes. The passages have not yet been fully mapped, and their precise functions and connections remain uncertain, although they may have served water management, storage and logistical purposes.