Japan, Türkiye unite to discover the ancient city of Purushanda

The Üçhöyük rescue excavation, which began in 2020 under the supervision of Professor Özdemir Koçak from the Department of History at Selçuk University, received Presidential support this year. In addition to 48 academics from Turkish universities, archaeologists Professor Satoshi Urano, Professor Yukinori Fukatsu, and Professor Naoto Koiwa from Rikkyo and Hirosaki universities in Japan are also participating in the excavation. Turkish and Japanese scientists are collaborating on the classification and evaluation of findings at the Üçhöyük site where they have started working this year. Koçak mentioned that the Üçhöyük excavation site dates back to the Bronze Age, and is one of the largest settlements in Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean. He stated that researchers are tackling the possibility that this settlement is the same city mentioned in Akkadian documents around 2350 BC, called Purushanda. 'These documents describe how King Sargon of Akkad raided the city of Purushanda at the request of a merchant, how he captured the city, and had depictions of himself and the king of Purushanda drawn on the city walls. Our aim is to prove that the city mentioned in these documents is Üçhöyük. This city was an important marketplace for Anatolia around 2000 BC. We have found seals dating back to 2300 BC in our excavations. All the descriptions and documents we have indicate that this place is Purushanda,' he explained. Koçak added, 'The Presidential support our excavation received changed our working methods. Our team has expanded to 51 members. We have academics from 15 different scientific fields working with us, with 15 universities from Türkiye and 2 from Japan involved. Last year, we met a Japanese team working in Türkiye, and we agreed to collaborate on the Üçhöyük excavation. They joined our team this year, strengthening us.' Koçak emphasized that other Japanese academics from different fields might join the project over time, helping to uncover the ancient city together. He noted that the archaeological artifacts and findings obtained from the excavations over the past 4 years at Üçhöyük suggest that it was an important settlement in ancient times. 'There are findings dating back to the Iron Age, as well as Hellenistic and Roman periods in certain parts of the Üçhöyük settlement. The Japanese archaeologists will work with us on this issue. We will examine these periods together and make evaluations of the excavation site,' said Koçak. He noted: 'We make interpretations on the same findings. Generally, our evaluations support each other.' 'This year, we will work together for about a month. We will get to know each other, so we can make different collaborations in the future as well. We will be working with Japanese scientists here for many years,' he said. Professor Satoshi Urano, one of the archaeologists, mentioned that he has participated in other excavation projects in Antalya and Muğla in Türkiye. Urano stated that they joined the Üçhöyük excavation in Afyonkarahisar upon the invitation of the excavation leader and said, 'This site is the most important location in the Akarçay Basin. There are many archaeological sites around here.' 'We are trying to secure funding from the Japanese government for our work here. If we succeed in obtaining this funding, we will be able to bring students here. Working together here will make us all very happy. We are also preparing a preliminary report of an academic article this year.'