Connections between Syria and Anatolia in the Second half of Third Millennium B.C.: the Tarsus Sequence

During the second half of the 3rd Millennium BC connections between Western and Central Anatolia, Syria and the Euphrates Valley increase enormously as it is testified by the circulation of several peculiar Anatolian and Syrian vessels or metal types over a wide area. Such an extensive trade network has been discussed by several scholars, who pointed out the importance of the Cilician area as a bridgehead between two different cultural systems, one related to Western Anatolia and the Aegean, and the other linked to the Syrian area. In this regard the site of Tarsus-Gözlü Kule is a key site, showing mixed affinities during the EB II and EB III phases within the above mentioned areas. The aim of this work is to reanalyze the stratigraphy of the EB II-III levels of Tarsus through the construction of a statistic-combinatory internal sequence, based on an integrated typological analysis of the ceramic and metal assemblages. Comparisons with the neighbouring areas (Coastal and Central-Inner Syria, Amuq Plain, Middle and Upper Euphrates Valley, Central and Western Anatolia) allow us to define cross-dating elements, and to investigate the nature of such relations in a socioeconomic and cultural perspective.