Malatya Museum

Malatya Museum (Turkish: Malatya Müzesi) is an archaeological museum located in Malatya, eastern Turkey, facing Kernek Square at coordinates 38°20′36″N 38°19′26″E. The institution houses material spanning from the Neolithic through the Ottoman period, with particular strengths in finds from the nearby settlement mound of Arslantepe (ancient Melid) and rescue excavations conducted in the region. The museum serves as the primary repository for archaeological discoveries from one of Anatolia's most continuously inhabited areas, preserving evidence of human settlement extending back more than ten millennia.

The museum's origins trace to the 1930s excavations at Arslantepe and Gelinciktepe, after which finds were sent to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara due to the absence of a local institution. This situation prompted the establishment of a provisional museum in 1969 at Millet Parkı (National Park), which opened to the public in 1971. Construction of the permanent building began in 1975 at the former Kernek Park, and the new facility was inaugurated in 1979. The exhibition underwent reorganization in 2001.

The museum's holdings derive principally from systematic and rescue excavations, supplemented by purchases, donations, and confiscated items. Major source sites include Arslantepe (Melid), Pirot, Caferhöyük, Köşkerbaba, İmamoğlu, and Değirmentepe, along with materials recovered during construction of the Karakaya Dam. The chronological range encompasses the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, Hittite, Urartian, Roman, Byzantine, Anatolian Seljuk, Beylik, and Ottoman periods. The collection is displayed across three interior rooms and an entrance area, with additional material exhibited outdoors.

Among the museum's most significant objects are Neolithic sculptures from Caferhöyük dated to approximately 8000 B.C. The Arslantepe excavations have yielded Early Bronze Age swords from about 3200-3800 B.C., including arsenic bronze examples that rank among the oldest known swords, some with silver inlay. A human tomb from Arslantepe dated to 4000 B.C. preserves a young woman in fetal position with her grave goods. The museum also displays a reconstructed Late Uruk-period royal tomb from Arslantepe, dated around 2900 B.C., surrounded by the remains of four individuals likely sacrificed. Seal impressions from the same period, Chalcolithic spear and sword points, and thematic presentations of Arslantepe materials in the upper-level gallery further distinguish the collection. Outdoor displays include pithoi and stelae ranging from Hittite through Ottoman times.

The museum building is situated near Malatya's city center at the terminus of Fuzuli Caddesi, fronting Kernek Square. The structure was purpose-built beginning in 1975 and opened in 1979, replacing the earlier provisional facility. The exhibition space is distributed across three rooms plus an entrance hall: the first room (Arslantepe Salonu 1) presents Arslantepe finds; the second (Karakaya Salonu) houses rescue excavation materials; and the third (Arslantepe Tematik Salonu), set half a level higher, offers thematic displays of Arslantepe objects. An outdoor area accommodates larger stone and ceramic items.

Malatya Museum is located in Battalgazi District of Malatya Province, Turkey, at Kernek Square. It operates as a public archaeological museum under Turkish state administration. The institution remains the principal venue for accessing the region's archaeological heritage, with its collections drawn from excavations and rescue operations throughout the Malatya area.