Research
Granicus River Valley Survey Project
The Granicus River Valley Archaeological Survey Project focuses on an area of northwestern Turkey that was controlled by both Greeks and Persians during the first millennium BCE. Looting there has become increasingly rampant due to the gold and silver objects still preserved in many of the tombs, and the new survey represents the first attempt to record and map both the settlements and burial mounds in this region.
Where
Granicus River Valley in northwestern Turkey
Researcher
Dr. C. Brian Rose, Penn Museum
The majority of the tombs date from the late Archaic to the early Hellenistic period, and were set up by wealthy Anatolians associated with the local Persian governor. They are being explored with remote sensing (magnetometry and/or radar), while geophysical investigations (core-sampling) are being conducted around the Granicus River, where Alexander the Great launched a major battle against the Persian army in 334 BCE.
