The Luwian Studies Foundation explores the rich but underrepresented culture of western Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age, fostering new archaeological and philological research.
Luwian Studies is a non-profit foundation established in 2014 and based in Zurich, Switzerland.
The foundation promotes new research in the fields of archaeology and philology, with a particular focus on ancient Western Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1700–1200 BCE). This region was home to the Luwians, an Indo-European language group that existed at the same time as the Mycenaeans and Hittites and played an important role in the cultural and political development of the Aegean.
Recent research indicates that there were around 500 major settlements in western Anatolia. Many of these settlements were over 500 meters in diameter and were inhabited for thousands of years, but only a fraction have been archaeologically investigated. The exploration of these sites promises new insights into the cultural networks and historical developments in the Late Bronze Age.
The central thesis of the foundation is that a previously largely overlooked culture existed in western Asia Minor, the integration of which into historical research opens up new possibilities for interpreting the chronology of events at the end of the Bronze Age. Through a targeted and comprehensive investigation of Luwian settlement sites, the aim is to refine and expand our knowledge of the early history of the Aegean.
In addition, for over 35 years we have proposed a scientifically based investigation of the alluvial plain west of Troy in order to detect possible hidden remains of the Late Bronze Age city and to further explore their historical significance.
From an archaeological point of view, the area at the foot of the northern slope of Troia is important ... In the light of these results, we think it would be very useful to carry out an archaeological excavation there about 7 m deep.
A central concern of the foundation is to encourage political decision-makers and business leaders to intensify archaeological research into Luwian sites in Türkiye and beyond. A few strategically placed sondages could be enough to significantly expand our current understanding of Aegean prehistory – and we have clear indications of where such excavations should be started.
Since 1991, the research results presented here have been almost exclusively privately funded. Thus, the perspectives presented remain completely independent of national interests and institutional constraints, allowing for an objective re-evaluation of the historical context.
The gap in knowledge that Luwian Studies seeks to fill seems to be rooted in the historical polarization between Europe and the Ottoman Empire. When classical studies emerged as an academic discipline, Europe was in a tense relationship with the then-dominant Ottoman Empire. This led to certain regions – especially the Anatolian cultures of western Asia Minor – receiving less attention in research. Three generations after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, memories of its influence have faded, and the resulting gaps in the history of research offer an opportunity for new discoveries.
In the past, various specialists in Aegean prehistory and ancient oriental studies have already pointed out that there must have been a largely overlooked culture in the west of present-day Turkey in the second millennium BCE. Nevertheless, the numerous indications of Luwian culture have not yet been systematically investigated – a research gap that urgently needs to be closed.
Traditionally, research into the past is structured according to geographical and linguistic regions (Egyptology, Greek Studies, Ancient Oriental Studies), periods (prehistory, ancient history) and subject areas (building history, philology, art history). For more than a century, the increasing specialization of the sciences has led to ever more precise analyses, since a higher resolution of observation allows deeper insights.
However, it is precisely this focus on details that makes it difficult to recognize overarching patterns and grasp larger contexts. In order to plausibly reconstruct complex chains of events, it is therefore often necessary to cross the boundaries of one’s own field and incorporate interdisciplinary perspectives.
The founder and president of Luwian Studies, Dr. Eberhard Zangger, holds degrees in archaeology and cultural anthropology as well as in geology and paleontology. Since 1982, he has specialized in archaeological field research in the eastern Mediterranean.
The reconstruction of historical interactions between humans and the environment, known as geoarchaeology since the 1970s, is an interdisciplinary field of research that Zangger has helped to shape. As part of his scientific work at Stanford University in the United States and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, he has studied and reconstructed the landscapes around the Late Bronze Age cultural landscapes of Iolcus, Mycenae, Tiryns, Pylos, Berbati and Asine. In addition, he was involved in field projects on Crete, Cyprus, in Tunisia and Egypt. His scientific publications are available for download here.
On this website, Luwian Studies provides a comprehensive overview of the possible events at the end of the Bronze Age. This reconstruction is based on more than four decades of archaeological field experience at sites in almost all countries of the eastern Mediterranean. In addition, more than eleven thousand scientific publications have been evaluated to paint a well-founded and differentiated picture of the developments at that time.
There are several ways to actively participate in Luwian Studies.
If you are a scientist and have an idea for a research project that could be realized within the framework of Luwian Studies, we look forward to hearing from you.
If you are a politician, please support our goal of enabling targeted deep soundings by archaeologists in western Türkiye.
If you are a business leader or an independent patron interested in contributing to the study of this previously neglected culture, you are welcome to support Luwian Studies financially.
You are also cordially invited to contact us if you would like to contribute suggestions, insights, or corrections.