Nature Scientific Data has published the LuwianSiteAtlas – a new, freely accessible dataset documenting 483 archaeological sites from the Middle and Late Bronze Age (2000–1200 BCE) in western Anatolia. The database, compiled by Alper Aşınmaz, Serdal Mutlu, and Eberhard Zangger, represents the first interoperable, georeferenced catalog of settlement sites in this historically significant region.

The compilation is the result of more than a decade of research and integrates excavation reports, regional surveys, historical sources, and satellite imagery. Each site includes standardized metadata on location, chronology, function, material culture, and proximity to ancient raw material deposits. The catalog is available in open data formats (JSON and CSV) and linked to international reference databases such as Pleiades, Wikidata, and iDAI.gazetteer.

The LuwianSiteAtlas fills an important research gap. Western Anatolia – the homeland of the Luwian kingdoms mentioned in Hittite texts – has long been overlooked in studies of the Aegean Bronze Age. By integrating hundreds of local datasets into a unified, machine-readable format, the project now enables systematic analyses of regional settlement systems, trade routes, and cultural exchange between the Aegean and Anatolia.

“Western Anatolia was not a peripheral zone but a center of Bronze Age civilizations,” says Eberhard Zangger. “This open dataset provides the first quantitative basis for exploring that role in depth.”

Publication:
Aşınmaz, Alper, Serdal Mutlu, and Eberhard Zangger. 2025. “An interoperable catalogue of Middle and Late Bronze Age settlements in western Anatolia (c. 2000–1200 BCE).” Sci Data 12, 1804 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-06241-9

Media articles: 
New Scientist, UK: Was a little-known culture in Bronze Age Turkey a major power?
Popular Archaeology, USA: Mapping the Luwian Lands: How 483 Forgotten Settlements Are Redrawing the Map of the Bronze Age