The famous ancient city of Bergama is located about 75 km due north of İzmir on the northern side oft he fertile Hermos fllodplain. The Hellenistic and Roman city has been excvavated with interruptions since 1878.
During the excavation campaign 1987-1991, a 70 m-long section of a Late Bronze Age defensive wall was found on the south slope of the Acropolis, north of the temple of Hera. The varied in thickness between about 2 m and over 3 meters. Bronze Age pottery was found in the vicinity of the wall. This has been studied by Dieter Hertel. Accordingly, the first building phase of the wall dates back to the Middle Bronze Age (probably 2000 and 1500/1400 BCE). Bronze Age pottery was also found in the Trajan sanctuary. Anatolian Gray and Red Ware are the most common types of Bronze Age pottery found on the acropolis.
The outline oft he settlement during the 2nd mill. BCE remains unclear. According to Dieter Hertel Acropolis, the acropolis was well populated and may have exceeded the citadel of Troy VI in size. All the pottery was procued locally. Original or imitated Mycenaean vessels were not found in Pergamon.
Diether Hertel, «Das Vorklassische Pergamon und sein Siedlungsprofil», Istanbuler Mitteilungen 61, 2011, 83:
„Die nach Radt und den Grabungsunterlagen die altertümliche Wehrmauer von Pergamon, die sog. Mauer 1, datierende Kontexte haben Mittel-/spätbronzezeitliche Scherben und Gefäße geliefert, wie der Vergleich mit Keramik von verschiedenen Fundorten des 2. Jhs. v. Chr., dabei besonders mit der 1999 und 2000 publizierten von Panaztepe und Alt-Smyrna, belegt. Dieser Sachverhalt und die besondere Mauertechnik weisen darauf hin, dass Pergamon schon in der mittleren/späten Bronzezeit eine befestigte Siedlung von beträchtlicher Größe und der Zentralort wenigstens des mittleren Kaikostales gewesen sein dürfte (sie hat anscheinend die Akropolis und den Südabhang der Burg umfasst).“