Department

The Department of Archaeology at Akdeniz University, Faculty of Science and Letters, was established in 1990. Since its foundation, the department has admitted undergraduate students and began offering M.A. and Ph.D. programs in 1992. In 2009, the number of academic divisions increased to three with the establishment of the Classical Archaeology, Prehistory, and Protohistory and Near Eastern Archaeology divisions. In 2019, the Division of Underwater Archaeology was added as the fourth academic division.

The department’s research activities have been concentrated primarily in the Lycian region. Faculty members have directed and participated in a number of significant archaeological projects, including the excavations at Patara, Tlos, and Myra-Andriake, as well as the Uğurlu-Zeytinlik excavations on Gökçeada, the Archaeological Survey of Arneai, and the Kaş-Demre Survey Project. The department’s mission is to educate individuals who possess a strong scientific and cultural background, are capable of producing knowledge at a universal level, and have developed the ability to seek truth free from dogmatic constraints through critical analysis and evaluation. In line with this mission, the department’s vision is to preserve, protect, and promote the material cultural heritage that constitutes the primary source of archaeological inquiry through contemporary approaches; to uphold universal values and scientific ethics; and to achieve international recognition through dynamic scholarly outputs that embrace innovative archaeological perspectives.

Through the education they receive, graduates acquire comprehensive knowledge of the socio-cultural structures, belief systems, economies, and production industries of historical and prehistoric societies as reflected in material cultural remains. They also develop advanced skills in analytical investigation, observation, interpretation, and analogical reasoning. Graduates find employment opportunities in university archaeology departments, the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums, Provincial Directorates of Culture and Tourism, the Revolving Funds Central Directorate, private museums, the tourism sector, and municipal administrations.