INTRODUCTION
In
1993 the Kerkenes Project was inaugurated to study the Iron Age
capital that had once stood on the Kerkenes Dağ which overshadows
the Village of Sahmuratlı. From the outset the Project Directors
were conscious that this international research project would have
a positive impact on the village and the local area, and that it
also had potential at regional and inter-regional level. A central
concern was, and continues to be, that any impact, social, cultural
and economic, should be for the benefit of the village and the region
while also ensuring that the Cultural Heritage of the ancient city
was not only preserved but also presented in meaningful ways to
contemporary and future generations. Rising awareness of the importance
of Kerkenes as a Cultural heritage resource is reflected in the
growing number of tourists visit the site.
