Lived monuments: a microarchaeological study of monumental architecture in the tell-site of Arslantepe (Malatya, Turkey)

Inspired by concepts of monumentality and materiality, this article discusses the results of the first micro-stratigraphic study conducted on the monumental buildings of the pre-and early historic site of Arslantepe (Malatya, Turkey). The earthen surfaces (floors and fixtures) of three monumental buildings-two belonging to the 4th and one to the 1st millennium BCE-were analysed by means of micromorphology, sometimes in combination with chemical spot-tests. Sampling strategies were adapted to these contexts, which are part of an open-air museum and required minimally invasive procedures. The results show a recycling of tell-construction material and the use of selected plasters for specific features, as well as the different maintenance practices and activities traced in apparently homogeneous surfaces. This revealed a multifaceted picture of how these mon-uments were experienced and given meaning to. Ultimately, by following a deposit-oriented approach, monu-ments go from representing mere embodiments of ideology and inequality to being understood as the multi-layered outcome of practices and different forms of material engagement with the built environment.