The Amuq Valley Regional Projects website provides annual excavation reports, maps, regional studies and overviews for Tell Atchana (Alalakh), Chatal Hoyuk, Tell Dhahab, Tell Imar, Tell Judaidah, Tell Kurdu and Tell Ta'yinat. The following overview describes the region:
Situated at the northeastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea, the Amuq Valley, or the Plain of Antioch, is located in a region known as the Hatay in what is today Turkey. Surrounded by mountains on all sides, the Amuq is a rich and fertile valley, well-watered by the Orontes and Karasu rivers. While the Amuq is perhaps best known for having been home to the classical city of Antioch, one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire and the site of Saint Paul’s early missionary work, the valley has been densely occupied since at least 6000 BC to the present day. The unusual concentration of ancient sites in such a small area makes the region ideal for archaeological investigation. As such, the Amuq was targeted for several important and formative archaeological projects as early as the 1930s. After a half-century hiatus, the Oriental Institute of Chicago returned to the region in 1995 with the Amuq Valley Regional Projects (AVRP).1
