Özet:

The distance of Nurdağı District located in the west of Gaziantep Province from the city centre is 80 km. Nurdağı is located in the eastern foothills of Amanos Mountains and in the west of the Sof Mountains. The district is situated in the Kahramanmaraş-Hatay rift valley and at the northern end of the Islahiye Plain. The elevation of the district is close to 570 m above the sea level. All of the operations carried out in Nurdağı have clearly demonstrated how rich historical and archaeological value the district and the surrounding areas have.  Paleolithic open space settlements and caves found in Sakçagözü, the last chalcolithic and early Bronze Age settlement Gedikli/Karahöyük, the centre of the late Hittite State kingdom, Sakçagözü, are among the some of the most familiar historical and archaeological centres of Nurdağı. Nurdağı’s being a transition region between Egypt, Mesopotamia and Anatolia has given to the region a strategic value. That the region has such a rich history has attracted the attention of researchers to this area beginning from the end of the 19th century.  In this study, the centres identified by us along with the searches conducted and excavations are also discussed.