Teppe Hasanlu rises from the Solduz plain in Iran’s West Azerbaijan Province, southwest of Lake Urmia and near the modern town of Naqadeh. The name refers not to a single palace or temple but to a mound built up through successive occupation. Its archaeological value lies in the way layers of houses, public buildings, burials and objects reveal changing communities across a very long span. The place is also a reminder that the ancient history of northwest Iran cannot be reduced to one famous artifact.
The site lies in a region of valleys and routes linking the Iranian plateau with the highlands to the west and the lands around Lake Urmia. The National Museum of Iran’s Persian-language account places the mound beside Hasanlu village, roughly seven kilometres from Naqadeh. That location helps explain why the settlement’s story is discussed alongside neighboring communities and broader political powers, rather than as an isolated point on a map. The landscape itself is part of the archaeological evidence: settlement patterns changed as people used the valley for farming, movement and defense.
