Inspired by concepts of monumentality and materiality, this article discusses the results of the first microstratigraphic 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 monuments were experienced and given meaning to. Ultimately, by following a deposit-oriented approach, monuments 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.

受纪念性和物质性概念的启发，本文讨论了对 Arslantepe（土耳其马拉蒂亚）之前和早期历史遗址的纪念性建筑进行的第一次显微地层研究的结果。三座纪念性建筑（两座属于公元前 4 世纪，另一座属于公元前 1 千年）的土表面（地板和固定装置）通过微形态学进行分析，有时还结合化学现场测试。采样策略适应了这些环境，这些环境是露天博物馆的一部分，需要微创程序。结果显示了建筑材料的回收利用和特定特征的选定灰泥的使用，以及在明显均质的表面上追踪的不同维护实践和活动。这揭示了这些纪念碑是如何被体验和赋予意义的多方面图景。最终，通过以存款为导向的方法，纪念碑从仅仅代表意识形态和不平等的体现，转变为被理解为实践和不同形式的物质与建筑环境接触的多层次结果。