Eberhard Zangger
Eberhard Zangger (born 1958 in Kamen, West Germany) is a German-Swiss geologist, archaeologist, and anthropologist known for integrating natural and social science methodologies to investigate protohistoric cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean.
[10] Zangger advocates for greater integration of natural sciences into archaeological research and emphasizes the importance of studying urban planning[11] and hydraulic engineering to deepen our understanding of ancient societies.
Eberhard Zangger’s research focuses on explaining the collapse of civilizations in the eastern Mediterranean around 1200 BC, attributing it to the influence of small states in western Anatolia, such as Arzawa, Mira, Wilusa, Lukka, and the Seha River Land, referenced in Hittite sources.
[13] He further contends that these predominantly Luwian-speaking and writing states could pose a significant challenge to Hittite dominance in Asia Minor, potentially through a temporary military coalition.
[15] Simultaneously, Zangger published The Luwian Civilization: The Missing Link in the Aegean Bronze Age, which introduced the region’s cultural and economic contributions to a broader audience.
Zangger compared the memory of the Trojan War to the conflict between Greece and Atlantis, identifying relics of artificial harbors and water management systems in the modern floodplain.
[20][21] Zangger’s model initially garnered interest among prehistorians,[22] particularly those focusing on the archaeological landscape, as it provided explanations for enigmatic findings without introducing speculative elements.
[23] Despite this criticism, Zangger’s work aligns with that of the Greek scholar Marcelle Laplace, who also recognized parallels between the wars involving Atlantis and Troy, describing them as self-evident.
[24] In 1998, Zangger proposed an aerial geophysical survey of the Trojan plain in collaboration with the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources in Hannover, Germany, to identify settlement layers and artificial harbor basins.
In 2017, Zangger published a book on the pioneers of prehistoric archaeology in Anatolia, detailing how the interventions of Manfred Korfmann, the then-excavator of Troy, obstructed the proposed survey.
[29] While some theories attribute the upheaval to natural disasters such as earthquakes or climate change, Zangger argues that a military conflict involving Luwian petty states in Western Asia Minor and the Hittite kingdom was the primary catalyst.
In June 2019, Eberhard Zangger, in collaboration with archaeologist and astronomer Rita Gautschy of the University of Basel, published a groundbreaking interpretation of the Hittite rock sanctuary of Yazılıkaya at Ḫattuša.
[43] Since 2005, Zangger gives invited lectures at the Winterseminar on Biophysical Chemistry, Molecular Biology, and Cybernetics of Cell Functions in Klosters, an event founded in 1966 by Nobel laureate Manfred Eigen.
[44] Over a period of thirty years, the German magazine Der Spiegel featured Zangger's work in ten substantial articles, including a cover story (53/1998).
