Tilmen Höyük, located near the İslahiye District of Province of Gaziantep, is a mound settlement located on a natural elevation between the two branches of the Karasu River. Spreading over an area of approximately 5.5 hectares, the mound consists of an acropolis approximately 15 m high and a lower city settlement extending to the west. In Tilmen Höyük, between 1960-1972, excavations were carried out by a team under the leadership of Prof. Dr. U. Bahadır Alkım, and in these studies, the Late Chalcolithic, Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age and Late Bronze Age layers dated between 3500 - 1200 BC were examined. Between 2002 and 2010, under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Refik Duru from Istanbul University and Nicolo Marchetti from Bologna University of Italy, excavation and landscaping studies were carried out and site was opened to visitors again.

    Since the excavations in the Lower City of Tilmen Mound did not find any findings dating back to the Middle Bronze Age I (2000-1800 BC), except for the Early Bronze Age II material, it is understood that the settlement reached the size of a large city at the beginning of the 2nd Millennium BC and it was found to be a center of management. Although it is not known for certain which kingdom Tilmen Mound was the center of in the 2nd millennium BC, it is thought to be the ancient Zalwar (or Zalbar) mentioned in Hittite and various ancient Neasia documents. At the beginning of the 2nd Millennium BC, especially in the Middle Bronze Age II (1800-1600 BC), two city gates of Tilmen Höyük, which was a fortified city settlement with walls, were identified. The city gate, located at the crossing of the river in the southeast of the city and equipped with towers, was connected to the acropolis with steps with stairs.

    During the excavations in the Lower City, various residences, a sanctuary with a courtyard and a tower temple were unearthed, while excavations in the acropolis revealed a structure thought to be a monumental royal palace and a Syrian-style temple. The royal palace, located south of the acropolis, is a very monumental building in which large orthostats are used. Its monumental entrance and interior architecture are similar in plan with the Ebla (Tell Mardikh) West Palace, Alalah (Tell Açana) half palace and Oylum Mound Middle Bronze Age I palace. The two wide staircase rooms unearthed inside the palace revealed that the building was multi-storey.
Archaeological excavations and researches have shown that Tilmen Mound shrank in the Late Bronze Age I (1600-1400 BC) and lost its regional administrative power and was abandoned. After a long time, the settlement was inhabited again as a small settlement in the 2nd century BC.

    In 2021, a landscaping project was prepared by Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality in order to include Tilmen Mound in tourism. In Tilmen Mound Landscaping, three design and approach areas are envisaged and it is aimed to carry out the works in line with this direction. Within the scope of Environmental Regulation studies; The construction of the parking lot, security building and ticket office for tour buses and personal vehicles, turnstiles and turnstile porch for controlled passage, cafeteria, toilets, sitting benches, promotion-information-direction units, walking paths has been started, and all of these activities are planned to be completed in 2022.