Tumuli were the most widespread form of monumental tombs in the ancient world. Their impact on landscape, their allurement as well as their symbolic referenceto a glorious past can still be felt today. The need of supra-regional and cross-disciplinary examination of this unique phenomenon led to theorganisation ofan international conference in Istanbul in 2009. The proceedings of TumulIstanbul revolve around thequestion of the symbolicsignificance of burial mounds in the 1st millennium BCin the Eastern Mediterranean and Black-Sea regions, also providing further insight into theirKurgan neighbours from Eurasia.