Intriguing Discovery in Turkey

Karahan Tepe

Such interesting news this week of another ancient village discovery in south-eastern Turkey. Mesopotamia does seem to encompass so much evidence of early life within its borders! At present, the newly-identified archaeological site is part of a larger group of about a dozen similar early villages under investigation in Sanliurfa Province near the Syrian border and is considered ‘a sister site’ to the famous Gobekli Tepe, a monumental complex built on a rocky mountain top with no clear evidence of agricultural cultivation. The site of the new discovery, named Karahan Tepe, also dates back approximately 11,400 years to c 9750 BCE, and was inhabited until at least 8000 BCE; it is a significant find because, contrary to received opinion, together with Gobekli Tepe it suggests that complex but permanent, settlements existed among hunter-gatherer societies long before the advent of agriculture. A commentator observes that this string of ancient sites marks "the end of the beginning" referring to the

Gobekli Tepe

fading of the earliest human development often described as ‘the hunter-gatherer society’ when human organisation rested solely on both settled and itinerant families; it heralds the dawn of humans beginning to live in permanent groups larger than merely the family group. This signals the advent of the Neolithic Period and the appearance of the oldest permanent human settlements anywhere in the world. While historians are sure about the critical nature of agriculture which appeared then, they remain undecided as to whether farming caused people to settle down or whether farming developed as a result of progress in the already settled village life.  However, Gobekli Tepe, a monumental complex built on a rocky mountain top [Tepe meaning hill or summit in Turkish] offers no clear evidence of agricultural cultivation beyond a limited amount of cereal production though its age and size ensure the importance of its place in Neolithic society and history.

German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt

Animal engraving from one of the huge stone pillars

Phallic human statue from Gobekli Tepe

Today we can describe Gobekli Tepe, ‘Potbelly Hill’ in Kurdish, as a Neolithic archaeological site in Upper Mesopotamia, first discovered in 1963 in a routine survey and only recognised as significant by German archaeologist, Klaus Schmidt, in 1994. He began excavations there in the following year which lasted until his death in 2014, after which, excavation continued as a joint project of Istanbul University, Sanliurfa Museum and the German Archaeological Institute under the direction of Turkish pre-historian, Necmi Karul. Gobekli Tepe was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018, thus recognising its outstanding universal value as “one of the first manifestations of human-made monumental architecture”.  By 2021 only around 10% of the site had been excavated although, interestingly, geophysical surveys since have shown that the extensive mound contains at least 20 such large enclosures.

Sanliurfa Archaeology and Mosaic Museum

The attribution in the UNESCO recognition refers to the site’s mammoth architecture and indeed, Gobekli Tepe is known for its large circular structures that contain huge stone pillars, surely among the world’s oldest known megaliths. Many of these gigantic pillars are decorated with anthropomorphic details, clothing and sculptural reliefs of wild animals which may provide future insights into ritual, prehistoric religion and the iconography of the period. No definitive purpose for these megalithic structures has been suggested though they have been popularly described as the ‘world’s first temples.’ Originally, they were probably roofed and there is evidence that, over the centuries, they have suffered collapse, been overwhelmed by landslides and subsequently repaired or rebuilt. The latter fact suggests that these structures must have been of real value to the communities who built and maintained them.

There is also evidence of ancient domestic structures which indicate a permanent settlement plus small buildings, quarries and stone-cut cisterns, all from the Neolithic period. Recent findings suggest that the size of the settlement at Gobekli Tepe is around 20 acres, and includes domestic buildings, cereal processing, a water supply and tools associated with daily life. This contrasts with a previous interpretation of the site as a sanctuary used by nomads with few, if any, permanent inhabitants.

One of the monumental 
pillars from Gobekli Tepe
Now in Sanliurfa Museum

Humanoid totem pole from Gobekli Tepe

Human statue also in Sanliurfa Museum

The Honeymoon Blog

 

The Maldives seem to be prime honeymoon territory.

Costa Rica,
Cannot help but notice how frequently beaches 
and seascapes feature in honeymoon images.

Discovered this morning that my youngest grandson’s first wedding anniversary was today, [ 6^th November] memorial to a super occasion whose date had somehow slipped from my memory! I certainly remember the very, very joyous occasion; in fact, as both his brothers have got married as well in the short time since I returned to live in Britain, there have been three delightful weddings of grandsons AND ditto of my eldest grand- daughter too. Not only a succession of lovely and loving events but quite expensive ones too for a doting grandmother! In fact, the grandson mentioned in my aide-memoire above, departs with his bride on Friday week [14^th  November] for the Actual Honeymoon and I would divulge the two, possibly three, destinations if only I could recall them! I know it will be a fortnight in length and is taking place exactly a year after the event, following the fashion for Delayed Honeymoons, a concept which has become increasingly popular during the 21st century. One can see the attraction. Instead of organising the details of the getaway and rushing to pack suitcases amid the wedding-planning pressure, couples can take a breath, recuperate after the wedding chaos, and quietly juggle with possible ideas.

Perhaps Rome?

However, this has all set this ageing mind into belated action, wondering about the concept of ‘the honeymoon’, whence it came and how! I am also reminded that the name, ‘honeymoon’ may also refer to the phase in a couple’s relationship--- whether they are in matrimony or not--- that exists before getting used to everyday life together. “Oh, they’re still in the honeymoon phase” can often be heard.

The custom in Western culture of a newlywed couple going on holiday together originated in early nineteenth century Britain when upper class couples would take a ‘bridal tour’ sometimes accompanied by friends or family, to visit relatives who had not been able to attend the actual wedding. But towards the 1870s, the happy couple began to travel solo. These trips for bridal pairs only, were also attractive to the rich as a convenient and satisfying way to flaunt their wealth and social status.The practice soon spread to the European continent and became known in France as ‘ une voyage a la façon anglaise’, an English-style voyage, from the 1820s on. Honeymoon in the modern sense – a purely celebratory, romantic holiday undertaken by the couple alone – became widespread during la Belle Epoque in the late 1800s as one of the first examples of modern mass tourism and marked the period when the middle class began to aspire to join their upper class neighbours in this expensive celebration. However, according to some sources, the honeymoon is a relic of the much earlier ‘marriage by capture’, based on the practice of the husband going into hiding with his new wife to avoid reprisals from her relatives, with the intention that the woman would be pregnant by the end of the month and discovery would be immaterial! Admittedly, this does rather point to an earlier, more mediaeval, down-to-earth, practice!

Tahiti. Just one place which claims
to be the honeymoon capital of the
world!

Certainly, pre-mediaeval was the custom in Europe to give the newly-weds enough mead to last a month. Traditionally, the mead would have been fermented in honey, and the couple would have been expected to drink it all, a large quantity, during the following month; i.e. within 30 days. It was believed that the Honey Mead, considered an aphrodisiac, would increase the chances of conception. The very name, honeymoon, comes from the phrase, “a moon’s worth of honey mead." There is also an etymological journey! The honeymoon was originally the period following marriage ‘characterized by love and happiness’ as attested since 1546. The word may well allude to “the idea that the first month of marriage is the sweetest,” and originated from a mediaeval custom where newlyweds drank a honey-based mead for a moon cycle to ensure fertility and good fortune.  

Today, the very idea of a honeymoon has a positive meaning, but originally it may have referred to the inevitable waning of love, like a phase of the moon. In 1552, Richard Huloet wrote “

A painting by George Henry Boughton
     The Waning Honeymoon. 1878

Hony moone, a term proverbially applied to such as be newly married, which will not fall out at the first, but th’one loveth the other at the beginning exceedingly, the likelihood of their exceadinge love appearing to aswage, ye which time the vulgar people call the ‘hony mone."

The first recorded use of the word, ‘honeymoon’ to refer to the vacation after the wedding appeared in 1791 in a translation of German folk stories. The first recorded native English use of the word appeared in 1804 by Jacob Shamsian One 2015 scholarly study concluded that going on a honeymoon was associated with a somewhat lower risk of divorce, regardless of how much or how little is spent on the honeymoon itself. However, high spending and/or incurring significant debt on other wedding-related expenses such as engagement rings or wedding ceremonies, is associated with a higher risk of divorce. 

To end on a high note: I have now learned, from Vogue, Oct 23rd, 2023, of the Earlymoon which is apparently, " a rising trend" partly thanks to Pippa Middleton who went, a deux, to St Barts before her wedding though the concept remains 'niche'. No doubt the limitless planning and manoeuvring in anticipation of the Big Day imposes a certain weight on the delights of the Earlymoon. But it does chime with Samuel Johnson's opinion that during the first month after marriage, there is nothing but tenderness and pleasure.

 

 

Even an Earlymoon needs the sea!

P.S. Now discover that one of the earliest known origins of the concept of the honeymoon comes from 5th century Nordic traditions.

 

WW1 Message in a Bottle

The bottle containing both pencilled notes from 2016. 
Discovered on October 9th 2025.

An extraordinary find has just been made on October 9^th.  on Wharton Beach, near Esperance in Western Australia. The Brown family, Deb, Peter and their daughter, Felicity, made the find during one of the family’s regular trips on their quad bikes, to clear the beach of trash. As they were cleaning up the beach, Peter and Felicity spotted the Schweppes-brand old bottle just above the water line, almost waiting to be rescued! Inside the thick glass bottle were two cheerful letters, written in pencil by Privates Malcolm Neville, 27, and William Harley, 37, dated August 15, 1916.

Private Malcolm Neville

Private Neville's letter to his mother

Private Neville's letter
giving his mother's details

 

As extraordinary as the age of the notes is their condition, 106 years later. Though the papers were wet, both letters were still legible when dried out,
so Mrs. Brown began tracking down the soldiers’ families in order to pass them on. She discovered that their troop ship HMAT A70, Ballarat, had left the State capital, Adelaide, on August 12, 1916, on the long journey to the other side of the world where its soldiers would reinforce their battalion, the 48th Australian Infantry Battalion fighting on Europe’s Western Front. Their cheerful notes were scribbled in pencil on that journey. just a few days into their voyage to join the battlefields in France. Private Malcolm Neville, who signed off as "somewhere at sea, August 15th 1916" told his mother, Robertina Neville, that the food on board was “real good with the exception of one meal which we buried at sea!” and that the Ballarat was "Heaving and Balling but we are as happy as Larry. Your loving son”. 

Writing home in WWI.

Mrs Brown located Neville’s great-nephew, Herbie Neville, by searching for the soldier’s name and his hometown, online, as his mother’s address, in Wilkawatt, now a virtual ghost town, had been included in the original note. Herbie Neville said that the experience of having this letter-from-the-past was “unbelievable.”      

Private Harley’s granddaughter, Ann Turner, said that she and the four other surviving grandchildren were “absolutely stunned” by the message. “It really does feel like a miracle, and we do feel very much like our grandfather has reached out to us from the grave,” she said. “I feel very emotional when I see that the other young man had a mother to write to and that his message in the bottle was to his mother, whereas our grandfather had long ago lost his mother, so he just writes to the finder of the bottle.”  Private Harley’s letter said the bottle had been thrown overboard “somewhere in the Bight”, referring to the Great Australian Bight off the country’s southern coast. 

Wharton Beach,  "somewhere in the Bight",
Western Australia

An oceanography professor told ABC [whose story this is] that the bottle may well have been in the water for only a few weeks originally, before it landed at Wharton Beach where it may have lain, buried for over 100 years.

Keeping in touch.

Neville was killed in action a year later at 28. Harley was wounded twice but survived the war, married and had children, dying in Adelaide in 1934 of a cancer his family was sure was caused by his having been gassed by the Germans in the trenches in France.