averilburystedmunds: 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 Sanhurfa 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 period often described as ‘the hunter-gatherer society’ when human organisation rested solely on both settled and itinerant families and 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 settlement 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 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, 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 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.