Turkey Introduces Karahantepe As Neolithic Heritage Project

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey together with the Turkish Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) introduced Karahantepe as one of the sites included in the Tepeler Bag project.

Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Turkish Republic, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, said that sites and excavations including at Karahantepe would reveal Anatolia's important contribution to human history.

"In the coming days, excavations will begin at the settlement mounds of Ayanlar, Yogunbur, Harbetsuvan, Kurttepesi and Taslitepe, as part of the first phase of the Sanliurfa Neolithic Research Project which will take place between 2021-2024," said Minister Ersoy, written on Saturday, September 25. .

"Geomagnetic measurements and ground-penetrating radar measurements have been carried out in some of these areas. These measurements will continue in parallel with excavations. This is a significant project with outstanding content and impressive results."

Minister Ersoy added that his party was cooperating with stakeholders such as 12 institutions and organizations, including eight universities in Turkey and internationally. He said his party is also very open to accepting researchers and other institutions in the world to join this project.

"We are trying to get as many parties from outside Turkey as possible to get involved. The more, the better, so that we as a government can provide the maximum budget for this project," Minister Ersoy said.

"Hopefully, this project will be more comprehensive, and we are very open to international participation," he added.

The Sanliurfa region, he continued, is home to the first examples of organized and specialized labor in the history of civilization. Between 2021 and 2024, excavations will be carried out at a total of 12 sites, including Karahantepe, a site with more than 250 T-shaped megalith blocks similar to those found at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Göbeklitepe.

It is believed that the findings from these excavations will make a considerable and extensive contribution to our knowledge of humanity in prehistoric times, including their daily lives and rituals.

It is thought that there are several sites in Sanliurfa that are similar to Gobeklitepe, reflecting the early phase of the Neolithic Age.

The latest finds from the Karahantepe excavation are exhibited in the “Karahantepe and Neolithic Human Exhibition” at the Archaeological Museum of Sanliurfa which opens on September 23, 2021 during the launch event of the Tas Tepeler project.