The latest archeologic excavations in southeastern Turkey may have uncovered an ancient site older than Göbeklitepe, known as the oldest templ
The latest archeologic excavations in southeastern Turkey may have uncovered an ancient site older than Göbeklitepe, known as the oldest temple in the world, according to a Turkish university rector.
İbrahim Özcoşar, the rector of Mardin Artuklu University, told Anadolu Agency that the discoveries at Boncuklu Tarla (Beaded Field) in Mardin province resemble those unearthed in Göbeklitepe, an archeological site located in Turkey’s southeastern Şanlıurfa province, and could possibly be 1,000 years older.
The excavation work in the region began in 2012 at Boncuklu Tarla in Dargeçit district, the history of which dates back to the Neolithic period.
The area is known to have been home to Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Hittites, Assyrians, Romans, Seljuks, and Ottomans, among others, throughout history.
“It is possible to consider this as a finding that proved the first settlers [in the area] were believers,” Özcoşar said.
“This area is important in terms of being one of the first settlement areas of humanity,” he added, pointing to similarities between Göbeklitepe and Boncuklu Tarla.
Ergül Kodaş, an archaeologist at Artuklu University and adviser to the excavation area, told Anadolu Agency that the history of Boncuklu Tarla is estimated to be around 12,000 years old.
“Several special structures, which we can call temples, and special buildings were unearthed in the settlement, in addition to many houses and dwellings,” Kodaş said.
“This is a new key point that could shed light on many topics such as how the people in northern Mesopotamia and the upper Tigris began to settle, how the transition from hunter-gatherer life to food production happened and how cultural and religious structures changed,” he added.
According to Kodaş, there are buildings in the area similar to those unearthed in Göbeklitepe.
Boncuklu Tarla is almost 300 kilometers east of Göbeklitepe.