17 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A 7,500-year-old settlement has been discovered in Turkey’s Domuztepe Mound

During the most recent excavations at Domuztepe Mound in the Türkoğlu district of southern Turkey’s Kahramanmaraş province, a settlement and silo presumed to date back 7,500 years were discovered.

Under the direction of associate professor Halil Tekin of Hacettepe University’s Faculty of Letters and Archaeology Department, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, excavations at the site have been ongoing.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Tekin said that during this year’s excavations they came across important structures belonging to the pre-Sumerians, the pioneer group of the ancient Mesopotamian Sumer civilization.

Noting that the team has asserted the pre-Sumerians lived in Anatolia since the day they started the excavations, Tekin said that the objects recently unearthed in the mound support their thesis.

The team uncovered 20 square meters (215 square feet) of the village settlement in the excavation area during their work, Takin said, adding that they then discovered the silo, which has a diameter of 3 meters (nearly 10 feet).

A close-up of an archaeologist's hand in Domuztepe Mound, Kahramanmaraş, southern Turkey. (AA Photo)
A close-up of an archaeologist’s hand in Domuztepe Mound, Kahramanmaraş, southern Turkey. (AA Photo)

More details about the settlement will be revealed in the ongoing excavations, Tekin assured. “This is a concrete settlement dating back 7,500 years, which we define as the pre-Sumerian period. We have proven that a tribe of the pre-Sumerians may have lived here and led a settled life,” he added.

Domuztepe Mound

The settlement, defined as Domuztepe by the local people due to a large number of wild boar nests on it, was discovered in 1994 by an American team during the survey carried out in the region; team leader Prof. Dr. It has been excavated since 1995 by a joint American-British delegation under the chairmanship of Elizabeth Carter.

After his retirement in 2008, Professor Stuart Campbell from the University of Manchester, who has also been on the excavation team since the beginning, took over the excavation directorate and continued this duty until 2012.

Excavations have been continuing since 2013 under the direction of Associate Professor Halil Tekin from Hacettepe University.

It is believed that Domuztepe Mound was first settled around 7,000 BC and abandoned around 5200 BC. The excavation finds of Domuztepe, a mound settlement that has been inhabited uninterruptedly for about 2000 years, revealed that the settlement was closely related to Mesopotamia on the one hand, and was in contact with its contemporary settlements in Çukurova and Northern Syria, on the other.

Related Articles

Archaeologists may have discovered lost settlement of Apancalecan in Mexico

3 August 2023

3 August 2023

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Guerrero discovered a prehistoric settlement spread across 29 hectares...

Mystical Tombs and Lights: 150 Unique Burial Mounds Discovered in Kazakhstan

28 August 2025

28 August 2025

Archaeologists in the West Kazakhstan Region (WKO) have announced a remarkable discovery that could reshape our understanding of early civilizations...

What If Ancient Statues Smelled Wonderful? The Surprising Secrets of Greco-Roman Sculptures

16 March 2025

16 March 2025

A new study published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology has shed light on an often-overlooked aspect of ancient Greek...

Recent excavations reveal the complete water conservancy system of the nearly 5000-year-old Liangzhu Ruins

26 November 2024

26 November 2024

In recent excavations around the Liangzhu Ruins in east China’s Zhejiang Province, researchers have discovered about 20 ancient dams. Seven...

The Half of the Rare Oil Lamp Found in Jerusalem May be in Budapest

9 May 2021

9 May 2021

We had recently reported on a grotesque lamp found in Jerusalem. The other half of the oil lamp, which is...

The Discovery of a Bronze Age Game Board in Azerbaijan Challenges the Origin of One of the World’s Oldest Games

30 August 2024

30 August 2024

A new archaeological study revealed that an ancient board of a game, known as “Hounds and Jackals” or the “Game...

A stunning fresco depicting Helen of Troy is revealed during excavations at the ancient Roman city

11 April 2024

11 April 2024

Archeologists have uncovered remarkably preserved ‘fresco’ paintings on a wall in the banqueting room of a large house along Via...

Game Bone Stones from a Roman Military Strategy Game Found in Hadrianopolis Ancient City, Türkiye

10 January 2025

10 January 2025

During the excavations in Hadrianopolis Ancient City in Eskipazar district of Karabük, 2 bone game stones belonging to the military...

Archaeologists Unearth Unique and Exceptionally Preserved Roman Wooden Water Pipe in Belgium

8 May 2025

8 May 2025

Nestled in the Flanders region of Belgium, not far from the country’s capital, Brussels, the charming city of Leuven is...

3,500-Year-Old Dining Set Found at Konya Karahöyük, in Türkiye

5 September 2025

5 September 2025

Archaeologists in Türkiye have uncovered an extraordinary 3,500-year-old dining set, including a jug, plate, and cup, during excavations at Konya’s...

Remains of a Roman stylobate found in Montenegro

19 July 2023

19 July 2023

In ancient Rhizon (Risan) in Montenegro, remains of a Roman stylobate (a shared base for multiple columns) were uncovered. In...

A Life-Size Funerary High Relief Discovered in Pompeii’s Porta Sarno Necropolis

3 April 2025

3 April 2025

A research project titled “Investigating the Archaeology of Death in Pompeii,” developed by the Universitat de València in collaboration with...

Uncovering the ritual past of ancient mustatils: Cult, herding, and ‘pilgrimage’ in the Late Neolithic of north-west Arabia

16 March 2023

16 March 2023

Mustatils—stone monuments from the Late Neolithic period thought to have been used for ritual purposes—have been the subject of new...

The Bronze Sacred Sanxingdui Tree Number 3 is Being Restored

9 April 2021

9 April 2021

According to the announcement of the Sanxingdui Museum, archaeologists have begun to assemble and restore the No. 3 bronze sacred...

New Discoveries at Ancient Greek City of Paestum’s ‘Little Doric Temple’ in Italy

16 April 2023

16 April 2023

Archaeologists have made a series of extraordinary discoveries that may fundamentally alter the understanding of the past of the ancient...