17 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

A Special structure Contemporary to Göbeklitepe found at Gre Fılla Höyük in Eastern Turkey

Pit-bottomed structures dating to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period were found at Gre Fılla Höyük (Gre Fılla Mound) in the province of Diyarbakir in eastern Turkey. It was determined that the steles found in one of these buildings were contemporary with Göbeklitepe.

Excavations have been carried out in the mound since 2018, under the chairmanship of the Diyarbakır Museum Directorate, under the scientific consultancy of Kocaeli University Faculty of Arts and Sciences Archeology Department Head Prof Dr. Ayşe Tuba Ökse.

During the ongoing excavations in the mound, the remains and religious and social living areas of societies that lived in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Period (PPNA) were determined. In this settlement, which dates back 11,000 to 12,000 years, excavations continued for four years, revealing the finding of the oldest settled communities.

During the excavations carried out in the mound, it was determined that the oldest settlement started in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Period, and Ambar Höyük and Kendale Hecala, a few hundred meters away, were populated in the Early Neolithic Age.

In this mound, where the oldest known settlement in Diyarbakır was seen, it was observed that first round-planned shelters were used, and then the settlement became narrow-planned.

Prof Dr. Ayşe Tuba Ökse said that three different pit structures with a diameter of almost 10 meters were unearthed.

Photo: AA

“There were steles in one of the pit structures that are contemporary with Göbeklitepe. There were 4 steles in them to carry the roof. According to the artifacts, we can say that a certain amount of ritual behavior is exhibited here. We can define it as common usage areas where a belief and social life coexist. We don’t want to call them temples directly. Because we don’t have that much data yet, it is more appropriate to say that these are special structures. Just like in Göbeklitepe.”

Stating that they have excavated two main periods, one of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic and one of the Late Antique Age graveyards, Ökse says that they can define these areas as areas where the people around them can socialize collectively and where they can perform their rituals in the context of belief.

Özlem Ekinbaş Can, a doctoral student at the Department of Archeology at Kocaeli University, who was part of the excavation team, said that Gre Fılla could be a symbol for the region for the Tigris line, just as Göbeklitepe is a symbol for the Euphrates line.

Özlem Ekinbaş Can said, “It is our duty to somehow carry future the 11,000-year-old structures that have survived from the past to the present.”

Can also added that the altars with figures found inside one of the pit structures were delivered to the museum.

During the excavations that have been going on for 4 years, 2 thousand 687 artifacts dating back to 7 thousand BC until today were unearthed.

Related Articles

Bergama Ancient City Takes Its Place in Digital Environment

1 February 2021

1 February 2021

As a result of the studies carried out by the German Institute, Bergama Ancient City was It was transferred to...

New research reveals the true function of Bronze Age daggers

30 April 2022

30 April 2022

A new study led by Newcastle University has revealed that the analysis of Bronze Age daggers has shown that they...

Evidence of Necromancy during Roman era in the Te’omim Cave, Jerusalem Hills: Oil Lamps, Spearheads, and Skulls

14 July 2023

14 July 2023

Te’omim Cave in the Jerusalem Hills may once have served as a local oracle where people communed with the dead...

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...

Archaeologists unearth the Torah Ark of the Great Synagogue of Vilna, destroyed in Lithuania

30 August 2021

30 August 2021

In Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, in excavation exposed the Torah ark and bimah (raised prayer platform) of the Great...

New Dead Sea Scrolls in The Horror Cave

16 March 2021

16 March 2021

On Tuesday, Israeli archaeologists revealed dozens of recently discovered fragments of Bible text, the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were based...

Bosphorus Was Frozen, People Crossed By Walking

14 February 2021

14 February 2021

The calendars showed the year 1954. Istanbul was experiencing an extremely freezing winter after many years. Heavy snowfall, hard enough...

134 ancient settlements discovered north of Hadrian’s Wall

26 May 2022

26 May 2022

134 ancient settlements have been found during a survey of the region north of Hadrian’s Wall in the United Kingdom....

At a dig site in western Turkey, a centuries-old Byzantine fortress will be revealed

24 December 2021

24 December 2021

Excavation of vast Byzantine-era fortifications considered to be about 900 years old has begun at a dig site in western...

Southwest Germany’s Oldest Gold Artifact Found

28 May 2021

28 May 2021

Archaeologists discovered the 3,800-year-old burial of a woman who died when she was around 20 years old in what is...

Ancient reliefs become target of treasure hunters

7 January 2024

7 January 2024

An academic has cautioned that urgent protection is required for the historic Adamkayalar (Men of Rock) reliefs in the southern...

A Stunning Jade mask discovered in tomb of Maya King in Guatemala

28 January 2024

28 January 2024

Archaeologists excavating a looted pyramid tomb in the ruins of a Mayan city in Peten, northeast Guatemala, have discovered a...

The 3200-year-old Mycenaean figure that brought Ephesus together with the Hittite civilization: Found in the excavations of Ayasuluk Tepe

11 June 2022

11 June 2022

A 3,200-year-old Mycenaean figurine that could change the perspective on the history of civilization in Western Anatolia during the Bronze...

Hellenic and Roman statue heads unearthed in Knidos

9 December 2021

9 December 2021

Hellenic and Roman sculpture heads were unearthed in the ancient Carian settlement Knidos, located in the Datça district of Muğla...

Archaeologists discover Ice Age human footprints in the Utah desert —may be more than 12,000 years old.

26 July 2022

26 July 2022

Daron Duke and Thomas Urban, a Research Scientist with Cornell University, discovered 88 preserved human footprints on alkaline plains at...