9 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Multiple Burials found at Çatalhöyük

Multiple burials were unearthed during the ongoing excavations in the house on the eastern mound of the Neolithic settlement Çatalhöyük.

Çatalhöyük, one of the first urbanization models in Anatolia in Konya’s Çumra district, continues to give new clues about the way of life of people 9,000 years ago.

Çatalhöyük is also one of Turkey’s ancient sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Çatalhöyük Neolithic City Excavation Head Anadolu University Faculty Member Assoc. Dr. Ali Umut Türkcan said that during the excavations in the eastern area, a structure larger than the Çatalhöyük structures, standing alone and containing cells, carries different phenomenon that excites them.

Photo: AA

There are more than 700 tombs from the Neolithic period

Çatalhöyük excavations have been carried out for about 3 years by a Polish team under the supervision of Marek Marciniak. Türkcan spoke about the structure as follows:

“This building is bigger than the Çatalhöyük structures we know. It stands alone and has cells inside. In fact, within these cells, we found 5 graves on one of the floors and multiple graves on the other. To date, we have identified various Neolithic tombs belonging to 18 individuals. For this reason, it is a rare phenomenon for us that this big house and tombs are on such platforms and inside the cells.”

Emphasizing that Çatalhöyük is a large cemetery, Türkcan said, “There was a newborn baby burial, They have buried it in the wall. We see that newborns and even babies with fetuses are also buried. There are more than 700 tombs from the Neolithic period alone. We know that 70 graves were unearthed in an excavation I participated in in the 90s, and these graves exceed the life span of a house,” he said.

Photo: AA

The second neighborhood

Ali Umut Türkcan said that the concept of “street,” one of the questions waiting to be answered in Çatalhöyük, started to come to light with the second neighborhood that was found recently.

Türkcan pointed out that there are some differences in the house in the second neighborhood compared to the previous houses, adding, “We have two multiple burials in this neighborhood. In fact, in this burial, we noticed that the claw of a predatory animal, which may belong to a bear, was placed on the grave of this individual. We will work on this burial in the future. The world’s oldest wooden pieces were found at Çatalhöyük. The wooden piece found in the same house is a large example, but we think that it is a part of the stairs that we knew before but could not found. This is the first time we’ve seen something like this in years.”

Photo: AA

Türkcan said the following about the predator claw found on the grave at home: “According to our expert, it is clear that this is a predator claw; we rarely find such things in graves. We know that marten claws were also put in the grave. If so, this is the second claw found. Obviously, the fact that it comes from the grave indicates that a different treatment was applied to the individual. But before that, we had found a bear seal. If we consider that there is a bear in some reliefs, we should think that together with the bull, the bear had a special place in Çatalhöyük society.”

Emphasizing that Çatalhöyük should be excavated more, Türkcan said, “This was the mega-settlement of its period; an urban phenomenon. I think that Çatalhöyük, which has yielded extraordinary finds this year, should be expanded within the possibilities and the excavations should continue.”

TRT HABER

Related Articles

Deadly 7.7 quakes hit Turkey destroys historical Gaziantep Castle

6 February 2023

6 February 2023

A deadly 7.7 magnitude earthquake that rocked the southern province of Kahramanmaraş, with tremors felt in the neighboring provinces, has...

A Mysterious Partially Submerged Structure in Ireland is a Prehistoric Tomb, archaeologist says

25 October 2022

25 October 2022

New research has revealed that a mysterious structure found many years ago on the eastern shore of Cork Harbor in...

2,000-year-old Celtic hoard of gold ‘rainbow cups’ discovered in northeastern Germany

13 January 2022

13 January 2022

Archaeologists have found an ancient Celtic coins treasure consisting of 41 gold coins in a field in Brandenburg, a state...

Paleonursery offers a detailed glimpse at life 518 million years ago

6 July 2021

6 July 2021

Fossilized specimens of thousands of undersea animals buried under a sedimentary avalanche 518 million years ago have been found near...

A prehistoric monument consisting of three round enclosures, one of which resembles a horseshoe, was discovered in France

7 April 2024

7 April 2024

Archaeologists from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) unearthed an unusual, prehistoric monument in the shape of...

The Surprising Fact About The Roman-Era Female Bust

24 March 2021

24 March 2021

50 years ago, foundation excavation work was started for the construction of Girls’ Institute in Akpınar Neighborhood of Bolu city...

Ming-era two shipwrecks found in South China Sea

23 May 2023

23 May 2023

In the South China Sea, two ancient shipwrecks that date back to the middle of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) were...

Archaeologists in Israel are restoring the largest Roman Basilica in the country

6 June 2021

6 June 2021

Archaeologists in Israel are trying to rebuild a 2,000-year-old Roman-era basilica that is thought to be the country’s biggest. A...

Archaeologists uncovered largest Bronze Age burial site of Nitra culture in Czech Republic

19 October 2024

19 October 2024

Archaeologists have uncovered the Nitra culture’s largest Bronze Age burial site near Olomouc in Central Moravia, during their rescue research...

14th-century inscription found on Turkey’s Giresun Island

4 January 2022

4 January 2022

On Giresun Island, which is 1.2 kilometers (0.7 miles) off the Turkish province of Giresun on the Black Sea’s southeastern...

1,500-Year-Old Christian Ivory Reliquary Box Discovered in Austria

27 June 2024

27 June 2024

Archaeologists have discovered an exceptional Christian ancient ivory reliquary box in Austria that is thought to be around 1,500 years...

Human Relief Found at Million Stone Excavation Site in İstanbul

18 July 2021

18 July 2021

The Milion Stone (also known as the Million Stone) from the Eastern Roman period is one of important the historical...

Significant Archaeological Discovery on Failaka Island: Hellenistic Courtyard and Building Unearthed

17 February 2025

17 February 2025

The National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) has announced a remarkable archaeological find on Failaka Island, revealing a...

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...

Temple of Zeus Lepsynos in Turkey regains its glory

9 May 2022

9 May 2022

The temple of Zeus in the ancient city of Euromos in southwestern Turkey regains its original splendor with the revitalization...