18 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The oldest fortification system in Anatolia is about 8000 years old “Kuruçay Höyük”

Kuruçay höyük is located near the village Of Kuruçay, fifteen kilometers south of Burdur. The mound itself is situated upon one of the hills sloping downward towards the basin of Lake Burdur.

Excavations were carried out on the Kuruçay mound between 1978-1988 under the direction of Professor Doctor Refik Duru. Although there were 13 settlement layers during the excavations of this mound, none of these layers yielded any domestic cereal grain or plant remains. Despite the examination of all the collected animal bones, no definitively domesticated animal remains were found. In addition to these results, the fact that the arable lands and fields are very limited near the mound and the mound is surrounded by deep stream beds from the south, west, and north can be shown as evidence that agriculture was not practiced.

But this does not mean that the inhabitants of Kuruçay mound were not aware of agriculture. These people were obviously not consciously engaged in agriculture. Because they must have been aware of a neighboring settlement like Hacılar, where layers of Neolithic developments can be traced.

Unique Defense System of Burdur Kuruçay Mound
Unique fortification system of Burdur Kuruçay Mound.

The Kuruçay people, who had seen the production techniques from the neighboring settlement Hacılar, may not have been farming, but some settlement levels had riches that required protection with very strong walls. A most provocative question is how a populace without food production accrued sufficient wealth to warrant such strong fortifications in walls. We will never know their wealth and how they got rich or why they tried to protect themselves. Most importantly, how did they build such a  fortification system! Or where did they learn it?

Professor Doctor Refik Duru described this fortification system as follows: “Level 11, on the other hand, was represented by a 26-meter stretch of impressive stone foundations running east-to-west. Clearly a fortification wall, it incorporated towers half-circular in the plan against its southern face. the western part of the wall had been washed down the slope of the mound; there was a gateway at the east end where the fortifications formed a right angle to the north with rounded towers there as well.”

“The second important criterion of a Neolictic lifestyle is a permanent habitation, be it in a village or in a relatively fair-sized town. A developed architecture with sturdy walls on a stone foundation is attested at Kuruçay from level 12vonward. This earliest building phase at Kuruçay can by no means be considered primitive. In level 11 we came suddenly face-to-face with a fortified town.”

Kuruçay Mound's Rölevesi
Kuruçay Mound’s Röleve

A thick-founded fortification wall with half-round towers, whose existence was found on 11 building levels, was unearthed in 1984. The long wall of this fortification wall, between 1.10 meters and 1.20 meters thick, was usually built with medium-sized collected stones. The two sides of the wall were made of relatively thicker stones, and the middle part was made of small stones and fragments.

On the outer face of the wall facing south, there are two towers with a half-round plan. There are 1 meter wide gaps at the ends of the towers. On the same axis, gaps were left in the main wall and these gaps were closed with a single stone series. This row of stones in the passages most likely indicates the sills.

During the researches carried out in the eastern part, the existence of a second wall, parallel to the main wall, was found at 4 meters intervals. This wall, which continues for 5 meters, is thinner and unlike the main wall, its foundations were built with two rows of stones on top of each other. A wall coming from the north joins this wall by making a right angle. On this wall, the presence of semi-circular towers was detected.

One of the half-round towers of the wall.
One of the half-round towers of the wall.

Following the destruction of the level 11 habitation, settlement on the mound moved slightly to the south. After a short break new habitation representing the early chalcolithic period was founded.

From the Early Neolithic through the early Chalcolithic periods (levels12-8) the architecture in general follows a normal sequence of development without out standing innovations . First in Level 7 does a significant change appear. It would seem that new forms and standards had been introduced in the layout of the settlements as well as in the house plans themselves.

It is possible to say that for the time being, there is no parallel between Kuruçay and the other centers of Anatolia that yielded Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic settlements, except for the last building phase of the Early Chalcolithic Age. The situation is not different in contemporary settlements outside Anatolia. Especially Kuruçay 11’s Level castle is completely unique for now with its general plan and half-round towers. In Southern Mesopotamia, Southern Syria and Palestinian Neolithic centers, this type of defense understanding and architecture does not exist. If the round-planned tower in the PPNA settlement of Jericho is not taken into account, the tradition of the round tower is not a practice seen in these ages. Round towers appear in the Early Bronze Age in Near Eastern architecture.

The 11 layers of the Kuruçay mound are dated between 5850/5800 BC. The oldest layer, 13 layers, dates back to 7100 BC.

Source: DURU. R. “KURUÇAY HÖYÜK– Results of the Excavations 1978-1988 The Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic Periods”, TTK, 1994, ANKARA

Related Articles

1000-year-old Cats and Babies mummies of Turkey’s

30 March 2022

30 March 2022

Cat, baby, and adult mummies in Aksaray, which took its place in history as Cappadocia’s gateway to the west on...

Karahantepe will shed light on the mysteries of the Prehistoric period

7 October 2021

7 October 2021

Karahantepe’s ancient site, which is home to Neolithic-era T-shaped obelisks similar to the ones in the world-famous Göbeklitepe, will reveal...

Archeologists find a 3,500-year-old mosaic in central Turkey

16 September 2021

16 September 2021

Archaeologists have discovered a 3,500-year-old mosaic in central Turkey, which might be one of the world’s oldest. The impressive power...

A Polish diplomat in Turkey has unravels the enigma of a long-lost ancient city

31 January 2022

31 January 2022

Robert D. Rokicki, a diplomat in the Polish embassy in Ankara used a unique method of “histracking” to find the...

Turkish researchers use Artificial Intelligence to read cuneatic Hittite tablets

9 January 2023

9 January 2023

Thanks to a project implemented in Türkiye, 1,954 ancient Hittite tablets are being read for the first time using artificial...

A 3300-year-old seal and a dagger/sword reminiscent of Mycenaean swords were discovered in the Heart of western Anatolia

18 July 2022

18 July 2022

A unique 3300-year-old seal and a sword/dagger reminiscent of Mycenaean swords were unearthed during the excavations of Tavşanlı Höyük (Tavşanlı...

An Ampulla was discovered for the first time in the ancient city of Dara, Turkey

11 January 2022

11 January 2022

An ampulla was found for the first time in the ancient city of Dara, located in the province of Mardin...

“Mosaic of the Wine Harvest” mosaic to be exhibited in November in Turkey’s Hatay

26 October 2021

26 October 2021

The mosaic depicting the grape harvest, which is considered to date from the Late Roman period, equivalent to the 5th...

Newly Discovered Two Fortress Settlements and a New Type of Open-Air Temple in Eastern Anatolia Region of Türkiye

26 March 2024

26 March 2024

Two fortress settlements and two new open-air temples were discovered during a survey in Tunceli province in the Eastern Anatolia...

5,000-Year-Old “Küllüoba Bread” Discovered in Türkiye Reveals Ancient Baking and Fertility Rituals

30 May 2025

30 May 2025

5,000-year-old bread found in Küllüoba Höyük, Turkey reveals ancient baking methods and fertility rituals. Unique archaeological discovery with rich nutritional...

Urartian-Era Fortress with 50 Rooms Discovered at 3,000 Meters in Eastern Türkiye

5 August 2025

5 August 2025

Archaeologists uncover a massive high-altitude fortress believed to date back to the Iron Age, with ties to the ancient Urartian...

An inscription containing the Turk name was discovered for the first time in Anatolia

3 September 2022

3 September 2022

For the first time in the pre-Islamic Early period Turkish history, an inscription bearing the inscription expression “Turk” and written...

A mosaic floor from the 2nd century BC depicting the muse Kalliope was discovered in ancient city of Side, southern Türkiye

24 May 2024

24 May 2024

During the excavations carried out in the ancient city of Side, a mosaic floor from the second century BC, depicting...

Ancient Hittite Archives Unearthed at Kayalıpınar: 56 Cuneiform Tablets and 22 Seal Impressions Found

18 September 2025

18 September 2025

Archaeologists excavating the ancient Hittite city of Kayalıpınar (ancient Šamuḫa) in Sivas province have uncovered a remarkable collection of 56...

An 1800-year-old geometric patterned mosaic was discovered in Turkey’s ancient city of Bergama

17 June 2022

17 June 2022

During excavations surrounding the Red Basilica at Pergamon, an ancient city in western Turkey that is a UNESCO World Heritage...