8 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Traces of 9300-year-old settlement unearthed near Volcanic Cappadocia in central Turkey

During the most recent excavations at Sırçalıtepe Mound (Sırçalıtepe Höyük) in Türkiye’s central Niğde province, archaeologists discovered traces of a permanent settlement dating back at least 9,300 years.

Head of the Excavation Team, Associate Professor Semra Balcı, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the mound is located in an area close to obsidian sources in the volcanic Cappadocia region.

Sırçalıtepe Mound is located in the Volcanic Cappadocia region, within the borders of the Kayırlı village in the province of Niğde. With its location, it can be characterized as the nearest site to the Göllüdağ and Nenezi Dağ obsidian sources in the region.

Balcı stated that in the first surveys conducted in 2016, the obsidian processing area, bone, and ground stone tools attracted their attention.

Photo: AA

This year at the excavation site  Balcı, of Istanbul University, said her team had found bone and obsidian tools used in daily life, along with beads and other objects thought to be for ornamental purposes.

Balcı stated that now that the dig season is over, she and her team will continue to analyze their findings in artifacts and new architectural field data in their workshops.

She added that the two samples they found had been radiocarbon dated, revealing they were 9,600-9,300 years old.

Noting that the dig also yielded specimens of oval arrowheads, she said: “Another important point is that no other site has so far been excavated with an obsidian working area and settlement together.”

Photo: AA

At Sırçalıtepe, excavations were conducted in two different locations on the mound. Both trenches contain obsidian knapping debris in proportions typically found in workshop areas. One trench is from the slope and contains documented architectural remains and finds related to daily life. The other trench is from the top of the mound.

Mudbrick walls, lime-plastered floors, and substantial ovens are among the architectural relics that were found in the slope trench. However, the investigated area from the top trench with abundant cores and knapping debris reveals the difference between Sırçalıtepe and other contemporaneous sites in the region.

Bone object with excavation decoration found during the 2022 studies. Photo: AA

With its obsidian artifacts, in particular, Sırçalıtepe may be able to shed light on the connection between the workshop and the site. On a collection of obsidian artifacts, portable XRF analyses revealed that the inhabitants of the settlement used obsidian sources from Acıgöl, Nenezi Dağ, and Göllüdağ.

Related Articles

Ancient terracotta dancers, and musicians unearthed in China

13 November 2022

13 November 2022

Chinese archaeologists recently discovered a large group of terracotta figurines from a tomb in a group dating to the Northern...

Interesting discovery at Crowland digs, a human poo from the Saxon period or coprolite found

16 August 2021

16 August 2021

Excavations in Abbey Church Field in Crowland, near Peterborough, have also yielded such amazing finds results for archaeologists. The archaeological...

Sensational Discovery in Kazakhstan: Rare Turko-Sughd Early Medieval Coin Discovered in Almaty Region

24 June 2024

24 June 2024

A sensational discovery was made in the Kogaly Valley, two hours from Almaty, Kazakhstan. For the first time in Kazakhstan,...

Archaeologists have uncovered the first human representations of the people of mythical Tartessos

19 April 2023

19 April 2023

Archaeologists representing Spain’s National Research Council (CSIS) excavating at the site of Casas del Turunuelo have uncovered the first human...

Polish archaeologists discover papyruses containing a list of Roman centurions at Berenike

23 May 2024

23 May 2024

Papyruses with lists of Roman centurions stationed in Egypt were found by Polish archaeologists in Berenike. These unique documents were...

Archaeologists Reveals Rare Evidence of Early Human Presence in Tajikistan

6 November 2024

6 November 2024

Archaeologists have discovered a multi-layered archaeological site in the Zeravshan Valley of central Tajikistan that reveals early human settlement in...

Archaeologists find a 5,000-year-old piece of wood in Orkney, which they describe as “astonishing”

10 August 2021

10 August 2021

Archaeologists continue to make surprising discoveries in Orkney. Although organic materials are quite difficult to find, archaeologists have found a...

In Jerusalem, a 2700-year-old private toilet from the First Temple era was unearthed

5 October 2021

5 October 2021

The Israel Antiquities Authority discovered a private toilet from the First Temple Period on the Armon Hanatziv promenade in Jerusalem,...

Archaeologists find 4 Umayyad epigraphs in the ancient city Knidos

24 May 2022

24 May 2022

Archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Knidos connected to Datça District of Muğla province in western Turkey have unearthed...

Luxurious Feather Beds of Iron Age Warriors

27 March 2021

27 March 2021

According to a new study, two warriors from the 7th century in Sweden were buried in graves where they were...

Nearly intact 1,800-year-old bouquets of flowers found in Teotihuacan

14 August 2021

14 August 2021

In the ruined city of Teotihuacan, Mexico, at a depth of 18 meters, inside the tunnel under the pyramid of...

Mythical Viking stronghold Jomsborg could be on Hangman’s Hill near Wolin, archaeologist say

14 July 2023

14 July 2023

A new hypothesis about the location of the mythical Viking stronghold on Hangman’s Hill near Wolin (West Pomerania) has been...

A new study reveals the Achaemenid Kingdom paid its workers silver

21 September 2021

21 September 2021

A new study on inscribed clay tablets that were used in the treasury archives of the Achaemenid Empire revealed that...

Lovingly gazing mosaics restored in Turkey’s Metropolis

16 October 2021

16 October 2021

In the ancient city of Metropolis in the Torbali district of the western Izmir province, mosaics portraying Eros, the Greek...

Europe’s earliest cities had a predominantly vegetarian diet

27 December 2023

27 December 2023

The population of the Copper Age mega-sites in what is now Ukraine and Moldova had a predominantly vegetarian diet. In...