The introductory meeting of Karahantepe, which is included in the Şanlıurfa Neolithic Age Research Project, was held by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Turkish Tourism Development and Promotion Agency (TGA).
Ersoy explained that Karahantepe, which is within the borders of Haliliye district of Şanlıurfa, was registered as a first degree archaeological site in 2007, and that the interest in Karahantepe increased in parallel with the excavations in Göbeklitepe.
“Along with Göbeklitepe, which has had serious repercussions in the world of archeology and history, Karahantepe has also attracted the attention of many scientists and the region has become a visited place in this direction.” Ersoy said that as a result of the studies, many obelisks were identified.
Stating that there are two important points in the works in Karahantepe, Minister Ersoy said, “First, the round planned structures known from Göbeklitepe and its contemporaries are concentrated in certain parts of the area. Secondly, next to this area, there is a region with a majority of daily use items, in other words, a residential area. With the studies to be done here, it is aimed to reach information about the settlers and settlements of the period that have not yet been explored in Göbeklitepe.” made its assessment.
Mehmet Nuri Ersoy noted that excavation and restoration works were carried out in Karahantepe and Göbeklitepe by an interdisciplinary team of approximately 70 people, consisting of Turkish and foreign scientists, and said, “I believe that the results of these studies will reveal serious findings and information for the world of archeology, just like in Göbeklitepe. ” said.
Emphasizing that the Şanlıurfa Neolithic Research Project is the largest and most comprehensive archaeological project in Turkey, Ersoy continued:
“Within the scope of the project, Göbeklitepe being the center, it is aimed to make Karahantepe one of the most important stops among the Neolithic Period settlements in our country. I would like to emphasize that we do not make any changes to the names. Each region will continue to be called by its own name, and Taş Tepes will be the roof name of all within a line of approximately 100 kilometers. Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe main station in the project; In areas such as Sefertepe, Taşlıtepe and Ayanlar Höyük, they are planned as intermediate stations. We aim to open the visitor center at Karahantepe main station in 2022.”
Stating that he continues to establish a Neolithic Research Center where information about the excavations and researches to be carried out within the scope of the Stone Hills Project will be collected and where scientists can conduct their studies, Ersoy said that archaeological excavations are currently ongoing in 7 areas.
Ersoy also stated that they will realize works such as visitor reception and promotion centers, exhibition and landscaping projects, transportation and infrastructure arrangements, and said, “We foresee a public investment of 127 million liras, excluding current and personnel expenses. I already wish good luck to our country, our world of science, culture and archeology, tourism and humanity.” used the phrases.
Neolithic Period Project Executive Board Member Prof. Dr. Gülriz Kozbe also shared the work to be done to unearth the excavations of the Neolithic period and stated that there are around 7 thousand cultural assets in Şanlıurfa.
Karahantepe Ruins Excavation Head Prof. Dr. prof. Dr. Necmi Karul, on the other hand, explained that a strenuous archaeological work was carried out and that the unknowns about the settlements were found through excavations, gave information about the Neolithic period and shared detailed information about the places where the excavations were carried out.
Stating that they encountered monumental structures for the first time in the region and that the obelisks in the excavation areas attracted attention, Karul stated that animal depictions in Karahantepe attracted attention and that the motifs in these structures had the feature of a common social memory.
prof. Dr. Karul underlined that Karahantepe should be evaluated together with Göbeklitepe, and stated that in the finds in Karahantepe, it was seen that people concentrated on human paintings rather than animals with the transition to settled order.
After the speeches, Minister Ersoy answered the questions of the journalists and then, with the delegation accompanying him, he examined the Karahantepe Ruins, where excavations were carried out.
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