Excavations in rock tombs to bare Gobeklitepe's mystery

Works in Kizilkoyun Necropolis area expected to shed light on world's oldest known temple Gobeklitepe in Turkey
Rauf Maltas |
05.09.2020



SANLIURFA, Turkey

Turkish archaeologists began excavations in an area where 2,000-year-old rock tombs were unearthed and bear resemblance to the discoveries in the ancient site of Gobeklitepe, known as the world's oldest temple.

Sanliurfa Metropolitan Municipality in cooperation with the Culture and Tourism Ministry carries out the excavations in the Kizilkoyun Necropolis area, where 2,000-year-old rock tombs were discovered.

The excavation, which started near the area where the statue of Balikligol dating to 9500 B.C. is located, created excitement that new discoveries may also be made.

The statue -- also known as Urfa Man, 1.80 meters tall and dubbed the “oldest naturalistic life-sized sculpture of a human” -- attracts attention with its similarity to the discoveries in Gobeklitepe.

New artifacts are expected to be found to solve the mystery of Gobeklitepe in the excavations that started in the area where some mosaics depicting hunting Amazon queens were found earlier.

More:
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/excavations-in-rock-tombs-to-bare-gobeklitepe-s-mystery/1964138