Tas Tepeler Discoveries Redraw the Map of Early Civilization in Turkey
New Neolithic finds from one of the world’s most important prehistoric landscapes were unveiled on Wednesday, as Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Ministry showcased fresh discoveries from the Taş Tepeler project near the southeastern city of Şanlıurfa. Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy presented the artifacts at the Karahantepe Visitor Center, saying they offer a new window into life some 12,000 years ago.
At Göbeklitepe, the site widely described by archaeologists as the world’s earliest known temple complex, excavators uncovered a human sculpture “which is believed to have been placed as a votive offering.” Ersoy called it “a highly aesthetic and striking example of Neolithic sculptural style.”
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The minister also revealed two human-face reliefs found during the 2025 excavation season at Sefertepe, another Neolithic mound in the Taş Tepeler cluster. He said the expressive carvings show an artistic style different from those documented so far at Göbeklitepe, Karahantepe, and Sayburç.
A further find at Sefertepe—a double-faced human motif carved into a black serpentine bead—points to a complex symbolic and ritual world, Ersoy said, suggesting that prehistoric communities in the region developed rich belief systems alongside permanent settlement.
Taken together, the discoveries suggest dense, tiered communities once spread across this plateau, with organized social and ritual life long before the advent of cities in Mesopotamia.
Taş Tepeler, which means “Stone Hills,” refers to a group of Neolithic archaeological sites around Şanlıurfa that has become a flagship project for Turkey’s efforts to rewrite the story of early human civilization, drawing researchers and tourists from around the world.
