Due to low water levels in the Ataturk Dam reservoir in Adıyaman, a massive Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) archaeological site has emerged in the area, yielding important new evidence related to the Tas Tepilir (Stone Hills) cultural phenomenon.
The site became exposed due to the significant drop in water levels within the reservoir basin, and contains important finds, including ritual masonry and T-shaped stone pillars, which were built before the advent of permanent urban civilization. Archaeologists from Adıyaman University and staff from the local museum have begun carrying out immediate salvage activities for these artifacts, so that they can document the materials before they are immersed again in water. According to the study published in The Archaeologist, this discovery provides evidence that these sophisticated symbolic and architectural traditions that were previously assumed to exist only at Gobekletepe, actually extended across the Euphrates basins, and thus represent a much larger geographical area than was previously recognized as containing possible Neolithic activity.
Therefore, the information provided by this site is essential for expanding knowledge of the Neolithic and significantly changes the perspective of the region as one of the original regions of human ritual and social complexity.
A Neolithic structure was discovered in turkey
After witnessing a significant stagnation in its reservoir levels, archaeologists from the Adiyaman Museum Directorate discovered T-shaped stone pillars near the village of Kiziluz, in the Samsat district.
Mustafa Çelik, deputy director of the Adıyaman Museum, said: “There is evidence that these relics were originally buried at a depth of two to three meters, but are now exposed due to erosion caused by the dam’s water.”
According to experts, these columns and the associated courtyard represent a model of the pre-Neolithic period, which is estimated to be about 11,000 years old.
Architectural features of the city Tash Tipler Culture
Professor Dr. Sabahattin Azer from Adıyaman University stated that the structures represent evidence of the “Taş Tepilar” culture, which is characterized by a large number of huge, vertically oriented, human-shaped stone columns in the area.
The same type of shallow, hollow-shaped buildings, surrounded by large, flat, rectangular stones, with a single T-shaped column in the middle, have been described as “ritual centers” located in Şanlıurfa.
The results reveal that the cultural influence of the Stone Mounds extended further northwest into the Euphrates River corridor than other previously documented archaeological sites.
Rescue operations and conservation efforts at the Ataturk Dam site
Because it is located within a reservoir area, the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism has classified the site as a “salvage excavation.” Fluctuations in dam levels pose a threat of additional erosion from water or permanent inundation. To preserve and display many of the transported artifacts, archaeologists moved them to the ancient city of Berry. Meanwhile, archaeologists are working quickly to document the remaining structures before the water rises again to the pool’s maximum height.