A Neolithic-era temple with three mostly-intact steles unearthed at archaeologic excavations in southeastern Turkey's Mardin province.
Neolithic Village_1
© Arkeolojik Haber
The ancient temple is estimated to be 11,300-years-old. Excavations in the area were initially launched in 2012 in the Ilısu neighborhood of Dargeçit district in Mardin. Mardin is known to have been home to various civilizations such as Sumerians, Babylonians, Hittites, Assyrians, and Romans as well as Seljuk and Ottoman Turks.

Ergül Kodaş of Mardin Artuklu University's Archaeology Department, who is the scientific counselor to the excavations at the Boncuklu Tarla (Beaded Field) site - the earliest known human settlement in the city - told Anadolu Agency that the newly unearthed temple belongs to the same era as the Göbeklitepe excavation site in southeastern Şanlıurfa province. Göbeklitepe is considered the birthplace of early civilizations.

Neolithic Village_2
© Arkeolojik Haber
Kodaş said they had managed to unearth four steles, three of which were very well preserved, but that excavations are still ongoing around the temple.

Neolithic Village_3
© Arkeolojik Haber
Kodaş noted that archaeologists have not yet reached the base of the temple, which was made of rubble walls and a hardened clay base, adding that it might take a month to reach the foundation.

Neoltihic Village_4
© Arkeolojik Haber
Stating that they haven't come across any figures on the steles so far, Kodaş noted that the 80-square-meter temple is similar to one previously unearthed in Göbeklitepe.

Source: Anadolu Agency