Posted on 09/02/2025 9:18:39 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A newly uncovered archaeological site in southeastern Turkey may predate Göbeklitepe, long considered the world’s oldest known temple complex. The discovery at Mendik Tepe, located in the rural Payamlı neighborhood of Eyyübiye district in Şanlıurfa province, is offering early insights into the Neolithic era and reshaping timelines of early human settlement in the region.
Researchers believe the site may date back to the very beginning of the Neolithic period, when humans first began shifting from mobile foraging to settled living. Excavation director Prof. Douglas Baird, from the University of Liverpool’s Department of Archaeology, said the team is investigating the early stages of plant cultivation and permanent settlement at Mendik Tepe, adding that the site may provide critical evidence of humanity’s transition to agriculture.
He noted that the findings could be older than those at Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe, two of the region’s most significant prehistoric sites.
Excavation efforts and early discoveries
The excavation began in 2024 and is being carried out in collaboration with the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum. The British Institute of Archaeology supports the project and is part of the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry’s Taş Tepeler (Stone Hills) initiative.
Initial fieldwork has revealed structures of various sizes. According to Baird, trenches opened last year immediately exposed multiple buildings.
Grecian Delight supports Greece 🔥Breaking: Mendik Tepe — possibly older than Göbekli Tepe!
New excavations in Şanlıurfa's Mendik Tepe, part of the "Taş Tepeler Project," are revealing structures dating to the earliest Neolithic, possibly predating even the renowned UNESCO-listed Göbekli Tepe. Led by Prof.… pic.twitter.com/2EfV5KPEhS
— History Content (@HistContent) August 28, 2025
Some were small—around three meters (just under 10 feet) in diameter—while others measured four or five meters (13 and 16 feet respectively), with a few significantly larger. He said the current focus is to understand the purpose of these structures and why their dimensions vary so widely.
One key distinction, Baird pointed out, is that while Mendik Tepe features pillar-like elements, they are smaller and lack the iconic T-shape found in the monumental architecture of Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe.
He emphasized that the architectural style already shows important differences, suggesting that the community that built Mendik Tepe may have had different cultural or functional priorities.
Connection to other Neolithic sites Mendik Tepe was first identified by archaeologist Fatma Şahin, who also leads the excavation at nearby Çakmak Tepe.
Baird said the two sites appear to belong to the same early period and may predate most excavated layers at Göbeklitepe, which was first discovered in 1963 by teams from Istanbul and Chicago universities. That site, now a UNESCO World Heritage location, dates back 12,000 years.
As excavations continue, archaeologists anticipate further discoveries that could shift understanding of early human development in this part of Turkey.
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The rest of the Gobekli Tepe keyword, sorted:
Thanks BenLurkin.
It’s NOT Mt. Ararat - it’s “the mountains of Ararat.” IOW, a mountain range named for a particular mountain, so there’s a much wider area over which to search.
Karahantepe
the word ‘Karahani’ in Turkish designates a whorehouse. Specifically the kind used for wives to work off their husband’s debts, via a largish hole in a wooden wall.
Even though these jokers didn’t give us even the courtesy of a date range, it is clear that this is something that hunter-gathers simply do not build. Same with Göbekli Tepe. I wonder when it is that Big Archaeology will finally admit that they have not given us the complete story, that recent discoveries have completely up, ended the previously accepted timeline of human history. It seems incredibly clear that there was some kind of an advanced civilization prior to the end of the last Ice Age, circa 11,600 years ago. At that point, there was some kind of a huge natural disaster (probably a hit from multiple pieces of a single comer), which dramatically accelerated the melting of the ice sheets in North America and Europe, destroying that advanced civilization. Maybe if Big Archeology would actually admit that their prior conclusions were wrong, because new evidence came to (not because they’re idiots), we could have a better understanding that these natural disasters can and do happen, and that we need to prepare, as a civilization, for whatever may come along next. We might have one day left before such an impact occurs again, or we may have 10,000 years, nobody knows. But we do need to prepare - and part of that preparation involves getting out to space as quickly as possible so that we can avoid having all of our eggs in one basket, and maybe even have a better chance to see something coming in our direction and actually do something about it.
Archaeology might seem like a very arcane subject, and it probably bores most people. But if we don’t know the truth about our history, if we cannot see patterns because prior events have been purposely hidden from us to protect the reputation of a very few people, then we will be unable as a civilization to take the proper measures. This could literally make the difference between civilization, surviving, or not.
Here’s the corrected version:
Even though these jokers didn’t give us even the courtesy of a date range, it is clear that this is something that hunter-gathers simply do not build. Same with Göbekli Tepe. I wonder when it is that Big Archaeology will finally admit that they have not given us the complete story, that recent discoveries have completely up-ended the previously accepted timeline of human history. It seems incredibly clear that there was some kind of an advanced civilization prior to the end of the last Ice Age, circa 11,600 years ago. At that point, there was some kind of a huge natural disaster (probably a hit from multiple pieces of a single comet), which dramatically accelerated the melting of the ice sheets in North America and Europe, destroying that advanced civilization and making hundreds of species of megafauna go extinct. Maybe if Big Archeology would actually admit that their prior conclusions were wrong, because new evidence came to light (not because they’re idiots), we could have a better understanding that these natural disasters can and do happen, and that we need to prepare, as a civilization, for whatever may come along next. We might have one day left before such an impact occurs again, or we may have 10,000 years, nobody knows. But we do need to prepare - and part of that preparation involves getting out to space as quickly as possible so that we can avoid having all of our eggs in one basket, and maybe even have a better chance to see something coming in our direction and actually be able to do something about it.
Archaeology might seem like a very arcane subject, and it probably bores most people. But if we don’t know the truth about our history, if we cannot see patterns because prior events have been purposely hidden from us to protect the reputations of a very few people, then we will be unable as a civilization to take the proper measures. This could literally make the difference between civilization, surviving, or not.
You wrote: It’s NOT Mt. Ararat - it’s “the mountains of Ararat.” IOW, a mountain range named for a particular mountain, so there’s a much wider area over which to search.
_____________
Thanks. Yes. I first quoted Genesis: “the mountains of Ararat.”
Here’s the distance question rephrased to use the exact Genesis wording:
How far from the mountains of Ararat is Mendik Tepe?
ai:
Mendik Tepe is approximately 376 miles (605 km) south of the mountains of Ararat.
question:
Where are the mountains of Ararat located?
ai:
The Mountains of Ararat, most famously Mount Ararat, are located in extreme northeastern Turkey, near the borders of Armenia, Iran, and Azerbaijan. The majestic volcanic massif features two peaks: Big Ararat (the highest mountain in Turkey) and the smaller Little Ararat.
question:
Where in Turkey is the archaeological site Mendik Tepe located?
ai:
The archaeological site of Mendik Tepe is located in the Şanlıurfa province of southeastern Turkey, in the rural Eyyübiye district near Payamlı village.
My comment: Other sources might locate things differently. I’m not familiar with the geography.
Thank you for another long list of interesting links.
Regarding the climate 11k years ago, that would be at the end of the millennia+ years of the Younger Dryas cold spell. This followed the extraterrestrial attack on the Northern Hemisphere, around 13k years ago. The space rocks that fell at that time wiped out the Clovis culture, and probably resulted in the die out of the large mammals which early Americans have been accused of killing off. The weather at that time was probably much colder and wetter, and not conducive to grape culture.
If they find one it will be interesting. But so far nothing.
Hmm...that one in the middle sort of looks like 0bama’s library in Chicago. Only better.
My pleasure.
I am going from memory, but I think there was a very major eruption of Vesuvius around 25kya. Also there are volcanic intrusive pillars in France from around that time. Around 22kya there was a major eruption of SakaruJima (sp?) in Japan which left a crater about 11 miles in diameter. There is still an active volcano at the edge of that ocean filled crater.
The most recent cold/warm cycle started around 125,000 years ago. Around 75kya there was a huge eruption (I think Indonesia) which left a crater about 18 by 65 miles in diameter. This caused a number of years of fatal winter weather. Some scientists say the human breeding population was reduced to around 10,000 people. I have noticed that findings of human activity finally began to show up again around 50kya, For example people moving to Australia, since the water levels were much lower then and open water areas were much smaller and thus could be crossed by rafts.
Around 75kya there was a huge eruption (I think Indonesia) which left a crater about 18 by 65 miles in diameter.
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Mt. Toba.
Carpe Diem "Yeah, let the buyer beware."
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