Stone Tepeler Project

The Taş Tepeler (Şanlıurfa Neolithic Research) Project is a large-scale archaeological initiative encompassing 11 archaeological sites around Şanlıurfa, aiming to investigate the transition to settled life and the early phases of the Neolithic period. The project seeks to comprehensively document and evaluate settlements, cult structures, public spaces, elements of daily life, and symbolic traditions dating between the 10th and 7th millennia BCE.

In scope, Taş Tepeler addresses one of the earliest and most intensive settlement networks identified in Anatolia to date, uniting excavations at sites such as Göbeklitepe, Karahantepe, Sefer Tepe, Sayburç, Harbetsuvan, Çakmaktepe, Yoğunburç, and Söğüt Tarlası under a single research program.

Research Objectives and Scope

Archaeology: The project focuses on defining the architectural layouts, public and ritual structures, traces of daily life, and production strategies of Neolithic communities. Excavations have revealed data on residential arrangements, storage areas, stone tool techniques, and the relief and sculpture tradition. Particularly, the figurative sculptures found at Karahantepe and Sayburç highlight the diversity of rituals and symbolic practices.

Paleo-environmental Research: Paleo-environmental studies examining the relationship between prehistoric communities and their natural surroundings are a core component of the project. Research at the Karahantepe excavation site indicates a focus on climate, vegetation, natural resource use, and the ecosystem of the Tek Tek Mountains. Geoarchaeological and paleoclimatic analyses investigate how early settled hunter-gatherer groups utilized their environment and how these environmental conditions influenced settlement continuity.

Cultural Heritage Management: The project includes not only excavation work but also the conservation, restoration, and development of management plans for the sites. Conservation and restoration processes are underway for the Lion Structure and Structure C at Göbeklitepe; visitor management, exhibition strategies, and long-term preservation practices are also being planned. Comprehensive efforts are ongoing at Karahantepe to preserve architectural integrity.

Ethnoarchaeology: Ethnoarchaeological studies within the project employ contemporary local community practices as analogies to better understand Neolithic lifeways. This approach contributes to interpreting production techniques, natural resource utilization, and forms of ritual behavior.

Scientific Framework and Collaborations

The Taş Tepeler Project conducts collaborative research with various universities and research institutions. With participation from 36 academic institutions, including Çukurova, Ege, Harran, and Istanbul Universities, the project has acquired a multidisciplinary character. As of 2025, the number of scientists and students involved in the project has reached 219.

This broad participation contributes to the establishment of a regional research network for Neolithic archaeology.

Findings and Key Discoveries

Sculptures and Reliefs

The upright-mouthed “death face” sculpture, discovered at Sayburç, constitutes a unique example related to symbolic rituals. Additionally, reliefs, figurative stone depictions, and standing stones carved in diverse styles at Göbeklitepe and surrounding areas provide new insights into the belief systems of the Neolithic period.

Architecture and Settlement Organization

The oval and circular structures uncovered at Karahantepe provide significant information regarding community spatial organization and public usage areas. Findings reflecting subsistence strategies include storage areas, everyday stone tools, and traces of production.

Key Centers within the Taş Tepeler Project

The project encompasses 11 archaeological centers.

Göbeklitepe

Located approximately 15 km northeast of the center of Şanlıurfa, atop the Germuş Mountain Range, Göbeklitepe is an early Neolithic settlement (circa 9600–7750 BCE). It is one of the earliest and most monumental centers within Taş Tepeler, distinguished by its T-shaped monumental standing stones, circular structures, and rich reliefs.

Karahantepe

Located in the east of Şanlıurfa, within the boundaries of Tek Tek Mountains National Park, Karahantepe is a major Neolithic center where residential and public areas coexist, featuring circular and rectangular public structures, numerous standing stones, and associated ritual spaces.

Sayburç

A Neolithic settlement situated within the modern settlement on the southern slopes of the Eastern Taurus Mountains. It stands out as a site illuminating the ritual and symbolic world of early communities through reliefs depicting human and animal figures.

Sefer Tepe

Located between Birecik and Viranşehir to the east of Şanlıurfa, Sefer Tepe is a center where stone craftsmanship and ritual architecture are evident, featuring isolated standing stones, circular structures, and a dense assemblage of flint artifacts.

Harbetsuvan Tepesi

Located approximately 40 km from Şanlıurfa, on the edge of the Tek Tek Mountains plateau, Harbetsuvan Tepesi reveals extensive surface finds, standing stone remnants, and architectural traces identified through geophysical surveys, indicating a large-scale settlement with intensive use during the early Neolithic period.

Çakmaktepe

Located in the east of Şanlıurfa, Çakmaktepe is a settlement where residential and workshop areas from the Neolithic period have been identified. A rich assemblage of stone tools associated with flint production, ground surface arrangements, and figurative stone finds demonstrate that the site combined daily production with symbolic practices.

Gürcütepe

Located in the south of Şanlıurfa near the Harran Plain, Gürcütepe provides important data on the ceramic Neolithic phases of the region and the development of agricultural and pastoral lifeways, through its pottery and stone tool assemblages and animal figurines.

Söğüt Tarlası–Biris Cemetery

Located 32 km northwest of the Şanlıurfa provincial center, immediately west of the Bozova district center, this multi-period settlement and cemetery complex occupies a broad area of low mounds and valleys. First identified in surface surveys in 1963 and excavated in 1964, it has been under renewed investigation since 2022 as part of the Taş Tepeler – Şanlıurfa Neolithic Research Project. The site offers insights into burial traditions of early farmer-forager communities, with stratigraphy extending from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic to later periods through the Biris Cemetery.

Significance of the Project

The Taş Tepeler Project is recognized as one of the most comprehensive prehistoric research initiatives ever conducted in Türkiye, aiming to create a holistic dataset on the earliest phases of the Neolithic period. The project significantly advances the detailed understanding of cultural and social life in Anatolia 12,000 years ago. The Taş Tepeler region is emphasized as possessing the status of “the Neolithic capital of the world.”

Visitation and Public Outreach

Some sites associated with the project are open to visitors. International exhibitions, public outreach programs, and research presentations are regularly held at Göbeklitepe and Karahantepe; future exhibitions are planned in countries such as Japan and the United Kingdom.