Boncuklu Tarla
Boncuklu Tarla is located in Turkey
Boncuklu Tarla
Shown within Turkey
Boncuklu Tarla is located in Near East
Boncuklu Tarla
Boncuklu Tarla (Near East)
LocationIlısu, Dargeçit, Mardin Province, Turkey
RegionSoutheastern Anatolia
Coordinates37°31′46″N 41°49′56″E / 37.529444°N 41.832361°E / 37.529444; 41.832361
Site notes
Discovered2008
Excavation dates2012–ongoing

Boncuklu Tarla is an archaeological site in the Southeastern Anatolia of Turkey. It is the remains of a settlement occupied from the Late Epipalaeolithic to Pre-Pottery Neolithic B periods, starting over 12,000 years ago. It was discovered in 2008 during an archaeological survey in advance of the construction of the Ilısu Dam and has been excavated by a team from Mardin Museum since 2012.[1]

The discovery of a large communal building with stone pillars was reported at Boncuklu Tarla in 2019, prompting comparisons to Göbekli Tepe.[2][3] It is an early example of rectangular plan architecture.[4] The excavators also claimed to have found a sewer system, which if confirmed would be the oldest known in the world.[5][6]

  1. ^ Ergül, Kodaş (2019). "Un Nouveau Site du Néolithique Précéramique dans la Vallée du Haut Tigre: Résultats Préliminaires de Boncuklu Tarla" [A New Aceramic Neolithic Site in the Upper Tigris Valley: Preliminary results of Boncuklu Tarla] (PDF). Neo-Lithics (in French). 19. Ex Oriente: 3–15.
  2. ^ "Ancient temple found in Mardin". Hürriyet Daily News. 2019-10-31.
  3. ^ "Mardin'de Göbeklitepe ile yaşıt bir yapı gün yüzüne çıkarıldı". T24 (in Turkish). 2019-11-01.
  4. ^ Kodaş, Ergül (May 2021). "Communal Architecture at Boncuklu Tarla, Mardin Province, Turkey". Near Eastern Archaeology. 82 (2): 159–165. doi:10.1086/714072. S2CID 234794509.
  5. ^ Sincar, Halil Ibrahim (7 November 2019). "Archaeologists unearth ancient settlement in SE Turkey". Anadolu Agency.
  6. ^ "Neolithic Sewer System Uncovered in Southeastern Turkey". Archaeology Magazine. Archaeological Institute of America. 2019-11-08.
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