Boncuklu Tarla offers new findings

MARDİN

A 2.2-meter-tall carved stone stele, dating back 12,000 years, has been discovered during excavations at Boncuklu Tarla (Beaded Field) in Mardin's Dargeçit district, shedding new light on human history.

The region, home to 25 civilizations throughout history — including the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Hittites, Assyrians, Urartians, Romans, Abbasids, Seljuks, and Ottomans — has been the focus of archaeological excavations since 2012. These efforts, part of the "Documentation and Rescue of Cultural Assets Within the Interaction Zone of the Ilısu Dam and HEPP Project," are led by the Mardin Museum Directorate, with work continuing intermittently.

Included in the "Heritage to the Future Project" of the Culture and Tourism Ministry this year, the 2.5-hectare Boncuklu Tarla has offered numerous artifacts spanning the period from the Late Epipaleolithic to the Neolithic Age.

Led by Associate Professor Ergül Kodaş, a faculty member in the Department of Archaeology at Mardin Artuklu University, excavations are being carried out with research assistants, an archaeozoologist, an archaeobotanist and archaeologists.

Remains of a public building estimated to be approximately 12,000 years old were uncovered during the excavation works.

Among the remains of this building, which has a diameter of approximately 10 meters, a 2.2-meter-tall stele, miniature steles, beads, arrowheads and bull horns were also unearthed.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Kodaş stated that Boncuklu Tarla is a settlement site dated to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period and that the area was named so because locals found many beads.

Explaining that this year’s excavations were initiated under the "Heritage to the Future Project" of the Culture and Tourism Ministry, Kodaş said:

"Initially, we began excavations in what we call the eastern area, where we found many steles. In this context, we reached a new building where a stele was discovered. We have only been able to excavate part of this structure so far. This building has allowed us to clearly interpret the layers dating to the early phases of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Period throughout Boncuklu Tarla. The building was not used just once; it was renovated at least four times, and with each renovation, the floor was filled and reused. This demonstrates that the building was used for a long time and, unlike previously identified buildings at Boncuklu Tarla, was not buried entirely after a single use — indicating a different practice."

Highlighting the significance of reaching the stele within the building, Kodaş said, "This is the first time such a large stele has been found, both in Boncuklu Tarla and in the Upper Tigris Valley."

Noting that the miniature stele found inside the building resembles the "T-shaped" steles found in the Şanlıurfa region, Kodaş emphasized its importance in showing the relationship between the two regions.

Pointing out that all four phases of the building belong to the early phases of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period, Kodaş said: "Previously, we observed that similar buildings found in Boncuklu Tarla were used only once and completely filled. However, the fact that this building was used for a long time has allowed us to obtain new scientific data."

Kodaş explained that they have discovered nine public buildings in Boncuklu Tarla, all of which include architectural elements such as "steles" or "piers" similar to steles, and that there is no data or findings suggesting these were residential structures.

Stating that the uncovered building is not residential but a public building, Kodaş added: "We found miniature steles and small symbolic objects inside, which may hold symbolic value. We discovered many bull horns and pieces of bull heads. This also indicates that this building, like the others, was a special structure, a public building. However, this one is different because of the size of the stele, the findings inside it, and the fact that it was reused at least four times instead of just once. We believe it dates to 10,000 B.C., although there is no carbon analysis yet. The small artifacts and especially the chipped stone tools we found inside the building are very similar to objects previously unearthed in the same layers at Boncuklu Tarla, contemporary with them. It was used in the same process, but it was used for a long time, unlike the others. We estimate that it is a building approximately 12,000 years old."

Kodaş concluded by noting the significant support provided by the Governorship and some institutions for the excavations at Boncuklu Tarla under the Heritage to the Future Project, emphasizing their goal to continue the planned excavations to uncover new historical treasures.