Stone Hills introduced in Şanlıurfa

The Culture and Tourism Ministry and the Turkish Tourism Development and Promotion Agency (TGA) have introduced the Stone Hills, which host the first examples of settled life and social communities in the world, at an event held at the Şanlıurfa Museum.

The opening ceremony of the "Karahantepe and Neolithic Man" exhibition was also held during the event.

Speaking at the ceremony, Culture and Tourism Minister Nuri Ersoy said that the number of Turkish excavations increased from 57 to 147, and the total amount of funds allocated to excavations and research reached 58 million Turkish Liras from 1.9 million liras.

Stating that Göbeklitepe, which was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2018, updated the information in archeology and all related branches.

"We called it 'Zero Point of History.' We will now go deeper. Because Göbeklitepe is not the one and only," he added.

Ersoy noted that with 12 excavations to be carried out within the scope of the project, they will be interpreting the unknown stories of Anatolia's contribution to the history of humanity.

"As part of this project, new settlements were discovered through surveys carried out in two regions. We are still continuing archaeological excavations in seven areas in Göbeklitepe, Karahantepe, Gürcütepe, Sayburç, Çakmaktepe, Sefertepe and Yeni Mahalle Mound. Within the first phase of the project, covering the years 2021-2024, excavations will also begin in Ayanlar, Yoğunburç, Harbetsuvan, Kurt Tepe and Taşlıtepe settlements. Geomagnetic and geo-radar measurements were carried out in some of these areas. Measurements will continue in parallel with the excavations."

He also noted that the Şanlıurfa Neolithic Age Research Project is the largest and most...