Archaeologists Unearth World’s Oldest Temple in Turkey
BalkanTravellers.com
The site first came into the archaeologists’ knowledge in 1986, when a farmer working the fields in Sanliurfa stumbled upon a statuette in the ground, according to the Radikal newspaper, cited by the United Press International (UPI).
Archaeological excavations since then uncovered the foundation of a 12,000-year-old Neolithic Age temple, as well as carvings of pigs, foxes, snakes, fawns and headless humans.
The culture and belief system of the people who built the temple have yet to be identified by experts from the Harran University Archaeology Department, who are currently working on the excavations.
Before them, the site was explored by German teams who excavated it in 1995. After it was placed on the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry’s first-degree protection list in 2005, however, the Ministry took control of the research.
Until now, according to UPI, the world’s oldest known temple, dating to 5,000 BC, was in Malta.
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A Perfect Shot
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excellent smugs