Catalhoyuk, Turkey

Another interesting ancient Neolithic city is located in Turkey. It is called Çatalhöyük. It is the largest Neolithic settlement that has been discovered in the Middle East. The earliest finds of these places date back to the 8th Millennium BC. The city was completely abandoned by the inhabitants in the middle of the 6th Millennium. According to rough estimates, there were about 2,000 residential buildings on the territory of the ancient city. About 10,000 people lived permanently in the city.

Only about 5% of the large-scale archaeological area is currently explored by archaeologists. Therefore, many of its mysteries remain unsolved. British Explorer James Mellaart is considered the discoverer of the archaeological area. He arrived in these places with his team back in 1958. Turkish authorities suspected the researcher of stealing treasures in the middle of the 20th century. Therefore, he was deprived of the right to conduct excavations a few years later. The study of the region resumed much later, in 1993.

The main task of researchers is to dig up old one-story houses today. They were built of mud bricks. The pace of archaeological work is low, even though some of the best archaeologists in the world work in the archaeological area. They dig up no more than two buildings a year. One of the main mysteries of the ancient city continues to be special houses, decorated richer than others. Researchers have considered such houses sanctuaries for many years. But it became clear that they were not much different from traditional residential buildings. Archaeologists discover unique frescoes in such houses. Next - Jarmo