The Archaeologist

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Sayburç | 11,000-year-old Göbekli Tepe Era Site Reveals its Secrets

An intricate five-figure stone carved panel was unearthed under a house in Sayburç in 2021. The village, built in the 1940s, is located upon a raised mound, southwest of Sanliurfa and is one of the 12 'Taş Tepeler' sites in the region. Two separate areas have been discovered, the northern zone containing an oval bedrock enclosure whist just south several structures with T-pillars, some with animal carvings and V-necks, have been excavated.

In what has been described as the world's first 'narrative scene' the 11,000 year-old panel details two leopards, a bull, a jumping man holding a serpent (or hunting bola) who has 6 or 7 fingers on one hand, and a 3D high-relief carving of a man with a V-neck, holding his phallus. Above this, the stone bench has two large cup-marks, next to sockets that T-pillars would have been inserted into. Further hypogeum-style features exist, with a strange carving on one surface with small indentations and an abstract serpent head design. In this video Hugh Newman, Andrew Collins and JJ Ainsworth investigate the site (with full permission from the land owners) and even get a chance to explore an underground chamber which is off-limits to the public and take a look around the village where ancient stone blocks lie scattered around.