Sponsorship of the Çayönü Tepesi Excavations

The Place of Firsts: Çayönü Tepesi

Located on a mountain-pass plain in south-eastern Anatolia, 7 km south-west of the Ergani district of present-day Diyarbakır province and near the village of Hilar, Çayönü Tepesi is the only settlement within the Anatolia, Levant, Mesopotamia and Zagros regions to have been continuously inhabited for roughly 4,000 years — from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (10,000 BC) to the first half of the Pottery Neolithic period (6000 BC).

Excavations began at Çayönü Tepesi in 1964, making it the first archaeological site excavated in south-eastern Anatolia. The scientific work, interrupted in 1992, resumed in 2015 under the Çayönü Tepesi Excavation, Landscaping and Research Project and continues today.

Situated where the Euphrates and Tigris basins come closest together and near natural passes, Çayönü was in cultural interaction with both basins along different routes. Compared with data from numerous excavations across the Near East, Çayönü — the only Neolithic settlement showing uninterrupted stratification from 10,000 BC onwards — is also the site where many "firsts" were identified.

The transition to the cultivation of grains and legumes such as lentils and chickpeas; the first metallurgy (shaping copper by heating or cold-hammering); the first linen weaving, matting and basketry, leatherwork and pottery production; and jewellery and inlay work from malachite, various stones and mother-of-pearl are among these "firsts".

The peak of the architectural use of slaked lime is the Terrazzo-paved building; this structure at Çayönü is unique not only in the Near East but in the world — as is the "grave house", the Skull Building.

In short, the Çayönü Tepesi Neolithic settlement is the key site of Near Eastern Neolithic, best reflecting the developmental processes of the Neolithic at the meeting point of the Euphrates and Tigris cultures.

The excavations at Çayönü Tepesi, of which Aris Mining Inc. is a sponsor, are ongoing.