New Pre-Pottery Neolithic sites and cult centres in the Urfa Region

Abstract

The present study assesses the sites and the corresponding artefacts that were recently discovered during cultural inventory studies in the Urfa region in south-eastern Turkey. The studies were conducted at PPN sites located at Herzo Tepe, Basaran Höyük and Kocanizam, Taslı Tepe and  ̇Inanlı Tepe within the borders of Viransehir and Siverek boroughs; the already known site at Sefer Tepe is also re-examined. The sites extend in a north-south direction and were founded within a 3–5km distance, and they exhibit unique characteristics for this region. Recently discovered sites are compared to already known PPN sites in the region to reveal similar features and characteristics. In particular, the article elaborates similarities and discrepancies between sites with T-shaped pillars and sites with circular structures. The recently discovered sites demonstrate that the pillar tradition is predominant in the region and that the settlements have a distinct layout.V študiji ovrednotimo najdišča in pripadajoče artefakte, ki so bili nedavno odkriti pri študijah kulturnih inventarjev v regiji Urfa na območju južno-vzhodne Turčije. Analize so bile opravljene na najdiščih predkeramičnega neolitika na območjih kot so Herzo Tepe, Basaran Höyük in Kocanizam, Taşlı Tepe in İnanli Tepe znotraj mestnih okrajev Viransehir in Siverek; ponovno smo preiskali tudi že znano najdišče Sefer Tepe. Najdišča se raztezajo v smeri sever-jug in so postavljena v razdalji od 3 do 5km, poleg tega pa izkazujejo edinstvene značilnosti za to območje. Nedavno odkrita najdišča primerjamo z že znanimi predkeramičnimi najdišči v regiji in na ta način ugotavljamo njihove podobnosti in značilnosti. V članku se podrobneje ukvarjamo s podobnostmi in razlikami med najdišči s stebri v obliki črke T in najdišči s krožnimi strukturami. Nedavno odkrita najdišča kažejo, da v tej regiji prevladuje tradicija stebrov in da imajo naselbine značilne prostorske ureditve