Location
Gürcütepe is located about 4 km southeast of Şanlıurfa, on the northwestern edge of the Harran Plain and it covers an area of about 1200 x 800 m and consists of eight settlements (Gürcütepe I-VIII), four of which are mounds and four of which are flat. The settlements were built in an area with natural springs and on the banks of the Sırrın stream, which flows into the Balık River. The first occupation of the site dates back to the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic and continues uninterruptedly until the Pottery Neolithic. Since the early 2000s, the site has been occupied by modern settlements and only a small area used as agricultural land at Gürcütepe III has been preserved.
Research History
Gürcütepe was first recognized as a Neolithic center by a Turkish-American team working at nearby Kazane Höyük. Between the years of 1995-99, it was studied together with Göbeklitepe within a joint project of the German Archaeological Institute in Istanbul and the Şanlıurfa Archaeological Museum under the leadership of Adnan Mısır, Harald Hauptmann, and Klaus Schmidt. The initial studies focused on the two large mounds of Gürcütepe I and II, with smaller excavations to determine the stratigraphy of Gürcütepe III and IV. In the cultural fill, which is about 6 m high, building layers and settlements of the Late Pre-Pottery Neolithic have been unearthed. In addition, the first potsherds of the Neolithic period were found on the surface. In addition, the uppermost layers of Gürcütepe I were mostly covered with Hellenistic-Roman tombs and isolated building remains.
Archeological Research
Starting in 2021, the second generation of research concentrated on the western part of Gürcütepe III, where there is no modern occupation. Using a 10x10m grid system, six trenches were opened at the highest point of the mound and two layers were identified. Just below the agricultural soil, Layer 1 yielded partially preserved evidence of stone-founded buildings with large rooms. In the open spaces between the houses, also close to the houses, there are hearths, middens, and firing pits with burnt stones on the lower side, which were built in the same area for a long time. These open spaces were also used as ateliers. Limestone figurines, phalluses, weights made of different stones, bracelets, beads, vessels, flaked discs, palettes, axes, mortars, and pestles, as well as flaked stone objects have been found in this area, indicating intensive domestic and handicraft activities.
Layer 2, which has only been identified in the southernmost trench, consists of rectangular houses with stone foundations, pisé walls, and hearths, probably with several rooms. The settlement plan is similar to that of the upper layer, as evidenced by the presence of a hearth, firing pits, and a midden in the open space outside the buildings. Layer 2 yielded more limited finds such as limestone figurines, animal figurines made of terracotta, stone vessels, and beads.
The chipped stone tools from Gürcütepe, especially "large arrowheads" (Byblos and Palmyra), are characteristic of Pre-Pottery Neolithic B. Rich domestic equipment was found with basalt mortars, pestles, groundstones, and stone vessels made of alabaster or limestone. The symbolic objects consist of a series of female, male, and sometimes gender-neutral figurines carved out of limestone. Although most of the figurines are cubic in shape and consistent with other contemporary settlements in the region, two overweight female figurines show different cultural characteristics.
Preliminary analysis of the animal bones recovered from Layer 1 indicates that sheep (Ovis aries) and goat (Capra hircus) were consumed primarily. The pig (Sus domesticus) is the second most common mammal, with cattle (Bos taurus) in third place. Wild animals include a small number of Persian gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), and red deer (Cervus elaphus) or Iranian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica).
Aims of the Project
Preliminary studies have shown that there is already a cultural sequence at Gürcütepe that stretches between the Late Pre-Pottery and Early Pottery Neolithic Periods. This important transitional period, which has been observed over a larger area with the new excavations, is characterized by smaller buildings compared to the monumental architecture of the other early settlements studied within the framework of Şanlıurfa Neolithic Research Project – Taş Tepeler, as well as the inclusion of a prominent female element in the social and symbolic world. Although the reasons for these changes are not yet fully understood, they are attributed to climatic changes and the resulting changes in lifestyle.
The main goal of the Gürcütepe project is to test the changing lifestyles by reconstructing them in detail using data on paleogeography, subsistence, and household economies. In addition to animal bones and botanical remains, experts will examine a variety of material artifact assemblages that will provide evidence of this transformation and insights into changing daily life practices over time. The next step will be to look for links to developments in the wider region. The new studies at Gürcütepe, the latest settlement of the Taş Tepeler Project, are of great importance in understanding the reasons why people of this period left the limestone hills and descended to the plain, and in revealing the reasons for the abandonment of such a large settlement. Text: Mücella Erdalkıran, Barbara HelwingPhotos: Gürcütepe Project Archive
Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism
Ege University
Pergamon Museum
Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum
Governorship of Şanlıurfa
Şanlıurfa Municipality
Haliliye Municipality
