View inside the South Shelter

Çatalhöyük is a 9000 year old town, one of the earliest in the world, with rich art and sculpture in its houses.

Excavated by James Mellaart in the early 1960s, the site has been widely recognised as of unique international significance. It is one of the first urban centres in the world (at 7400BC) and it has the first wall paintings and mural art. The spectacular art provides a direct window into life 9000 years ago, and the site is an internationally important key for our understanding of the origins of agriculture and civilisation

The aims of the current international project at Çatalhöyük involve full-scale modern archaeological excavation and conservation, and promotion of the site for visitor access. The work aims at extensive uncovering of new areas of the site and the recovery, conservation and presentation of paintings and sculpture. The work is planned to continue over 25 years.

The site can be visited all year around, but it is advised to visit it during the excavations, usually between April and October every year.
(Location: near Konya)

Uploaded by slavica on 5/4/2009, viewed 6550 times.