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  Nevalı Çori Location within Turkey Show map of Turkey Nevalı Çori Nevalı Çori (Near East) Show map of Near East | |
| Alternative name | Nevalı Çori (Turkish) Newala Çori (Kurdish) |
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| Location | Hilvan,Şanlıurfa Province,Turkey |
| Region | Mesopotamia |
| Coordinates | 37°31′6″N38°36′20″E / 37.51833°N 38.60556°E /37.51833; 38.60556 |
| History | |
| Founded | 8400 BC |
| Abandoned | 8100 BC |
| Periods | Pre-Pottery Neolithic B |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Submerged |
Nevalı Çori (Turkish:Nevali Çori,Kurdish:Newala Çorî[1][2][3]) was anearly Neolithic settlement on the middleEuphrates, inŞanlıurfa Province,Southeastern Anatolia,Turkey. It is dated to thePre-Pottery Neolithic B period, from 8400 to 8100 BC, and is part of the "Taş Tepeler" sites. The site is known for having some of the world's oldest knowntemples and monumentalsculpture. Together with the earlier site ofGöbekli Tepe and other Taş Tepeler sites, it has revolutionised scientific understanding of the EurasianNeolithic period. The oldest domesticatedEinkorn wheat was found there.[4]
The settlement was located about 490 m above sea level, in the foothills of theTaurus Mountains, on both banks of the Kantara stream, a tributary of the Euphrates.
The site was examined from 1983 to 1991 in the context of rescueexcavations during the erection of theAtatürk Dam belowSamsat.Excavations were conducted by a team from theUniversity of Heidelberg under the direction of Professor Harald Hauptmann. Together with numerous other archaeological sites in the vicinity, Nevalı Çori has since been inundated by the damming of the Euphrates.[5]
Nevalı Çori could be placed within the local relative chronology on the basis of itsflint tools. The occurrence of narrow unretouchedByblos-type points places it on Oliver Aurenche's Phase 3, i.e. early to middlePre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB). Some tools indicate continuity into Phase 4, which is similar in date to LatePPNB. An even finer chronological distinction within Phase 3 is permitted by the settlement's architecture; the house type with underfloor channels, typical of Nevalı Çori strata I-IV, also characterises the "Intermediate Layer" atÇayönü, while the differing plan of the single building in stratum V, House 1, is more clearly connected to the buildings of the "Cellular Plan Layer" at Çayönü.
In terms of absolute dates, fourradiocarbon dates have been determined for Nevalı Çori. Three are from Stratum II and date it with some certainty to the second half of the 9th millennium BC, which coincides with early dates from Çayönü and withMureybet IVA and thus supports the relative chronology above. The fourth dates to the 10th millennium BC, which, if correct, would indicate the presence of an extremely early phase of PPNB at Nevalı Çori.[6]
The settlement had five architectural levels. The excavated architectural remains were of long rectangular houses containing two to three parallel flights of rooms, interpreted asmezzanines. These are adjacent to a similarly rectangular ante-structure, subdivided by wall projections, which should be seen as a residential space. This type of house is characterized by thick, multi-layered foundations made of large angular cobbles and boulders, the gaps filled with smaller stones so as to provide a relatively even surface to support the superstructure. These foundations are interrupted every 1-1.5m by underfloor channels, at right angles to the main axis of the houses, which were covered in stone slabs but open to the sides. They may have served the drainage, aeration or the cooling of the houses. 23 such structures were excavated, they are strikingly similar to structures from the so-called channeled subphase at Çayönü.
An area in the northwest part of the village appears to be of special importance. Here, a cult complex had been cut into the hillside. It had three subsequent architectural phases, the most recent belonging to Stratum III, the middle one to Stratum II and the oldest to Stratum I. The two more recent phases also possessed aterrazzo-style lime cement floor, which did not survive from the oldest phase. Parallels are known fromCayönü andGöbekli Tepe.Monolithic pillars similar to those at Göbekli Tepe were built into itsdry stone walls, its interior contained two free-standing pillars of 3 m height. The excavator assumes light flat roofs. Similar structures are only known from Göbekli Tepe so far.
Soundings cut to examine the western side of the valley also revealed rectilinear architecture in 2-3 layers.
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The local limestone wascarved into numerousstatues and smaller sculptures, including a more than life-sized bare human head with a snake orsikha-like tuft. There is also a statue of a bird. Some of the pillars also borereliefs, including ones of human hands. The free-standing anthropomorphic figures of limestone excavated at Nevalı Çori belong to the earliest known life-size sculptures. Comparable material has been found at Göbekli Tepe.
Several hundred smallclayfigurines (about 5 cm high), most of them depicting humans, have been interpreted asvotive offerings. They were fired at temperatures between 500 and 600 °C, which suggests the development of ceramic firing technology before the advent ofpottery proper.
Abas relief on a fragment of a limestone bowl depicts two humans and onetortoise-like creaturedancing.[8]
Some of the houses contained depositions of human skulls and incomplete skeletons.[9]
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