December 11, 2024 The sun rises from Anatolia

A 14,500-year-old offering pit found in the Gedikkaya Cave

In the rescue excavation conducted in Gedikkaya Cave in the İnhisar district of Bilecik, a 14,500-year-old offering pit was discovered.

Traces of life were found in two sections of Gedikkaya Cave, both upper and lower.

The rescue excavations are being carried out under the scientific guidance of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Deniz Sarı from the Department of Archaeology at Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University.

In the area where the 14,500-year-old offering pit was discovered, various bone tools such as flat adzes made of diorite (a type of rock), chisels, grinding and hand stones, blades (stone chips), scrapers, arrow and spearheads, pigments for tattooing, awls, perforated ceramics (pottery), needles, borers, and a mixing tool made of malachite, as well as a nugget of malachite and beads, were unearthed.

Furthermore, significant information related to craftsmanship such as stone and woodwork, mining, and weaving was also obtained in the cave.

A 14,500-year-old offering pit found in the Gedikkaya Cave
Photo AA

In the cave, marble jar fragments, architectural remnants associated with the Aegean world, stone rows added in accordance with existing bedrock and limestone blocks, and living units created with clay lumps, silos, and quarry locations were discovered. Lastly, an offering pit dating back to the Epipaleolithic Period, around 14500 BC, was identified in the cave.

Bilecik Museum Director Harun Küçükaydın told AA correspondent that radiocarbon analyses have revealed that the earliest human traces in the cave date back to 16,500 years ago. He also mentioned that numerous findings dating from around 7000 to 5000 BC have been discovered.

Küçükaydın, stating that they have reached significant findings in the excavation, continued as follows:

Votive finds found in Gedikkaya cave

“One of these findings is the offering pit uncovered in the main cave chamber. Within this offering pit, a partially worked column has been revealed. We can associate this column with the Near Eastern Neolithic cultures. The stone figurine, stylized as a seated human figure found in the offering pit, forms a link between the known ‘Venus figurines’ from the European Upper Paleolithic cave art and the ‘mother goddess’ figurines from Anatolian Neolithic cultures.”

Küçükaydın also provided information that in the Gedikkaya region where the cave is located, an area of approximately 500 hectares, early humans sustained their livelihood through hunting and gathering.

B.C. Votive pit dating back to 14,500 BC
Photo IHA

The scientific advisor to the excavation, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Deniz Sarı, stated that the first settlement in the cave, which corresponds to the end of the Ice Age, was dated to around 14,500 to 13,500 BC, and that only a very limited portion of this period has been uncovered.

Sarı explained that they have determined the earliest findings obtained from the Gedikkaya Cave to date back to around 16,500 years ago, during a period about which we have very limited knowledge. He added:

“This period, about which we have very limited knowledge, was a time when the Upper Paleolithic cultures of Europe spread to the Balkans, the Caucasus, and the Mediterranean. Further excavations conducted in a wider area will provide more concrete data about Gedikkaya’s place within this spread and the prelude to human mobility at the end of the Ice Age.

A 14,500-year-old offering pit found in the Gedikkaya Cave
Photo AA

In 2022, related to this period, we unearthed an offering pit in the cave. The pit is surrounded by stone rows in a crescent shape, and within the pit, we uncovered a naturally formed column. The column has been partially worked to give it the appearance of a stele. The pit was likely closed off at a later time. The findings within the pit are extremely significant and contain very new and unusual data for prehistoric archaeology. One of these findings is a stone figurine. The stylized seated figurine depicts legs spread apart, characteristic of stone figurines that represent a mother goddess, which is typical of the Near Eastern Neolithic cultures. In this context, the work in the cave will contribute new insights to the literature in the context of Anatolian prehistoric archaeology.”

Banner
Related Articles

Remains of a bathhouse were found in the structure known as the Great Church

September 9, 2023

September 9, 2023

Archaeologists uncovered the remains of a bathhouse in the structure known as the Great Church during excavation work at the...

In Kayalıpınar, a seal impression belonging to Hattusili III, which will impact Hittite history, was discovered

September 14, 2023

September 14, 2023

In the excavations conducted at the Kayalıpınar Ruins, located within the boundaries of the Sivas province in present-day Türkiye, which...

A 2000-year-old Urartian object was unearthed in the excavations of Divriği castle, which started with the information in Evliya Çelebi’s Seyahatname

January 3, 2024

January 3, 2024

Excavations at Divriği Castle in the Divriği district of Sivas province, located in northeastern Turkey, unearthed many finds, especially a...

Scientists say rock carvings at Göbekli Tepe may be the world’s oldest calendar

August 6, 2024

August 6, 2024

Scientists from the University of Edinburgh say the carvings at Göbekli Tepe could be the world’s oldest calendar. Göbekli Tepe,...

The relief, which is considered to belong to the Sun god Helios, was found during infrastructure works

September 2, 2023

September 2, 2023

A headless relief thought to belong to the Sun God Helios was found during the infrastructure works carried out in...

Another bronze statue head smuggled from the ancient city of Boubon returned to Türkiye

May 3, 2024

May 3, 2024

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, US, has announced that it has returned to Türkiye an ancient bronze...

Amastris was shaken by a great earthquake 1600 years ago

September 3, 2024

September 3, 2024

The remains of a marble columned structure unearthed during the excavations of the ancient city of Amastris in the Amasra...

3,000-year-old rock rare paintings have discovered in Rize

August 2, 2023

August 2, 2023

Archaeologists have discovered approximately 3,000-year-old rock paintings believed to belong to the Bozkurt tribes during their surface survey. The discovery...

The 4000-year-old clay tablets discovered in Kültepe excavations will be exhibited in the rock-carved Kültepe Museum

June 4, 2024

June 4, 2024

The construction of the rock-carved Kültepe Museum, where clay tablets unearthed during archaeological excavations in the Kültepe/Kanesh karum, founded by...

The Byzantine monastery church dedicated to Saint Constantine and Helena found

October 5, 2023

October 5, 2023

During the archaeological excavation initiated in the area where 8 Roman-era tombs were found in Ordu in 2021 during road...

180-year-old Ottoman water dam to be restored

January 2, 2024

January 2, 2024

The 180-year old water dam located on the site of the cuha factory established during the reign of Ottoman Sultan...

Elaiussa Sebaste Ancient City’s necropolis area will be open for visitation

September 29, 2023

September 29, 2023

Documentation work, including three-dimensional data, has begun for the purpose of opening the Roman Road and North Necropolis of Elaiussa...

Bronze coins minted by Ottoman Sultan I. Murad for the month of Ramadan have been found at Karacahisar Castle

October 16, 2024

October 16, 2024

Bronze coins minted by Ottoman Sultan I. Murad for the important month of Ramadan for Muslims have been found at...

The jaw of a big cat featured in ancient shows has been found

October 2, 2023

October 2, 2023

The jaw of a big cat, thought to have been used in shows held at the theater in the Ancient...

Touristic Mesopotamia Express starts its journey

April 6, 2024

April 6, 2024

The touristic Mesopotamia train, which will depart from the Turkish capital Ankara and pass through Central Anatolia and Eastern Anatolia...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *