Traces of ancient settlement discovered in eastern mound

Traces of a settlement dating back about 6,000 years have been found during excavations at Değirmenler Mound in the eastern province of Erzurum.

Starting on July 1, the two-month excavation in the area has uncovered settlement layers, human and animal bones, and ceramics, which are being analyzed.

The site has been determined to have been inhabited as far back as 6,000 years ago, and further deepening of the excavation is expected to reveal even older layers.

As a result of the excavations, the area is planned to be transformed into an archaeological park.

Mehmet Işıklı, a professor at Ataturk University in Erzurum and the scientific adviser of the project, told state-run Anadolu Agency that a different period began in Eastern Anatolia after the Kura-Araxes culture.

Işıklı said that the first state and writing tradition in Eastern Anatolia came with Urartu, adding, "This was about 3,000 years ago, but we are still trying to understand the 2,000-year period in between; who lived during that time, and how they lived."

"We archaeologists refer to that period as the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, which spans over a thousand years. The rescue excavation at Degirmenler Mound is actually providing very valuable data about this period," he said.

He further noted that around 4,000 years ago, they encountered a strong societal structure in the region that lived on animal husbandry and agriculture.

'Trying to reach earliest settlement'

Associate Professor Gülşah Altunkaynak, an archaeologist at Erzurum Museum and also the excavation coordinator, said that the archaeology of the region has been developing mostly on rescue excavations for many years.

Highlighting the valuable...