Nevaly Chori

Research was conducted in 1993 in connection with the impending creation of a reservoir.

Judging by the characteristic flint arrowheads, the settlement belongs to the PPNB culture. The type of buildings is also characteristic of PPNB: rectangular buildings with a canal system under the buildings, similar to those found earlier in Chayonyu . According to radiocarbon analysis , the second half of the 9th millennium BC. e., which also corresponds to the buildings in Chayonyu and other settlements of the PPNB culture. The oldest layer dates back to 10 millennium BC. e., which corresponds to the earliest period of PPNB.

The settlement consists of five levels. The remains of 23 long rectangular structures from two to three parallel lines of rooms were found in them. They are adjoined by structures formed by projections of walls, which are considered living quarters. The deep multi-layered foundation is made of large hewn stones, the gaps between which are filled with smaller stones. Every 1 - 1.5 m, channels are laid in the foundation, passing at right angles to the main axis of the building, covered with flat stones from above, but open at the sides. Their purpose is unknown, it could be a drainage system or ducts for cooling and aeration of houses.

In the northwestern part of the settlement there is a cult complex in which three successive archaeological layers are distinguished. The top two have cement floors, which are not preserved in the oldest layer. A similar floor covering is known in Göbekli Tepe and Chayonu . Columns are built into the walls, similar to those in Göbekli Tepe , and two detached columns, 3 m high, are located in the center of the temple. The ceilings were supposedly light and flat.

Numerous limestone sculptures were found on the premises, including human heads with a tuft of hair. In addition to them there are images of birds, on some columns a relief is carved in which human hands are distinguishable. Similar images are found in Göbekli Tepe .

In addition to stone sculptures, several hundred figures of people about 5 cm high from burnt clay were found, which indicates the use of ceramics for sacred purposes even before the advent of pottery.

Some buildings contain the remains of human skulls and incomplete skeletons.

• Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe (ed.): Die ältesten Monumente der Menschheit. Vor 12.000 Jahren in Anatolien, Begleitbuch zur Ausstellung im Badischen Landesmuseum vom 20. Januar bis zum 17. Juni 2007 . Theiss, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-2072-8 .
• MediaCultura (Hrsg.): Die ältesten Monumente der Menschheit. Vor 12.000 Jahren in Anatolien . DVD-ROM Theiss, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-2090-2 .
• Hauptmann, H. Nevalı Çori: Architektur . (1988) Anatolica 15, 99-110.
• Hauptmann, H. Nevalı Çori: Eine Siedlung des akeramischen Neolithikums am mittleren Euphrat (1991/92) Nürnberger Blätter 8/9, 15-33.
• Hauptmann, H., Ein Kultgebäude in Nevalı Çori , in: M. Frangipane ua (Hrsg.), Between the Rivers and over the Mountains, Archaeologica Anatolica et Mesopotamica Alba Palmieri dedicata (Rome 1993), 37-69.
• H. Hauptmann, Frühneolithische Steingebäude in Südwestasien . In: Karl W. Beinhauer et al., Studien zur Megalithik: Forschungsstand und ethnoarchäologische Perspektiven / The megalithic phenomenon: recent research and ethnoarchaeological approaches (Mannheim: Beier & Beran, 1999). Beiträge zur Ur- und Frühgeschichte Mitteleuropas 21.
• M. Morsch, Magic figurines? A view from Nevalı Çori , in: HGK Gebel, Bo Dahl Hermansen and Charlott Hoffmann Jensen. (Hrsg.) Magic Practices and Ritual in the Near Eastern Neolithic . (Berlin: ex oriente, 2002) SENEPSE 8.