Archaeological excavations in Türkiye’s eastern province of Tunceli have resumed after a hiatus of nearly 50 years, uncovering evidence that pushes the region’s known history back around 7,000 years and shedding new light on prehistoric settlement patterns in Upper Mesopotamia.
The excavations are taking place at Tozkoparan Mound, a protected archaeological site in Pertek district, where discoveries are providing important clues about life in the region during the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods, daily Hürriyet reported.
Archaeological work in Tunceli first began in 1968 as part of rescue excavations conducted ahead of the construction of the Keban Dam. Several sites were investigated, while Paleolithic flint workshops were documented near Tozkoparan.
However, archaeological research largely came to a halt after 1974 amid decades of security challenges in the region. Excavations resumed only after security conditions improved and the opening of the Tunceli Museum in 2020.
According to the excavation team, the site’s deepest excavated layers date to the fifth millennium B.C., indicating that human settlement in the area extends back roughly 7,000 years.
One of the most significant discoveries was a child’s skeleton found during the first excavation season. Radiocarbon dating placed the burial around 4,300 B.C.
Archaeologists believe the child may have died from illness or traumatic injury. The burial’s location within a residential area suggests that prehistoric communities may have buried children close to their homes as part of ritual practices linked to mourning and protection.
DNA and laboratory analyses are continuing at the Tunceli Museum.
Researchers also uncovered massive stone walls belonging to what they describe as a monumental structure.
Such large-scale architecture is unusual for the period and may have served as either a ceremonial building or an elite residence.
