Authorities have launched a process to register and protect prehistoric rock carvings discovered in the Tirişin Plateau in the eastern province of Van’s Gürpınar district, at an altitude of 3,000 meters.
The engravings, believed to date back thousands of years, are located in the Kanlı Çeşme area and are considered significant for their detailed depictions of wildlife and symbolic motifs.
The initiative is led by Rafet Çavuşoğlu, head of the Archaeology Department at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University’s Faculty of Letters, whose team is working to document and preserve the district’s historical sites for inclusion in tourism.
Supported by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, a group of 12 archaeologists, anthropologists and art historians conducted fieldwork at the site, which was first recorded in 1967.
Following a two-hour climb to the plateau, the researchers examined engravings carved into bedrock and scattered stones, alongside remains of fortification and walls.
The figures depict humans, snakes, deer, wild goats, bison, wild sheep, hares, wolves, foxes and symbolic motifs. Nearly 300 individual carvings have been photographed and catalogued, providing valuable insight into the region’s ancient wildlife and human activity.
Çavuşoğlu noted that similar examples have been documented in the neighboring provinces of Hakkari and Bitlis, but the diversity and preservation of the Gürpınar figures stand out.
“The depictions — especially of bison, wild goats, deer and fox — inform us about the wildlife of the period,” he said, adding that the site likely dates back to the Mesolithic era, around 10,000 B.C.E, and remained in use until the Iron Age.
Engraved using linear and incised techniques, the artworks also feature representations of water sources symbolizing two rivers, a motif repeated 10 kilometers away in the Baltutan site.
“These reflect the systems used by hunter-gatherer societies,” Çavuşoğlu explained. “Tirişin Plateau is like a hidden paradise that should be brought into tourism.”
An inventory dossier is being prepared for submission to the Van Regional Board for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, seeking the site’s registration as an “immovable cultural asset.”
Once registered, the area could open to visitors, offering access to both its natural beauty and prehistoric art.
Some rock panels contain as many as 20 figures, while others display only a few. “We have so far identified around 300 figures, but this number is expected to increase as research continues,” Çavuşoğlu said.
