Çatalhöyük Archaeological Site

Çatalhöyük lies about 10 km east of Çumra in Konya province. Its name means fork mound, after the two rises of different height that make up the site. James Mellaart discovered it in 1958 and dug it in 1961-1965, uncovering 13 building levels on the west slope of the higher mound. The earliest is dated to about 5500 BC. Later work by an international team led by Ian Hodder, from 1993 to 2018, added knowledge on environment, daily life and belief. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

What makes it remarkable is how people lived. Rectangular houses stood wall against wall, each with its own walls rather than shared ones, and were added one beside another as needed. With no streets, people moved across the flat roofs and entered their homes by ladder through a hole in the roof.

Houses were built of mudbrick, timber and reeds. Each had a main room and a storeroom, with hearths, low benches and niches, and plastered walls that were painted. The site is known as an early example of house design, town life and sacred buildings.