I haven’t visited this site yet, though I have been to Göbeklitepe. I should go there soon!
The discovery of a human face depiction on the surface of one of the T-shaped pillars at the Karahantepe excavation site in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa reinforces the theory that these stones symbolize human figures.
Saying that the human face depiction stood out among the findings, Karul said: “From the reliefs on the side surfaces — the arm and hand reliefs, the best examples of which are in Göbeklitepe — we had suggested that they symbolize humans, that beyond carrying the roof they had a symbolic meaning, with the upper horizontal part representing the head and the vertical part the body.
The latest excavations at Karahantepe in Şanlıurfa—part of the Taş Tepeler (Stone Hills) Project—have produced several major discoveries in 2025 that significantly deepen understanding of early Neolithic life and artistic expression.theartnewspaper+4
Human-Faced T-Shaped Pillar
In October 2025, archaeologists uncovered a T-shaped megalith carved with a human face, the first of its kind found at the site or anywhere else from this period. The sculpture, dated to around 12,000 years ago, shows a stylized face with deep-set eyes and a block-shaped nose, carved directly into one of Karahantepe’s monumental pillars.english.news+1
Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy called it “the first known instance of Neolithic people depicting themselves on a T-shaped column,” a symbolic act that highlights early humans’ self-awareness and abstract thought. This find parallels earlier anthropomorphic representations at the site, including a 2.3-meter statue of a man holding his penis and a snake-bodied figure emerging from a wall, discovered in previous seasons.theartnewspaper+1
Neolithic Dwellings and Daily Life
In mid-October 2025, Prof. Dr. Necmi Karul’s excavation team announced the discovery of over 30 subterranean dwellings, each carved partly into bedrock and arranged in a tight, honeycomb-like cluster. These structures, 3–6 meters in diameter, contained hearths, stone floors, and storage spaces, offering the clearest picture yet of everyday domestic life in the early Neolithic era.anatolianarchaeology+1
Karul emphasized that these were permanent, intentionally designed homes, not temporary shelters, supporting the idea that Karahantepe was both a ritual and residential center dating to around 9400–8000 BCE.arkeonews
Ongoing Research
Recent analytic projects are also focusing on plant microremains found within the dwellings to reconstruct early diets and foraging behavior, further illuminating how the first settled communities sustained themselves before fully adopting agriculture.turkiyetoday
Altogether, 2025 has been described by researchers and the Ministry of Culture as part of Turkey’s “golden age of archaeology,” with Karahantepe standing out as a key site bridging the transition from hunter-gatherer ritualism to settled communal life.english.news+1e-23997/
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