Before Göbekli Tepe: Boncuklu Tarla (visit)

Before Göbekli Tepe | Boncuklu Tarla | exclusive site exploration and museum visit | Megalithomania

(MegalithomaniaUK) Imagine exploring ancient Turkey (Turkiye) in May 2025, including Göbekli Tepe, Derinkuyu [the underground city], Karahan Tepe, Çatalhöyük, and more. For limited time discount, see: megalithomania.co.uk.

On the upper reaches of the Tigris River in Turkey are several archeological sites that predate Göbekli Tepe, including one that could be up to 13,000 years old.

This is Boncuklu Tarla ("Beaded Field"), where excavations have revealed 30 residential houses, six public structures, and the skeletons of 130 individuals. More than 100,000 beads and shaped raw copper have been unearthed (also found at nearby Gre Filla Höyük).

Much of this material is on display at Mardin Museum, which is investigated in this video. The square enclosures at the site are up to 30 feet wide and contain standing stones about five feet tall, some of the earliest megaliths on the planet.

Notably, one enclosure has a holed stone in its wall, just as is found at Karahan Tepe and Göbekli Tepe. Could this be evidence of very early astronomical observations?

Boncuklu Tarla, like many of the earliest sites in Turkey, was buried beneath a mound with finds that date from nearly 13,000 to 9,000 years old (Epipaleolithic period through to the Late pre-pottery Neolithic B).

• Read more in Hugh Newman's new book: amzn.to/3Mr6hmp
• Megalithomania May 4-5, 2024, Town Hall of Glastonbury, featuring a stunning lineup of speakers at the cutting edge of ancient mysteries and archeology. Christine Rhone introduces the ‘John Michell Memorial Lecture.’ Speakers' forum hosted by John Martineau. There are four days of tours. Details: megalithomania.co.uk.
• Megalithomania's Hugh Newman and many other great speakers were at The Cosmic Summit 2024 in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA, on June 15-17. Speakers included Randall Carlson, Scott Wolter, Ben Van Kerkwyk, Martin Sweatman, Praveen Mohan (India expert), and more. Tickets: cosmicsummit.com.
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• Megalithomania UK, March 10, 2024; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly