Visiting the Stone Age

The Catalhoyuk Research Project, directed by British archaeologist Ian Hodder, consists of about 250 archaeologists and researchers from around the world. During the summer months, the team gathers together on the arid Konya Plain to understand how people lived at Catalhoyuk 9,000 years ago.

From the beginning, however, the Turkish authorities also wanted to develop Catalhoyuk as a heritage site, open not just to experts but to the public at large.

The site now features a visitor center providing information about Catalhoyuk, an introductory video and replica artifacts (the originals are on display at the Anatolian Civilizations Museum in Ankara and the Konya Archaeological Museum). In the near future we plan to offer interactive media displays and audio guides, so that visitors can tour the site at their own pace.

Tourists can also view the original trenches cut by Mellaart in the early 1960s, in an area we have continued to excavate. To protect the remains, an 80- by 155-foot shelter has been erected over this section of the ancient town. We have revealed a complete Neolithic house, which visitors can view while standing on a platform (because of the delicate mudbrick and plaster, we cannot allow people to enter the house).