(ORDO NEWS) — Polish archaeologists working on excavations in Turkish in Chatal Huyuk, in central Anatolia, discovered a large building, about 8,000 years old, whose purpose has not yet been established.
Nauka w Polsce tells about the discovery. A mysterious building was discovered in Chatal Huyuk, one of the oldest cities in history. The age of this settlement exceeds 9000 years.
It is believed that it was continuously inhabited for almost 1200 years: between 7100 and 5950 BC. According to archaeologists, from a bird’s eye view it looked like a honeycomb, and the entrances to the houses were located on flat roofs.
The age of the found building, which is unique and the first of its kind, according to preliminary estimates, is slightly more than 8000 years.
This means that it was built already in the final period of the city’s existence. The building was located on the eastern outskirts of the settlement, a few hundred meters from its center. Its architecture puzzled experts.
“This building was much larger than typical residential buildings of that period,” says Professor Arkadiusz Marciniak, who led the excavations. “It was square in plan, and its area was about 30 square meters.”
The attention of archaeologists was attracted by the fact that almost the entire surface of this unusual structure was built up. Moreover, the specified building consisted of 12 sites coated with clay, nine of which were located along all the walls of the building.
“Probably, under the majority of them there are human graves, but the answer to this question will be obtained during the excavations planned for next year,” Marciniak explains.
According to him, the edge of the eastern platform is decorated with two pilasters, that is, an architectural element in the form of a flat pillar. On both sides of each of them, the so-called bull’s eye is carved.
The excavations also showed that each of the four walls had a half-column, and one of them was decorated with a bas-relief. A large oven was located near the southern wall, and the western wall was almost completely covered with paintings, mostly red.
Two passages led inside the building, and they were made in the form of holes in the walls. In the center of this building, archaeologists found the remains of a hearth. Experts believe that it was not inhabited.
According to Professor Marciniak, a large number of mysterious platforms, their decorations and the unusual layout of the building indicate that the building could be used by the entire community.
“We know that this building was used at a time when there was no longer a mega-settlement in which several thousand people lived,” the expert says. “At that time, local residents were already dispersed. Perhaps sometimes they returned to the place of residence of their ancestors.
It cannot be ruled out that the building also had a religious significance. However, I would attribute a big role to social integration. The hearth in the center suggests that people gathered around it.”
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