Nevali Cori
Nevali Cori is an early Neolithic settlement in the upper Euphrates valley, eastern Turkey, ca. ca. 490 m high. It is located near the steeply cut Kantara Cay, a tributary of the Euphrates.The settlement is dated to ca.8.000 BC. In this period (PPN B) pottery was still unknown, but in Nevali Cori several hundred small figurines (ca. 5 cm high) of burnt clay have been found that are interpreted as votive offerings. They have been burned at temperatures between 500-600ÃÂð C. The rectangular houses of the settlement have dry stone walls The rectangular buildings have dry-stone walls and terrazzo-floors made of burnt lime. The biggest building measures 16x7m. Rectangular stone pillars were set into the walls, two freestanding pillars, 3 m high, were placed in the middle of the room. The stelae show reliefs of human hands. The construction shows close paralleles with the older round buildings in GÃÂöbekli Tepe.
A a deposit of human skulls has been found beneath the floor of one of the houses.
The free-standing anthropomorphic figures of limestone excavated in Nevali Cori belong to the earliest known life-size sculptures. One shows a male with bare head, a snake wiggeling down from the crown of the head to the neck. There is a statue of a bird as well. Comparable statutes have been found in GÃÂöbekli Tepe.
The settlement has been excavated since 1993 by the German archaeological Institute Istanbul in advance of the construction of the AtatÃÂürk-dam, the waters of which now inundate the neolithic village as well as numerous other archaeological sites in the vicinity.