Kuruçay Höyük, Archaeological site near Lake Burdur, Turkey.
Kuruçay Höyük is an archaeological mound standing about 8 meters (26 feet) tall with a diameter of 90 meters (295 feet), positioned on hills overlooking the Burdur Lake basin. The mound contains multiple overlapping settlement layers that document a long period of human occupation at this location.
Settlement at the site began around 6200 BC and continued through the end of the third millennium BC, with systematic excavations conducted between 1978 and 1992. These excavations allowed researchers to map the different occupation phases and trace how they changed over thousands of years.
The site displays multiple settlement periods through stone structures and defensive walls that reveal the building skills of its inhabitants. These remains show how ancient communities organized their living spaces and built their defenses.
The main artifacts discovered at the site are displayed at the Burdur Archaeological Museum, located about 15 kilometers away. Visiting the museum helps understand the settlement's history since the artifacts are arranged in chronological order.
The fortification system at level 11 includes two semicircular towers on its southern side, a design not found in other Neolithic centers of Mesopotamia or Syria. This defensive arrangement reveals a distinct local building tradition that developed independently from neighboring regions.
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