Çatalhöyük

Çatalhöyük is a Neolithic settlement roughly 9,500 years old on the Anatolian plateau, about 40 kilometres southeast of Konya, and is considered the earliest known large human settlement in history. Between 7500 and 5700 BCE, an estimated 8,000 people lived in densely packed mud-brick dwellings with no streets — residents entered exclusively through roof hatches and moved across rooftops. Wall paintings, moulded bull heads, and burials placed directly beneath living floors hint at a ritual world still only partially understood. Excavations led since 1993 by archaeologist Ian Hodder fundamentally reshaped our understanding of early sedentism and social organisation. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2012, the site today features a protective shelter over exposed dwelling clusters, accessible via raised walkways.