Turkey announces archaeological discoveries at a Stone Age site and plans to establish an open-air museum

Turkey announced new archaeological discoveries at the Seytantepe site in the Şanlıurfa province, with plans to transform the area into an open-air museum, according to the Turkish newspaper Milliyet on Thursday, citing a minister.

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said that excavations uncovered 70 structures within an area of 2,700 square meters, dating back to the mid-ninth millennium BC.

The minister added that the site is planned to be developed into an open-air museum, preserving the traditional village structures in the area as part of a pioneering rural museum.

The discoveries at Seytantepe are significant for understanding art and architecture in the Neolithic period, as the uncovered structures show a transition from circular to rectangular architectural plans and provide relevant evidence regarding the emergence of houses and family units, according to the report.