Nevalı Çori

FloodedNot open to visitors

The first T-pillar site ever excavated, before it drowned behind the Atatürk Dam. Without Nevalı Çori, Schmidt might never have recognised Göbekli Tepe.

Visiting

Not open to visitors

Flooded; finds are shown in the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum.

Source: DAI 2016 · checked 19 Oct 2026

Dating

c. 8400–8100 BCE for sculptures (secondary)

Phase: PPNB

Source: Wikipedia/Schmidt 2010

Discovery

Excavated 1983–1991 by Harald Hauptmann

Source: DAI 2016

Excavation

FloodedRecorded as: flooded / lost

None (submerged)

Key find

  1. Cult building with T-pillars and bench; monumental sculpture including a ‘totem’ and a sculpted head

    DAI 2016; Wikipedia

What the sources disagree on

Flooding year: DAI says 1991, others say 1992.

Where

Formerly Hilvan area (now under the Atatürk Dam reservoir)

District level only. We don’t publish coordinates or directions to excavation and survey sites.

Field Log · 2 entries

  1. DiscoveryKlaus Schmidt recognises T-pillars at Göbekli Tepe
  2. ExcavationNevalı Çori excavated, then flooded by the Atatürk Dam reservoir

Open these in the Field Log

Sources · 2

  1. Göbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of Research (Tepe Telegrams)German Archaeological Institute (DAI), O. Dietrich · 2 Jun 2016
  2. Şanlıurfa İli Neolitik Dönem Yüzey Araştırması Sonucunda Ortaya Çıkan Yeni Bilgi ve Bulgular (B. Çelik)Türk Tarih Kurumu (PDF) · c. 2020-2022