Communal Architecture at Boncuklu Tarla, Mardin Province, Turkey

Abstract

The site of Boncuklu Tarla is located in the province of Mardin in Turkey. It was identified in 2008 and salvage excavations have been taking place since 2012 in the shadow of the construction of the Ilısu Dam. The archaeological excavation of Boncuklu Tarla represents a new opportunity to examine the complete chronology of the preceramic Neolithic in the Upper Tigris Valley thanks to the presence of archaeological strata dating from the Epipaleolithic to the end of the late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB). In the eastern section of Boncuklu Tarla the remains of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) came to light in 2017 and 2019, allowing us to revisit the architecture both communal and domestic, as well as spatial organization in a concrete chronological context during the tenth millennium. In this region, we identified a communal building in the midst of surrounding houses.