Mound reveals 7,000-year-old human footprints

ANKARA

Ongoing excavation at Tell Kurdu Mound in the southern province of Hatay has unveiled five human footprints dating back to 5200 B.C., Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy has announced.

Highlighting the significance of this find, Ersoy shared in a social media post that these 7,000-year-old footprints found at the mound in Reyhanlı's Karahöyük neighborhood mark a rare and remarkable discovery in Anatolia.

“Five human footprints were identified in layers dating back to 5200 BC, the Ubaid period. These prints, left by people walking on mud soaked by rain, offer a unique testimony reaching us from thousands of years ago,” he said.

According to a ministry statement, the footprints were unearthed on Aug. 21, 2025, in a trench numbered 8564. They were determined to belong to individuals walking on a muddy fill layer exposed to heavy rain or water.

This discovery, regarded as one of the rare findings in Anatolian archaeology, provides important clues about the social and cultural life of the period.