DIYARBAKIR- Eight excavations out of 9 carried out in the Bismil district of Diyarbakir, southeastern city of Turkey, have been completed.
The deputy curator of Diyarbakir Museum, Nevin Soyukaya told the Anatolia Agency that 5 Turkish and 4 foreign teams conducted the excavations in the Bismil tumuluses which will be inundated by the Ilysu Dam Lake.
Soyukaya announced that over 1,000 historical artifacts back from the neolithic era to the Ottomans, including 515 exceptional pieces, have been unearthed in the excavations.
"Dicle Valley has been a residential area since the neolithic period. Consequently there are lots of artifacts belonging to this period. The excavations have been carried out since 2002 and are to continue until the construction of Ilysu Dam Lake will be completed," Soyukaya added.
A protocol was signed between the Culture & Tourism Ministry, Middle East Technical University and State Hydraulic Works DG with a view to save the historical and cultural assets in the tumuluses in Bismil.