Karahan Tepe Secret Chamber to Be Opened + New Statue Discovered

Hello everybody and welcome to Ancient Architects. Please subscribe to the channel for regular content on ancient architecture as well as all the latest news from the world of archaeology. Before I start the main subject of this video, I just want to report that a brand new discovery has been made today at the pre-pottery Neolithic site of Karahantepe. Here we see a unique 11,000 year old statue, 70cm tall and found in situ inside a building. The statue shows a human figure sitting on the back of a leopard, almost like it's riding it. It's the reverse of other statues found at the site where we can see a leopard on the back of a human figure, like this one that's on display in Shanlurfa Museum. The building it was found inside has a diameter of 3m with the floor covered in flat stones. The statue sits close to a broken pillar and looks to have a purpose cut hole running through it and whether this is a primary or secondary feature of the statue, it's purpose is unknown. Maybe for a wooden pole to pass through, I don't know. The human figure has its head angled upwards whilst the leopard has its teeth showing in a ferocious pose. The human certainly appears to be riding the leopard and I can't help but think it has some kind of spiritual significance. As we can see from the back of the human figure, it also has the usual skeletonised appearance we see so often at Karahantepe and I can't help but think it somehow relates to death. More on this exciting new discovery when details emerge. Because now to the main subject of the video. Karahantepe is a huge pre-pottery Neolithic settlement in southeastern Turkey. A sister site of the world famous Göbekli Tepe, both of which are dated more than 11,500 years old, comprising large oval buildings, domestic structures, incredible examples of ancient art and some truly enigmatic architectural feats. I've visited Karahantepe twice before and I'll be there again in October this year and every year the site gets more and more fascinating as excavations and conservation efforts progress at what feels like an astonishing pace. It's probably my favourite archaeological site because just when we think we've started to understand it, a new completely unique find is uncovered and each new find adds a new dimension to this truly ancient settlement. And a perfect example is a news report from a few weeks ago with talk of a secret chamber at Karahantepe and this chamber is set to be opened in the current excavation season, in fact for all I know it could already have been opened. And it's related to this rectangular building that was first excavated in 2025. This building is clearly a later and somewhat unusual construction in the life of Karahantepe, but one that's situated right in the heart of the site. Archaeologists are calling it Building BH and it's one of the best examples of rectilinear pre-pottery Neolithic architecture ever uncovered. It measures 9 by 7 metres in size and the building's walls survive up to 3.5 metres in height. There are also traces of plaster and mud brick at the bases of the walls, indicating the walls were originally plastered. The interior layout is defined by two tiered benches running along the walls, there are four broken pillars placed symmetrically within the structure and there are traces of strong burning on the floor. Damage to some benches also indicates exposure to high temperatures, which could give us an indication of how the life of this building came to an end, whether accidental burning or some kind of ritual closing ceremony. Along the northern wall excavators discovered a large stone vessel, a two-step platform and a channel running beneath it. It looks as though liquid was poured into this vessel, which then flowed into the channel. So, what's all this talk of a secret chamber? Well, it comes from a media story from July 2026 with this headline on archaeonews.net What lies beneath Karahan Tepe? A 12,000-year-old stone-sealed chamber will soon be opened. It was recently discussed on the Megalithomania channel and this alerted me to the news story I had previously missed, and on closer investigation, I do think there is some confusion over the location of the chamber. From reading the Archaeology Report of 2025 and the news story on archaeonews.net, the chamber isn't found beneath the rectangular building, it's basically just this feature in the corner. It's not an underground chamber or subterranean room because, as the news article says, the chamber lies in the rectangular structure, not below it, and flat stones and slabs cover its upper section, as we can see in this photograph. The news story says it does have an entrance, but apparently the entrance can't be excavated because it opens up onto a shallow deposit, whatever that means. At this stage, nobody knows what's inside it, but it does look to be deliberately enclosed, and this raises suspicions there could be artefacts, tools or even bones inside. The chamber is inaccessible from the interior of the rectangular building, but according to reports, archaeologists are set to dismantle these heavy cover stones to see inside. Reports say the chamber is a small elevated room, it isn't subterranean, and it's built into the corner of the rectangular building BH. Regarding the rectangular building as a whole, the benches that are situated around the perimeter, as well as the seemingly ceremonial basin and channel, lead experts to believe it had a communal function, maybe for ceremonies, offerings or other ritual practices. And we could find the answer in the chamber in the corner of the room, or at least it might point us in the right direction. So, at this stage, that really is the entire story. A small box-like chamber in the corner of the building is set to be opened, so what are we likely to find inside it? Well, it is small, so we have to bear that in mind. Firstly, there could be nothing inside it. It could just be a raised platform inside the room, maybe a place to put objects on or for someone to stand on or sit, or maybe it acted like an altar or a table. Inside, it could just be filled with rubble, to make it solid and structurally sound. If this is the case, what's inside it is not important. The platform, aka the top surface, is its purpose. And next to this possible platform, there also looks to be a mini staircase as well, which may give credence to the idea that this is just a platform and not some kind of chamber. Looking at the neighbouring buildings AD and especially BD, and we do find built-up areas, especially in the latter. It's like a focal point or an altar. In building AD, I believe part of the perimeter bench also had this kind of purpose, as plates and objects were found on a raised area. But of course, it is possible it is an enclosed chamber, and it could well contain human remains. At the pre-pottery Neolithic site of Ceanu, experts discovered a skull and bone room. Basically, a jumble of human remains were found in a crypt. A skull room was also found at another site, Sefer Tepe, and also at many pre-pottery Neolithic sites, human remains are often found placed in the walls of special purpose communal buildings. Therefore, this area of the Karahan Tepe rectangular building could well be hiding a deposit of human bones, likely a secondary internment site. Another option is that special artefacts are inside. On the raised platform area in building BD, we find a human statue, a statue of a vulture, as well as plates and bowls. Maybe when in use, items were placed on top of this platform, and then when it went out of use, they were placed inside. We could find figurines, broken statues, plates, bowls and so on. At this stage, in truth, we're only guessing. It could be nothing more than a raised platform, but as stated, the news report did say it does have an entrance, which I assume can only be on the outside of the rectangular building. Therefore, there is a good chance there's something inside, unless this entrance was some kind of access point for repairs. I don't know. All we know for sure is that this is a very deliberate feature of the rectangular communal building, and it isn't 12,000 years old as the news report seems to imply, but more likely around 10,000 years old, built in the latter stages of the life of Karahan Tepe. But it is another mystery to be solved, and we are on the verge of solving it. In this excavation season, the flat stones on top of this feature will be removed, and so we'll soon get to see what, if anything, is hiding inside. Thank you very much for watching this episode of Ancient Architects. If you enjoyed the video, please subscribe to the channel, please like the video and please leave a comment below.