Neolithic Twin of Knossos: First 8,800-Year-Old Farming Houses Discovered in Turkey

8,800-year-old Neolithic settlement on Gökçeada, Turkey

August

/ 2025

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Archaeological excavations on Turkey's westernmost island have uncovered the earliest known agricultural settlement in the Aegean Sea, revealing five circular houses that predate most European farming communities by millennia. The groundbreaking discovery at Uğurlu-Zeytinlik Mound on Gökçeada (ancient Imbros) places this remote Turkish island alongside Crete's famous Knossos as the only Neolithic settlement documenting the first wave of farming communities to reach the Aegean Islands.

Professor Burçin Erdoğu from Akdeniz University, who has led excavations at the site since 2009, described the find as unprecedented. "This type of architecture has been encountered for the first time in the Aegean Islands," he explained to Turkish media. The structures, dated to approximately 6800 BC, feature round plans with sunken floors constructed using wattle-and-daub techniques - woven reed walls coated with mud plaster.

A view from the excavations at Ugurlu-Zeytinlik Hoyuk on Gokceada, Canakkale, Turkey. (AA Photo/Türkiye Today)

Revolutionary Architecture of Early Island Farmers

The newly discovered houses represent a significant breakthrough in understanding how agriculture spread across the Mediterranean. Unlike the rectangular mudbrick structures common in mainland Anatolia during this period, these Aegean pioneers developed a unique architectural style perfectly adapted to island conditions. The semi-subterranean design provided insulation and stability, while the flexible wattle-and-daub construction could withstand seasonal storms.

Each structure measured approximately 4-6 meters in diameter, with carefully prepared stone foundations supporting reed-and-mud superstructures. Archaeological evidence suggests the roofs were conical, possibly thatched with local vegetation. Hürriyet Daily News reported that the buildings were arranged in a small cluster, indicating planned community organization rather than random settlement.

The discovery challenges previous assumptions about early Aegean settlement patterns. Dr. Erkan Güral, a member of the excavation team, noted that the community began with "about nine or ten houses in a small area" before expanding around 5800 BC to other parts of the island, suggesting successful adaptation and population growth.

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Agricultural Revolution Reaches the Islands

The Uğurlu Neolithic settlement provides crucial evidence for how farming communities first reached remote Aegean islands nearly 9,000 years ago. Botanical remains reveal that the inhabitants cultivated domesticated wheat, barley, lentils, and peas - crops that had to be transported from mainland sources. Animal bones show they raised sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs, creating a complete agricultural economy on an isolated island.

Perhaps most remarkably, the site has yielded obsidian tools from the distant island of Melos and flint from both Anatolian and Balkan sources, proving these early islanders maintained extensive trade networks across the eastern Mediterranean. Arkeonews emphasized that such long-distance exchange indicates sophisticated maritime capabilities and social organization.

The farmers of Uğurlu also possessed advanced crafting skills, producing pottery decorated with distinctive geometric patterns and manufacturing stone tools from carefully selected raw materials. Bone implements including fish hooks demonstrate they supplemented agriculture with marine resources, taking full advantage of their island environment.

Twin Foundations of Aegean Civilization

For decades, archaeologists considered Knossos on Crete the sole example of early Neolithic settlement in the Aegean Islands. The Uğurlu discovery fundamentally changes this narrative, revealing that farming communities successfully colonized multiple islands simultaneously during the late 7th millennium BC.

This twin foundation model suggests that agricultural expansion into the Aegean was not a singular event but part of a broader maritime movement from Anatolia. The architectural differences between the sites - Knossos featured rectangular structures while Uğurlu developed circular buildings - indicate separate colonization events with distinct cultural adaptations.

Professor Erdoğu emphasized the discovery's significance:

"The Uğurlu settlement, together with Knossos on the island of Crete, is the only settlement across the Aegean Islands belonging to the earliest farming communities."

The research demonstrates that by 8,800 years ago, agricultural societies possessed the maritime technology, organizational skills, and economic systems necessary to establish permanent farming communities on remote islands. This achievement required coordinated transportation of people, animals, seeds, and tools across dangerous sea passages using primitive watercraft.

Top image: Excavations at Uğurlu-Zeytinlik Mound on Gökçeada revealing 8,800-year-old circular houses of the first Aegean farmers. Source: AA Photo/Türkiye Today

By Gary Manners