Our mission
Sayburç is one of the most important Neolithic discoveries of our time, yet almost everything written about it in English is a copy of a copy — the same few press lines, repeated. Sayburç.net exists to change that: to be the clear, careful, and complete English source for the site — its relief, its village, its discoveries, the people who dig it, and how to see it — so that curious readers, students and journalists have somewhere trustworthy to land.
The Community Garden
This site is published by The Community Garden, a foundation devoted to cultural preservation. We build and maintain the English-language homes for the Taş Tepeler sites — Sayburç, Karahan Tepe, Çakmaktepe, Sefertepe, Harbetsuvan and Ayanlar Höyük — so that this extraordinary landscape is understood, valued, and protected. Guided visits we help arrange are run in the same spirit: to connect people to the sites while supporting their preservation.
How we handle fact and interpretation
The Neolithic invites big stories. We love them — but we keep them honest:
- We separate evidence from interpretation. What was found is stated plainly; what it might mean is offered as possibility, not fact.
- We keep meanings open. We won't reduce the relief, the burials or the pillars to a single myth the evidence can't carry.
- We label field observations. When something comes from the trench rather than a publication, we say so, and we mark it as preliminary.
- We respect the archaeology. Our images are interpretive renderings and diagrams, not photographs of protected surfaces.
- We correct ourselves. When we get something wrong, we fix it and note the change. See our sources & corrections.
Explore the network
Sayburç is one hill among many. To understand it fully is to understand Taş Tepeler — the whole cluster of Neolithic sites across Şanlıurfa. Each has its own English home in our growing network.
Get in touch
Questions, corrections, press, or tours: email info@thecommunitygarden.org. Want the free guide? Join our list and we'll send it over.