İkiztepe Kaya Mezarı

Largest ancient cemetery in Anatolia

Anthropologic and medical studies carried out on the 690 skeletons recovered from the ikiztepe cemetery, which date back to 2300-2100BC, revealed that skillful skull surgery was carried out on eight of them. It appears some were able to survive 10 years or more following surgery while others died immediately. The spot where the cemetery stood, the highest hill in ikiztepe, was later used as a mausoleum in the Hellenistic period (330- 30BC).