Sinekkaya Mağarası 2024 excavation report has been published in 45th Excavation Results Meeting 1st volume. . 

You can read/download the report at:  https://avesis.istanbul.edu.tr/yayin/0ec10bad-3719-411c-87a4-855fa12f531e/sinekkaya-magarasi-orhaneli-bursa-kazisi-2024 .

Sinekkaya Mağarası 2024 Yılı Kazı Raporu Yayımlandı!

The results of the 2024 excavation at Sinekkaya Cave, located in the Orhaneli district of Bursa, provide critical data on the little-known Paleolithic past of Western Anatolia. Conducted by a team led by Assoc. Prof. Berkay Dinçer, the studies once again demonstrated the potential to understand cultural transition routes between Anatolia and the Balkans.

During the 2024 season, approximately 0.871 metric tons of soil were meticulously sieved, yielding 677 chipped stone artifacts and nearly 40 liters of animal bone remains. Notable findings include Levallois flakes and points characteristic of the Middle Paleolithic, along with a Gravettian point (Upper Paleolithic)—a rare and exciting discovery for regional archaeology. Archaeozoological analyses revealed that tens of thousands of years ago, the cave hosted megafauna from the Ice Age, such as the cave lion, cave bear, and spotted cave hyena.

Significance of the Results The primary significance of the Sinekkaya excavations lies in its potential to offer a reliable chronological sequence in Western Anatolia, where Paleolithic research is extremely limited. Although the upper deposits (Layer 1) exhibit a mixed structure due to past illegal excavations, the data obtained documents human activity spanning a wide timeframe from the Middle Paleolithic to the Neolithic. The high preservation level of the findings suggests that reaching in situ (undisturbed) layers in future seasons will fill a major void in the region's prehistoric chronology.