Recent archaeological work in the Levent Valley in the eastern province of Malatya's Akçadağ district (Eastern Anatolia, Turkey) has revealed traces of life from the Neolithic Age.
     Levent İskenderoğlu, chairman of Malatya's branch of the Conservation Implementation and Control Branch (KUDEB), said the 28-kilometer-long Levent Valley was a very attractive place thanks to its geological formations. The valley is home to thousands of large and small caves carved by the human hand, he said. "One can see the traces of life in these caves with the naked eye."
     KUDEB has recently completed inventory work in the valley, İskenderoğlu said. "The work, carried out by scientists - KUDEB's technical staff including art historians and archaeologists - has revealed that life existed there until the Paleolithic age. We have seen traces of life from the Neolithic period in the valley caves.
     İskenderoğlu said that within the scope of the work, they had discovered the existence of 26 areas that have geological importance, adding that there were nearly 20 villages in the valley including Levent, Kozalak, Bağ and Sarıhacı.
     Kozalak village headman Hüseyin Ünal said he Çerkeztepe tumulus, which is located in the spot where the Bağ and Sakalıuzun villages merge in the valley, had been declared a protected site by the Culture and Tourism Ministry, adding that there were 5,000-year-old structures between Yalınkaya and Kozalak.

Edited from Hurriyet Daily News (19 November 2012)