Çatalhöyük in Anatolia, Turkey is seen as one of the oldest and largest Neolithic settlements yet discovered. 9000-year-old relics of human history, including complex dwellings, amazing wall paintings and figurines, offer a direct glimpse of life in the Neolithic age, when humans first began to live in large groups. The Çatalhöyük Research Project aims to use modern archaeological and scientific techniques to answer questions about topics such as the architecture of the settlement, the role of art, the diet and the health of the people of Neolithic Çatalhöyük and the way they lived their lives.

Specialists from Plowman Craven 3D are involved in the provision of geomatic services to the project team and recently undertook a test programme of laser scanning to record the excavated Neolithic buildings. After overcoming many Turkish and UK Customs Carnet problems, we were eventually able to use one of our Leica HDS2500 laser scanners at the site. The equipment enabled us to record the Neolithic buildings at Çatalhöyük in a way that has been impossible in the past. Millions of 3D points were collected across the surfaces of walls, floors and features, picking up previously unrecorded tiny details and undulations. This greater resolution will help us interpret the function and use patterns of the houses. The laser scan data was then modelled up into a mesh and rendered with textures from digital photographic images. This test has allowed us to present a 3D model of just one of the Neolithic buildings. In future years, we hope that the continued use of laser scanners will create a full 3D model of the settlement, for anyone to move around and explore from any angle and perhaps from views that the Neolithic people may have experienced themselves.

“The amazing three-dimensional survival of 9000-year-old buildings at Çatalhöyük, complete with furnishing, artwork of painted hunting scenes and wall mouldings of protruding bulls’ heads, leopards and animal horns, have presented us with an almost impossible recording problem using traditional methods. Since we began a programme of laser scanning with Plowman Craven, we have been able to capture all the nuances and intricate detail. Capturing these in 3D allows us to visualise what the inhabitants experienced in their daily lives, perhaps leading towards reconstructing a mind-set of peoples from thousands of years ago; visualising their world allows us to interpret their world and even perhaps their belief systems?" Shahina Farid Field Director Çatalhöyük Research Project