With its location near the point where Batman Çayı and the Tigris River meet, approximately 30 km west of Batman in southeastern Anatolia, Körtik Tepe is situated on the west bank the Tigris near a Pınarbaşı field of the Ağıl Village (Ancolini) within the administrative borders of Bismil district, Diyarbakır. In the form of a low hill, the mound extends across an area of 100 x 150 m and a height 5.50 m above its surroundings. The mound, also known by its traditional names Kotuk or Kotik, was first detected in surveys carried out in 1989 and evaluated as a late site. Archaeological excavations that began in 2000 continued until 2011. Excavations exposed an area of approximately 3325 m² in 118 trenches of 5.00 x 5.00 m, reaching variable depths between 1.00-5.50 m. Together with Hallan Çemi, Körtik Tepe is one of the earliest sites in which the transition from hunter-gatherer communities following a nomadic way of life to settled village life is represented. Excavations revealed two main culture phases in the mound: a medieval period represents the later culture phase, while the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, represented mainly by architectural remains, burials, and grave goods, is the earlier one.
The character of the site, similarities to contemporary sites throughout the Upper Tigris Valley, the finds as grave gifts beneath houses and in other burials, faunal remains, and other evidence all show that Körtik Tepe definitely belongs to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A period. This fact is confirmed with C14 analysis showing that mound was settled at the beginning of the 10th millennium BC. Körtik Tepe is thus one of the oldest known Neolithic sites of Anatolia. In view of the strong Epipaleolithic character demonstrated by the presence of microliths and arch-backed blades that reflect close parallels with Hallan Çemi, there are indications that Körtik Tepe was settled in an even earlier time.
