TURKISH WALL PAINTING "IS FIRST NEWS STORY"

[trknws...@nwu.edu]

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

TURKISH WALL PAINTING "IS FIRST NEWS STORY"

July 28, 1997

By Alsling Irwin Science Correspondent

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have found the world's oldest news
story -the recording of a natural disaster that
apperently occured 9.000 years ago.

British researchers working in Turkey have matched
the erupting volcano in an ancient wall painting,
discovered in the oldest known town, with a twin-peaked
mountain 100 miles away.

The wall painting depicts the plan of an unknown
town. with the oddly shaped volcano erupting behind it.

Prof. Celal Sengor, of the Academy of Science in
Istanbul, said that the eruption, during which the sky would
have darkened and the earth shaken, would have been
etched on the memory of anyone who survived it.

"This makes the painting the oldest news story
that definitely points to a stupendous event that happenced
nearby", he said.

The painting was discovered in the Sixties
during excavations of the major neolithic site of
Catalhoyuk, near Konya in southern Turkey - probably the
oldest major settlement found.

The town, which housed more than 5,000 people,
emerged about 7,000 BC. But the origins of the town and
volcano remained a puzzle.

Now Turkish, French and British geologists believe
they have found the volcano. Hasan Dag, 100 miles from
Catalhoyuk. Below the volcano is the ancient site of
Asikli Hoyuk, thought to be a precursor of Catalhoyuk.

***************************************************************************
Send email to Turkish Radio Hour <t...@aimnet.com> to subscribe to TRKNWS-L
The URL for TRKNWS-L is http://www.cs.nwu.edu/~yusuf/turkey/trknws/
***************************************************************************