11,000-Year-Old Statue of a Person Riding a Leopard Unearthed in Turkey
Archaeologists in southeastern Turkey have unearthed a Stone Age statue of a human figure sitting on the back of a leopard — a sculpture left in place roughly 11,000 years ago and never moved until now.
The 70-centimetre-tall carving was found inside a circular structure about three metres across at Karahan Tepe, a Neolithic site near Şanlıurfa in Türkiye. According to Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which announced the find on 25 August 2026, the statue was discovered exactly where its makers had left it (Ministry of Culture and Tourism).
The figure shows a person mounted on a leopard, the animal's body beneath the rider. The ministry's press release, titled "KARAHANTEPE'DE 11 BİN YILLIK BENZERSİZ HEYKEL" — Turkish for "unique 11,000-year-old sculpture at Karahan Tepe" — described it as a singular find from the 2026 excavation season (Heritage Daily; Anadolu Agency).
Karahan Tepe is part of a cluster of Neolithic settlements in the Şanlıurfa region, among the oldest known monumental sites in the world. The broader archaeological landscape, often called Taş Tepeler ("Stone Hills"), includes Göbekli Tepe — famous for its carved pillars — and has reshaped understanding of how early hunter-gatherer societies built, carved and gathered long before farming took hold.
The discovery came during the 2026 excavation campaign at the site. Turkey's Culture and Tourism Minister, Bakan Ersoy, stated that the find will create a wide stir in the scientific world, according to the ministry's official channels (Ministry of Culture and Tourism).
That a piece so old survived in its original position is unusual. Most ancient sculpture has been moved, buried by later occupants, or scattered across centuries of looting and rebuilding. The ministry emphasised that the leopard rider was found in situ — a term archaeologists use for an object discovered in the place where it was originally placed or deposited.
For now, the statue remains under study. No date has been set for public display.
