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Professor Douglas Baird from the University of Liverpool has dedicated 30 years to excavations across Türkiye—from the world-famous Neolithic site of Catalhoyuk to the recently explored Mendik Tepe.
Douglas Baird, a 65-year-old British archaeologist and faculty member at the University of Liverpool, has spent three decades working on some of the most significant archaeological sites in Türkiye.
After years of fieldwork in Jordan and Iraq, he turned his attention to Anatolia in 1995.
His contributions to excavations at Catalhoyuk, Boncuklu Hoyuk, and Pinarbasi in central Türkiye have shed light on the daily lives, rituals, and early farming practices of Neolithic communities.
Baird is currently directing excavations at Mendik Tepe, a settlement in Sanliurfa’s Eyyubiye district believed to predate Gobeklitepe, the world’s earliest known temple complex.
The work forms part of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s Tas Tepeler (Stone Mounds) Project, a broad initiative investigating multiple Neolithic sites across southeastern Türkiye.
According to Baird, Mendik Tepe offers unique insights into the earliest phases of human settlement and social organization.
Reflecting on his long career, Baird explained that his doctoral research in Iraq led him to explore how Neolithic cultures spread toward Anatolia.
“At the time, we wanted to understand how these early communities expanded into Türkiye,” he recalled.
This academic journey later converged with excavations at Catalhoyuk, one of the most important Neolithic settlements in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Baird emphasized that being part of the Tas Tepeler (Stone Mounds) Project has been a source of great enthusiasm for researchers.
He noted that the project allows different academic teams to connect their findings and establish broader regional patterns.
“We will have the chance to carry out a large-scale comparative study, drawing links between settlements,” he said, describing the work as exciting not only for scholars but also for the wider public.
Interest generated by documentaries and growing visitor numbers, he added, clearly reflects the fascination surrounding these ancient sites.
Baird plans to continue his mission in Türkiye for at least five more years, aiming to expand the research at Mendik Tepe and contribute to the collective understanding of humanity’s earliest communities.
His decades-long dedication highlights Türkiye’s central role in the story of human history.
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