Petition to save the rock art of the Latmos Mountains, Turkey

The Threat?
Feldspar mining. Mining for feldspar has existed in the area for decades but now it is dramatically increasing. At the projected rate of mining, the Latmos Culture is in jeopardy.

Discovered in 1994 by the Berlin archaeologist Dr. Anneliese Peschlow-Bindokat, these rock paintings, dating to the 6th and 5th millennia B.C., belong to the recent extraordinary discoveries in prehistoric archaeology in Anatolia. The painted images focus on family scenes and reflects the changes that occurred in society with the onset of the Neolithic. The themes and message conveyed by this imagery are unparalleled in the Mediterranean sphere and the Near East. The rock art is stylistically and thematically unique; it is a new culture. It is the ‘Latmos Culture’.

In prehistory the Latmos, or Beşparmak Dağları, was revered as a sacred mountain in Anatolia.Upon its peak the Old Anatolian weather god and a local mountain deity were worshipped. The mountain peak was the centre of weather and fertility rituals. This cultic tradition continued into Ottoman times. [...] bradshawfoundation.com/