Halet Çambel, early 1940s. Halet Çambel Archives.
Excavating a World, Unearthing a World
Halet Çambel (1916 – 2014)
Plowing the land to sustain humankind; digging through fossilized strata to discover civilization. Sowing the seeds across the fields and reaping that extraordinary harvest with villagers and urbanites, erudites and illiterates alike, for the future of Turkey. Halet Çambel was the first female archaeologist of Turkey; she believed in her land and lent a hand to her people. She embarked upon her grand journey into the Neolithic age for and with everyone. She transformed her discoveries into social projects and placed the people of Anatolia at their centre. She wrote the creative story of the “New Individual” with her own life. The firsts of Republican archaeology owe their existence to the fact that they are indeed the protagonists of that story.
Halet Çambel, taking leave from Yazlıkaya on the outbreak of World War II, 1939. Halet Çambel Archives.
First dig: Ali Yaramancı, Halet Çambel, Ümit Serdaroğlu. Ağın, summer of 1968. Halet Çambel Archives.
Halet Çambel´s drawing of the Karatepe-Aslantaş excavation site. Halet Çambel Archives.
The exhibition Republic: New Individual New Life can be seen free of admissions until 17th May.