Famed archaeologist faked murals, inscriptions

“In a shocking development, researchers have discovered that James Mellaart, the archaeologist who first excavated one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world, the 9,000-year-old Neolithic proto-urban settlement of Çatalhöyük in Turkey, for decades fabricated murals and inscriptions, passing them off as genuine finds and publishing them extensively.”

James Mellart “created some of the ‘ancient’ murals at Çatalhöyük that he supposedly discovered; he also forged documents recording inscriptions that were found at Beyköy, a village in Turkey, said geoarchaeologist Eberhard Zangger, president of the Luwian Studies Foundation. Zangger examined Mellaart’s apartment in London between Feb. 24 and 27, finding ‘prototypes,’ as Zangger calls them, of murals and inscriptions that Mellaart had claimed were real.”

http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/50869

I was sorry to hear about faked findings at Catalhoyuk, especially as the site proved archaeologists and historians do not know as much as they think. Or, maybe the fakes don’t take away from the ancient site.

Link at http://maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com/

Also, https://luwianstudies.org/james-mellaart-forged-documents-throughout-life/