James Mellaart (b. 1925) is a British archaeologist and author who is noted for his work at the Neolithic village of Catalhoyuk in Turkey. He was also expelled from Turkey suspected of involvement with antiquities black market and was involved with the so-called Mother goddess controversy in Anatolia. Mellaart was also involved in a string of controversies that eventually lead to his banning from excavations in Turkey in the 1960s.

James Mellaart was born in 1925 in London. He lectured at the University of Istanbul and was an assistant director of the British Institute of Archaeology in Ankara. In 1951 Mellaart began to direct excavations on the sites in Turkey with the assistance his Turkish-born wife Arlette. In 1964 he began to lecture in Anatolian archaeology in Ankara.

Dorak Affair

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In 1958 Mellaart gave a report of a new rich find from Dorak to Seton Lloyd of the British Institute. He said he had found the items six years ago but had not received permission to publish his find before this. When the news appeared in Illustrated London News, Turkish authorities demanded to know why they had not been informed and where the artifacts had been found.

Mellaart said that he had seen the treasures in a home of a young woman who he had seen in Izmir. She did not allow him to take photographs but had let him make drawings of them. However, her name - Anna Papastrari - was unknown and her address did not exist. So Turkey expelled Mellaart for suspicion of smuggling out antiquities. He was later allowed to return.

Some of this is covered in the Pearson and Connor book "The Dorak Affair" (New York: Atheneum, 1968).

Catalhoyuk excavation

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When Mellaart excavated Catalhoyuk site in the 1961, his team found more than 150 rooms and buildings, some decorated with murals, plaster reliefs, and sculptures. The site has since been seen as important as it has helped in the study of the social and cultural dynamics of large permanently occupied farming settlements in the Near East.

According to Mellaart's theories, Catalhoyuk was a prominent place of mother goddess worship. However, many other archaeologists did not agree and the dispute created a controversy. Mellaart was even accused of making up at least some of the mythological stories he presented as genuine. The furor caused Turkish government to close up the site. The site was unattended for the next 30 years until the excavations were begun anew in 1990s.

The city as a whole covers roughly 32.5 acres (130,000 m²), and housing 5,000-8,000 people, whereas the norm for the time was around one tenth of this size. The site stirred great excitement when Mellaart announced it and has since caused much head scratching. In fact, more recent work as turned up comparable features at other early Neolithic sites in the Near East, and this has benefited many people in their understanding of the site and therefore many of its once mysteries are no longer real issues.

Retirement

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As of 2005, Mellaart has retired from teaching and lives in North London with his wife.

1925 births | Living people | British archaeologists