Dead heads: Turkish site reveals more evidence of neolithic 'skull cult'

Fragments of three skulls found at Gibekli Tepe have hallmarks of being carved with flint after being scalped and defleshed first

Fragments of carved bone unearthed at an ancient site on a Turkish hillside are evidence that the people who spent time there belonged to a neolithic "skull cult" - a group that embraces rituals around the heads of the dead.

The remains were uncovered during field work at Gibekli Tepe, an 11,000-year-old site in the south-east of the country, where thousands of pieces of human bone were found, including sections of skulls bearing grooves, holes and the occasional dab of ochre.