11,000-year-old leopard-rider statue found in place where it was left, at Karahan Tepe in Türkiye

A 70-centimetre stone statue of a human figure mounted on a leopard was found at Karahan Tepe, a Neolithic site near Şanlıurfa, Türkiye, during the 2026 excavation season. Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced the find on 25 August 2026, stating it was discovered in situ — still in the place where its makers left it roughly 11,000 years ago. Most ancient sculpture has been moved, buried or scattered over millennia, making an undisturbed find of this age rare.