Editorial & Field Team
ArchaeoWorld is an independent digital publication covering archaeological fieldwork, heritage science, and cultural heritage policy. Our editorial team combines academic expertise with investigative journalism to deliver rigorous, accessible reporting on discoveries that shape our understanding of the human past.
Elif Kaya
Based in Şanlıurfa, Elif has covered Neolithic archaeology in southeastern Türkiye since 2018. She holds an MA in Near Eastern Archaeology from Istanbul University and previously reported for the Turkish Cultural Heritage Review. She has been embedded with the Göbekli Tepe excavation team since March 25.
Dr. Hasan Demirtaş
Hasan specialises in the interpretation of geophysical survey data for archaeological applications. He completed his doctorate in Applied Geophysics at METU (Ankara) in 2021 and serves as a technical reviewer for ArchaeoWorld's subsurface imaging coverage.
Prof. Mehmet Öztürk
Chair of Prehistoric Archaeology at Ankara University and a specialist in Pre-Pottery Neolithic mortuary practices. Prof. Öztürk has published extensively on ritual architecture at Göbekli Tepe and Karahantepe, and provides contextual analysis for ArchaeoWorld's Neolithic coverage.
Murat Özkan
A photojournalist with 12 years of experience documenting archaeological fieldwork across Türkiye, Jordan, and Iraq. Murat's work has appeared in National Geographic Türkiye, Archaeology Magazine, and the DAI Berlin annual reports. Currently on-site at Göbekli Tepe.
Dr. Sarah Lindqvist
Formerly a research fellow at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Cambridge. Sarah oversees ArchaeoWorld's coverage of European and Near Eastern prehistory and manages the peer-review coordination process for our investigative features.
Cem Ayvalık
Cem founded ArchaeoWorld in 2019 after a decade in science journalism at TÜBİTAK Bilim ve Teknik. Under his leadership, the publication has grown to a readership of 2.4 million monthly visitors and has been cited by the BBC, Al Jazeera, and Der Spiegel.
Editorial Standards
- All investigative features undergo independent technical review before publication.
- Named sources are contacted for comment at least 48 hours before publication; responses are published in full when provided.
- ArchaeoWorld does not accept funding from excavation sponsors or cultural heritage agencies whose work we cover.
- Corrections and clarifications are published within 24 hours of identification.