A 80-square-meter Neolithic era temple estimated to be around 11,300 years old was recently discovered in eastern Turkey (Dargeรงit, Mardin district), a region that once was inhabited by Armenians.
The structure is considered to be of the same age and style as the famous temple of Portasar (a.k.a. Gรถbekli Tepe) and probably belongs to the same culture. Archaeologists managed to unearth four steles, three of which were very well preserved, but that excavations are still ongoing around the temple.

Ergul Kodaล, an archaeologist at Artuklu University and advisor to the excavation area, told that the temple, built with small stones and hardened clay floors, belongs to the same period as “Gรถbekli Tepe” , the famed oldest temple in the world. Kodaล reported:
โAccording to analysis, the temple has four steles. We think it’s about 11,300 years old,โ
โExcavations are underway, but we have clearly revealed the steles. One of the four steles we uncovered was broken, but the other three were still preserved to this day as they were,โ
He also noted that archaeologists have not yet reached the base of the temple, which was made of rubble walls and a hardened clay base, adding that it might take a month to reach the foundation. Currently excavations are ongoing.

That region has been part of the the Armenian habitat since times immemorial. Prior to the Armenian Genocide, Dargeรงit was mostly inhabited by Kurds, Assyrians and Armenians, with a majority Christian population.
The oldest known civilization of the Mardin province is Subartu. The Sumerian mythological epic Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta makes mention of the kingdom of Subartu. Sargon of Akkad campaigned against Subar, and his grandson Naram-Sin listed Subar along with Armani. In 3000 B.C. they were succeeded by the Hurrian kingdom and later Urartu from which the Armenians directly descended.

Medieval Islamic scholars, relying on ancient sources, claimed that the people of Subar (Subartu) and the Armenians had shared ancestry.
The territories surrounding lake Van are considered to be the heartland of historical Armenia.

ALL OF OUR ANCIENT HISTORY SHOULD BE PRODUCED INTO A DOCUMENTARY PROGRAM AND PUT ON ON PBS ASAP
Thanks yet again, your articles enlighten and enrichen the Armenian culture.
[…] 11,300-year-old temple found in historical Armenia […]
Is it not ahistorical to use โhistorical Armeniaโ as a geographic term in this article? Would not Asia Minor be more appropriate?
No because academics use the term turkey to discuss a subject matter much older than the nation itself . Academics must use the historic correct name of its time in bracket ( turkey ) . Unfortunately academics care for their pockets as grant money is more important than facts