The 820-foot by 492-foot burial mound was excavated in the years up to 2018, by Brenna Hassett of the Natural History Museum in London, and Haluk Sağlamtimur of Ege University in Turkey.

[9] The excavation also found 49 small pieces of stone elaborately sculpted in different shapes and painted in green, red, blue, black and white.

We also found dice as well as three circular tokens made of white shell and topped with a black round stone," stated Haluk Sağlamtimur of Ege University.

Similar pieces were apparently found settlement mounds in Tell Brak in north-eastern Syria, and Jemdet Nasr in Iraq, but those were believed to be counting stones.

[9] Marcella Frangipane, a professor of prehistoric archaeology at Rome's La Sapienza, has stated that: "The findings at Başur Höyük add to our knowledge as they reveal a coexistence of traditions and a continuity of relationships between the settlements in the northern mountains and the Mesopotamia sites.

The careful positioning of the bodies and the evidence of violent death suggest that these burials fit the same pattern of human sacrifice seen at other sites in the region.

"[10] The site at Başur Höyük is believed to be 500 years older than the Royal Cemetery of Ur, the elaborate tombs where Mesopotamian rulers were laid to rest.

[12] Further excavations have revealed a series of other burials at the site, including a mass death pit containing at least fifty individuals who were buried simultaneously.

In addition, according to Martina Massimino (2023), Thus, the same group present both at Basur and at Arslantepe, as well as in many other places in Anatolia, may have been responsible for the flourishing metal trade during this time period.