Göbekli Tepe
Girê Mirazan · Potbelly Hill
Pre-Pottery Neolithic·Hunter-gatherer (PPN A/B)·🇹🇷 Southeastern Anatolia, Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey
About
About Göbekli Tepe
Hilltop Pre-Pottery Neolithic sanctuary with 8+ circular enclosures defined by T-shaped limestone pillars up to 5.5 m, carved with foxes, vultures, aurochs. Oldest monumental architecture, predating pottery, metallurgy, writing.
Why it mattersRewrites origins of monumentality: hunter-gatherers built temple before agriculture/cities.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Hunter-gatherer monumental labour before sedentism
- 02Intentional burial of enclosures
- 03Animal iconography meaning
Theories
- 01Cult centre driving Neolithisation
- 02Mortuary/ancestor veneration
- 03Feasting aggregation of forager bands
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 9600–8200 BCE
- Period
- Pre-Pottery Neolithic
- Culture
- Hunter-gatherer (PPN A/B)
- Purpose
- Ritual gathering centre, not domestic
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
c. 9600–8200 BCE
Initial construction
c. 1283 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
37.2231° N · 38.9223° E · 760 m · 3 mapped features
Enclosure D (largest)
enclosureCentral twin pillars 5.5 m, 20 surrounding pillars
37.2231° N · 38.9223° EEnclosure C
enclosureWild boar and fox pillars
37.2229° N · 38.9225° EEnclosure H
enclosureRecently uncovered vulture imagery
37.2233° N · 38.9220° E
Gallery