SPECIAL PROJECTS » Goebekli Tepe

There is a stone-age sanctum situated in Turkey, in south-east Anatolia at the Syrian border, 15 km north-east of the regional capital Sanliurfa to be even more exact. The importance of this sanctuary was discovered in 1994 by Prof. Dr. Klaus Schmidt, who has been managing the archaeological excavation since then. The origin of the site goes back to 9500 B.C., to a time when neither domestic animals and agriculture nor pottery had been invented. The constructors of the site are believed to have been migrating hunters and gatherers, travelling through the copious country of Mesopotamia after the glacial age. They left behind the so-called “Göbekli Tepe“ over 20 circular sites, which were gently covered in earth during subsequent times, probably not long after the builders themselves, they were thus buried. The hill created by using soil and rubble had a diameter of over 300 m and a height of over 15 m and grew to a volume of approx. 300,000 m³.

The individual circular sites are composed of several monolithic stone pillars in T-form, which are connected to each other by means of dry walls to form a ring of up to 20 m of diameter. There are two further T-pillars at the centre of each circular site, which exceed the exterior pillars in height. The central pillars have got dimensions up to 5 x 2 x 0.5 m and are built of local limestone.

Without any metal tools, monumental stonework was accomplished here with incredible precision 7000 years before the Pyramids in Egypt were built. In addition to this, numerous pillars are virtually covered with relief-like depictions of animal life, the interpretation of which is still very vague and clouded in mystery. Furthermore, many sculptures carved in full detail were discovered at the sites.

Diverse logistic skills and an enormous number of people must have been required, in order to succeed in the effort of transporting the stones and for the construction of such large sites. Water, food, wood, rope, tools etc., everything had to be carried to the sanctuary by hand and with a division of labour. In general it is certain that complex social structures must have been required, the existence of which had not been suspected at such an early stage of the history of humanity. The stone masons of Göbekli Tepe thus created the oldest temples of humanity.

For detailed information and further pictures please see http://goebekli-tepe.de