Göbeklitepe Archaeological Site

Dated to 8,000 to 9,500 BC, the discovery of Göbeklitepe is one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the past century, challenging many of the assumptions regarding early civilization. Consisting of numerous buildings of different shapes and sizes, at its heart are a set of megalithic rings carved with reliefs of animals and humans.

The site of Göbeklitepe is a man-made tumulus hill on the top of a broad rocky plateau in the northern reaches of Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent.

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The site was discovered in 1963 though excavations didn’t begin till 1995 under the direction of Klaus Schmidt. To date only 5% of the site has been excavated, though its thought that the heart of the site has been explored. So far the site is understood to consist of three layers: Layer III, where the largest ring-structures have been found, Layer II where smaller, roughly square buildings were discovered, and Layer I, consisting of a man-made mound that buried and preserved the site.

Layer III is the oldest and by far the most fascinating. The main structures in this layer are made up of large standing “T” shaped stones placed in a ring with a pair of larger “T” stones placed in the middle. Layer III of Göbeklitepe has been radio-carbon dated to 8,000-9,500 BC, making these ring structures the oldest known monumental site. The “T” stones in this layer bear depictions of scorpions, boars, large felines, vultures, and ibis in low relief. Alongside the low reliefs is one conspicuous feline, carved in high-relief, to the point of resembling a separate stature stuck to the side of one of the “T” stones.

The shift to Layer II at Göbeklitepe is stark. Though some of the themes carry on the over all size is vastly diminished and in the place of round structures, the buildings are now square. Remaining however are the freestanding “T” structures in the center of the rooms.

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Layer I is the rubble used to bury the structures. While this doesn’t seem particular interesting, the fact that the site was not simply abandoned but rather buried through incredible effort raises many questions.

While the ancient stones themselves are fascinating, it’s really the questions they raise that makes Göbeklitepe such an important place for our understanding of human history. Göbeklitepe is dated to the prepottery Neolithic A, a period when people were thought to have been semi-nomadic and pre-agricultural. Yet the building of such a site would have required an incredible level of consistent cooperation at a time when food yields were far lower than what such a settled population would have required. It also raises questions regarding the relationship between the development of religion and civilization. Klaus Schmidt suggests that it was actually the religious impulse that led to settled civilization rather than the other way around as has been commonly suggested.

With 95% of the site yet to be excavated Göbeklitepe undoubtedly has many answers and new questions waiting to be unearthed.