Göbekli Tepe, also known as "Potbelly Hill" in Turkish, is an ancient archaeological site in modern-day Turkey, located in the region of Upper Mesopotamia. It was occupied from about 9500 BCE to at least 8000 BCE, during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period. The site is famous for its large circular buildings made of massive stone pillars, some of the oldest known megaliths in the world. Many of these pillars have carvings of human-like figures, clothing, and wild animals, offering clues about early religious practices and art from that time. The site covers an area of 8 hectares (20 acres) and includes ancient homes, buildings, quarries, and stone water tanks from the Neolithic period, along with traces of later activity.
Göbekli Tepe was first used during the early Neolithic period in Southwest Asia, a time when the first permanent human settlements appeared globally. Scholars connect this period, called the Neolithic Revolution, to the start of agriculture but debate whether farming led to permanent settlements or if living in one place encouraged farming. Göbekli Tepe, built on a rocky hill with no clear signs of farming, has been central to this discussion.
Recent discoveries show the site had homes, tools, a water supply, and evidence of grain processing, suggesting it was inhabited by people who lived there regularly. This challenges earlier ideas that the site was only a temporary sanctuary for nomadic groups. The purpose of the large stone structures remains unclear, though they were likely covered with roofs and often collapsed due to landslides, requiring repairs or rebuilding. Their design and carvings are similar to nearby sites like Karahan Tepe.
Archaeologists first noticed Göbekli Tepe in a 1963 survey. German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt recognized its importance in 1994 and began excavations the next year. After his death in 2014, work continued as a joint project led by Turkish prehistorian Necmi Karul, involving Istanbul University, Şanlıurfa Museum, and the German Archaeological Institute. In 2018, Göbekli Tepe was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its significance as "one of the first examples of human-made monumental architecture." As of 2021, about 10% of the site has been explored, with geophysical surveys revealing at least 20 large enclosures beneath the mound.
Geography and environment
Göbekli Tepe is located near the village of Örencik in Şanliurfa Province, within the Taş Tepeler, or "Stone Hills," in the foothills of the Taurus Mountains. It is situated above the Harran plain and the headwaters of the Balikh River, which flows into the Euphrates. The site is a tell, or artificial mound, built on a flat limestone plateau. To the north, a narrow strip of land connects the plateau to nearby mountains. In all other directions, the land drops steeply into slopes and cliffs.
When Göbekli Tepe was used, the area had more rainfall than it does today. The site was surrounded by open grasslands with plenty of wild grains, such as einkorn, wheat, and barley, and large groups of animals like wild sheep, goats, gazelle, and horses. Many goitered gazelle may have traveled near the site during seasonal movements. There is no evidence of large forests nearby; 90% of the charcoal found at the site came from pistachio or almond trees.
Like other Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN) sites in the Urfa region, Göbekli Tepe was built on a high area near the mountains, offering a wide view of the plain below and good visibility from the plain. This location also provided access to building materials: soft limestone from the bedrock and flint for tools. The ancient people collected drinking water using a system that captured rainwater. Carved channels directed the water into underground cisterns in the bedrock, which could hold at least 150 cubic meters (5,300 cubic feet) of water. The water table may have been higher in the past, causing springs near the site to flow, which are now dry.
Excavations have been conducted on the southern slope of the tell, south and west of a mulberry tree linked to an Islamic pilgrimage. However, archaeological finds have been discovered across the entire plateau. Many tools remain at the site. At the western edge, a small cave was found, and inside it, a small carving of a bovid was discovered. This is the only relief found in that cave.
Dawn of village life
Göbekli Tepe was built and used during the earliest part of the Southwest Asian Neolithic period, called the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (PPN), which lasted from about 9600 to 7000 BCE. This time began at the end of the last Ice Age and is known as the start of village life. It provides the earliest proof of permanent human settlements anywhere in the world. One of the oldest known sites is Körtik Tepe, dated to between 10,700 and 9250 BCE. This site may have influenced the artistic and material culture of the PPN in Upper Mesopotamia, including Göbekli Tepe and other Taş Tepeler sites.
Archaeologists have linked the rise of these settlements to the Neolithic Revolution—the shift from hunting and gathering to farming. However, they disagree about whether farming led people to settle or if settling down led to farming. The Neolithic Revolution in Southwest Asia was not sudden or the same everywhere. Some village-like features appeared thousands of years before the Neolithic period in certain areas, and the move to farming happened slowly over many years, with different patterns in different regions. The Pre-Pottery Neolithic is divided into two periods: Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA, about 9600 to 8800 BCE) and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB, about 8800 to 7000 BCE). The earliest structures at Göbekli Tepe date to the PPNA, while later structures are from the PPNB.
Evidence shows that people living at Göbekli Tepe were hunter-gatherers who also grew and ate early forms of domesticated grains. They lived in villages for part of the year. Tools like grinding stones, mortars, and pestles found at the site suggest that they processed large amounts of grain. Studies of animal remains indicate that people hunted gazelle heavily during the summer and autumn seasons.
PPN villages usually had groups of stone or mud brick homes, but sometimes included large buildings and monuments. Examples include the tower and walls at Tell es-Sultan (Jericho) and large circular buildings at Göbekli Tepe, Nevalı Çori, Çayönü, Wadi Feynan 16, Jerf el-Ahmar, Tell 'Abr 3, and Tepe Asiab. These structures are often linked to shared activities, which helped strengthen social connections as communities grew.
The T-shaped pillars found at Göbekli Tepe are unique to the Urfa region but appear at most PPN sites, such as Nevalı Çori, Hamzan Tepe, Karahan Tepe, Harbetsuvan Tepesi, Sefer Tepe, and Taslı Tepe. Other stone pillars, which do not have the T shape, have been found at nearby sites like Çayönü, Qermez Dere, and Gusir Höyük.
Chronology
Radiocarbon dating shows that the earliest buildings at Göbekli Tepe were constructed between 9500 and 9000 BCE, during the end of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) period. The site grew larger in the early 9th millennium BCE and was used until about 8000 BCE, or possibly a little later, during the early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period. Evidence suggests that small groups later lived among the ruins after the Neolithic buildings were no longer in use.
Schmidt first dated the site to the PPNA based on the types of stone tools found there, believing a PPNA date was most likely. Determining the exact timeline of the site took time because of challenges in the dating methods. The first two radiocarbon dates, published in 1998, showed that materials from the structure’s fill dated to the late 10th and early 9th millennium BCE—500 to 1,000 years later than expected for a PPNA site. Schmidt’s team explained this difference by suggesting the materials were brought to the site from elsewhere when it was abandoned, meaning they did not reflect the actual use of the structures. Instead, they used a new method to date organic material in the plaster on the walls, which gave results more consistent with a PPNA occupation in the middle or early 10th millennium BCE. Later research changed this view, showing that the fill materials were not moved from elsewhere and that dating plaster is affected by the old wood effect. With new radiocarbon dates, the site’s timeline is now confirmed to be between 9500 and 8000 BCE—covering the late PPNA and PPNB periods.
Klaus Schmidt’s early model, which was later revised, divided the site into three layers. The large circular enclosures were placed in Layer III, dated to the 10th millennium BCE (PPNA). The smaller rectangular structures and the site’s abandonment were linked to Layer II in the 9th millennium BCE (early to middle PPNB). Layer I included all post-Neolithic activities up to the present day.
The updated timeline includes eight phases spanning at least 1,500 years. It describes the history of the large circular enclosures, including events that led to their changes or abandonment, as well as the development of the homes built around them.
Architecture
The first circular structures with walls appear around the second half of the 10th millennium BCE. These structures range from 10 to 30 meters (33 to 98 feet) in diameter. Their most noticeable feature is T-shaped pillars made of limestone, placed evenly inside thick walls made of uncut stone. Four of these circular buildings have been found so far. Surveys using special equipment suggest there may be 16 more, each with up to eight pillars, totaling nearly 200. The stone slabs were brought from pits in bedrock about 100 meters (330 feet) away from the hilltop. Workers used flint tools to cut through the limestone. These pillars are the oldest known large stone structures in the world.
Two taller pillars face each other at the center of each circle. It is not clear if the circles had roofs. Stone benches for sitting are found inside. Many pillars are decorated with abstract, mysterious pictures and carvings of animals. These pictures may represent sacred symbols seen in other ancient cave paintings. The carvings show mammals like lions, bulls, boars, foxes, gazelles, and donkeys; snakes and reptiles; insects and spiders; and birds, especially vultures. Vultures also appear in artwork from Çatalhöyük and Jericho.
Few human figures are shown in the art at Göbekli Tepe. Some T-shaped pillars have carved arms on their lower parts, which led the site’s excavator, Schmidt, to think they might represent simplified human figures or deities. Some pillars show loincloths on their lower halves. Schmidt believed the flat stone on top of the pillars might symbolize shoulders, suggesting the figures were headless. It is unknown if these figures were meant to represent worshippers, ancestors, or supernatural beings.
In the oldest layer of the site, some floors are made of terrazzo (burnt lime), while others are made from bedrock. The large central pillars were carved into high relief and placed on pedestals. Radiocarbon dating shows these early circular structures were built around 9000 BCE.
Later buildings were rectangular, possibly to use space more efficiently than circular ones. These structures are linked to the Neolithic period, but the T-shaped pillars from older buildings also appear here, showing these buildings continued to serve the same purpose during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) era. Rooms in these later buildings have smooth lime floors similar to those found in Roman buildings. Carbon dating shows these structures were built between 8800 and 8000 BCE. Some rooms have T-shaped pillars up to 1.5 meters tall. A pair of pillars carved with fierce lions gave the building its name, "lion pillar building."
In the earliest phase of the site, round or oval homes were built next to the large enclosures, suggesting people lived there part-time. Over time, these homes became more rectangular. In the final stage of the settlement, only small buildings were built.
Before human remains were found, Schmidt thought graves might have been placed in niches behind the walls of the circular buildings. In 2017, pieces of human skulls with cuts were discovered, linked to a Neolithic practice of treating skulls with special care. This practice is also seen at sites like Jericho, Tell Aswad, and Çatalhöyük.
At the western edge of the hill, a lion-like sculpture was found. This area has more flint and limestone fragments, suggesting it may have been a workshop for carving sculptures. Three phallic-shaped carvings found on the southern plateau are unclear in meaning and are near ancient quarries, making their dating difficult.
Outside the main hill, a flat platform with two holes that might have held pillars and a surrounding bench was found. This area is the oldest part of the site and is called "complex E." It is also named "Temple of the Rock" because it resembles similar religious buildings at Nevalı Çori. The floor was carefully carved from bedrock and smoothed, like the terrazzo floors in later parts of Göbekli Tepe. Nearby are two pit-like structures believed to be part of complex E. One pit has a table-high pin and a staircase with five steps.
Construction
The plateau where Göbekli Tepe is located has been shaped by erosion and stone cutting since the Neolithic period. On the southern part of the plateau, there are four channels, each 10 meters long and 20 centimeters wide. These are believed to be the remains of an ancient quarry where rectangular stone blocks were taken. These blocks may have been used in a nearby square building, of which only the foundation remains. This building might be the remains of a Roman watchtower that was part of the Limes Arabicus. Most structures on the plateau appear to come from Neolithic stone cutting, with quarries serving as sources for large, single pieces of stone used in construction. These stones were carved into the rock, then pulled out of the rock bank.
Archaeologists disagree about how much labor was needed to build the site. Schmidt argued that "the work of cutting, moving, and raising heavy, single pieces of limestone pillars […] was not possible for only a few people." Using experiments with the moai statues of Rapa Nui, he estimated that moving the pillars alone would require hundreds of people. These experiments showed that carving a statue similar in size to a T-shaped pillar from Göbekli Tepe would take 20 people one year, and 50–75 people one week to move it 15 kilometers. Schmidt’s team also cited a 1917 account of building a large stone on the Indonesian island of Nias, which took 525 people three days. These estimates support the idea that the site was built by a large group of workers, who were either forced or persuaded to come by a small religious group. However, others believe that only 7–14 people could have moved the pillars using ropes and water or another slippery material, similar to techniques used for Stonehenge. Experiments at Göbekli Tepe itself suggest that all the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B structures exposed could have been built by 12–24 people in less than four months, including time for cutting stone, gathering food, and preparing meals. These numbers are thought to be achievable by a single extended family or village in the Neolithic period. They also match the number of people who could fit inside one of the buildings at the same time.
Enclosures B, C, and D were originally planned as a single, hierarchical complex forming an equilateral triangle, according to Haklay and Gopher.
The enclosures, located more than 10 meters below the highest areas of the settlement, experienced several landslides during the time Göbekli Tepe was occupied. A major landslide occurred at the end of the early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period, burying enclosure D under rubble from homes, sediments, and even burial sites and trash piles. This damage required repairs and stabilization work. Later, in Building Phase 5, terrace walls were built to prevent future landslides. However, these efforts failed when a second major landslide likely caused enclosure D to be abandoned during Building Phase 6, around the late 9th millennium BCE. Other enclosures suffered similar damage, possibly leading to the construction of new enclosures to replace them.
Previously, it was thought that the large enclosures were intentionally filled with dirt, but this idea is no longer supported after Klaus Schmidt’s death.
Tools
Göbekli Tepe is covered with flint tools, found from the top of the ridge to the slopes. The collection of tools discovered there is similar to those found at other Northern Levantine Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlement sites.
In 1963, more than 3,000 Neolithic tools were uncovered. Most of these were made of high-quality flint, with only a few made of obsidian. Common tool types included cores, blades, flakes, scrapers, burins, and projectile points.
Excavations in Space 16, a small building next to enclosure D, uncovered nearly 700 tools. The most frequently found items were retouched tools, followed by scrapers, perforators, and tools with a shiny surface. Heavy-duty tools, such as burins and microliths, were also present.
More than 7,000 grinding stones have been found across the entire site. These stones are believed to have been used for processing cereal, as indicated by phytoliths found in the surrounding soil. However, it is unclear whether the cereal was wild or cultivated.
Iconography
The stone pillars in the enclosures at Göbekli Tepe are shaped like the letter T, similar to other ancient sites from the same time period. However, unlike those sites, many of the pillars at Göbekli Tepe are carved. These carvings are usually shallow, but sometimes they are deeper. Most of the carvings show animals, such as snakes, foxes, and wild boars. Other animals include gazelles, wild sheep, onagers, ducks, and vultures. When possible, the animals are shown as male and often appear in aggressive poses.
Other carvings include abstract shapes, such as H-shaped symbols, crescents, and circles. Human figures are rare, but one pillar in enclosure D shows a headless man with an erect phallus. Other phallic carvings have been found at Göbekli Tepe and other nearby sites. The T-shape of the pillars themselves is similar to human figures: the long part of the T represents the body, and the top represents the head. Some pillars also include carvings of arms, hands, and loincloths.
The two central pillars in each enclosure were especially important in the design of the structures. In enclosure D, these pillars show human figures with arms, belts, and cloth that covers the genitals. The sex of these figures cannot be determined, but some scientists believe they may be men because the belts are a symbol of masculinity from that time. Only one clear image of a woman has been found: a naked figure carved on a stone slab.
Scientists, including archaeologist Schmidt and an animal expert named Joris Peters, have suggested that the variety of animals carved on the pillars does not represent a single meaning. They believe the inclusion of many predator animals, such as lions or wolves, may have been meant to protect people from harm through magical symbols or to represent groups of people.
Smaller carved stones found at Göbekli Tepe are difficult to date, but their designs are similar to the pillars. These stones often show animals, and sometimes humans, mostly male figures.
One structure contained a carved stone pole from the early PPNB period. When put together, the pole is 192 centimeters (6.30 feet) tall and 30 centimeters (0.98 feet) wide. It shows three figures: a predator (such as a bear or large cat) missing its head and with human arms; another figure missing its head and with human arms, likely male; and a third figure with a head that remained intact. Snakes are carved on both sides of the pole.
Interpretation
Klaus Schmidt believed that Göbekli Tepe was a place used for rituals. As the leader of the first excavation in 1995, he proposed that the site was a meeting place for small groups of hunter-gatherers who lived in the area before pottery was used. These groups would come together on the hilltop to build structures, hold feasts, and then return to their nomadic lives.
Many bones from local animals, such as deer, gazelle, pigs, and geese, were found at the site. These bones were likely from food that was hunted, cooked, or prepared for people who gathered there. Studies of animal remains showed that gazelle were only present in the region during certain times of the year. This suggests that rituals and feasts may have happened when food was most plentiful. Schmidt thought that the construction of Göbekli Tepe helped lead to the later development of cities.
Schmidt also studied the beliefs of the nomadic groups who built Göbekli Tepe by comparing it to other shrines and settlements. He believed they practiced shamanic traditions, where spiritual leaders played a key role. He thought the T-shaped pillars might represent human figures, possibly ancestors. He also believed that the idea of gods with names and temples developed later, in Mesopotamia, where large temples and palaces were built. This idea matches an ancient Sumerian story about the sacred mountain Ekur, home to the Annuna gods, who were very old and unnamed. Schmidt saw this story as a memory of the early Neolithic period. At Göbekli Tepe, carvings of animals and other symbols do not show violence, such as hunting raids or injured animals. Instead, they often depict powerful creatures like lions, snakes, and scorpions, rather than the animals the society relied on, like deer. Some researchers think the round enclosures at the site could be sanctuaries, while others, like Gheorghiu, believe the carvings represent a map of the world and the cosmos.
After Schmidt’s death in 2014, some scholars questioned whether Göbekli Tepe was only used for religious purposes and not for living. Others suggested the structures might have been large communal homes, similar to the big wooden houses of the Northwest Coast of North America. It is still unclear why the pillars were buried every few decades and replaced with new stones in smaller, circular patterns. Rémi Hadad noted that recent discoveries, such as homes and systems for collecting rainwater, have led to a new understanding of the site. These findings suggest that both religious and everyday activities may have taken place at Göbekli Tepe.
Some people have claimed that Göbekli Tepe was an ancient observatory for studying the stars, but the team working at the site has largely dismissed this idea.
Research history
Before archaeologists studied it, the hill where Göbekli Tepe is located was known locally in Kurdish as Girê Mirazan or Xerabreşkê. Girê Mirazan means "Wish Hill."
The site was first recorded in 1963 during an archaeological survey led by Halet Çambel of Istanbul University and Robert John Braidwood of the University of Chicago. American archaeologist Peter Benedict examined stone tools found on the site and identified them as typical of the Aceramic Neolithic period. However, he incorrectly believed the upper parts of the T-shaped pillars were grave markers. The hill had been farmed for many years, and local people had often moved rocks and placed them in piles, which may have disturbed the site’s upper layers. At some point, farmers broke parts of the pillars, likely thinking they were ordinary large rocks.
In October 1994, German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt, who had previously worked at Nevalı Çori, searched for similar sites in the area. He revisited the location described by the Chicago researchers in 1963. By asking nearby villagers about hills with flint, he was directed to Göbekli Tepe by Mahmut Yıldız, whose family owned the land. The Yıldız family had previously found artifacts while farming there and reported them to a local museum. Schmidt, having seen similar structures at Nevalı Çori, realized the stone slabs might not be grave markers, as Benedict had thought, but instead could be the tops of ancient megaliths. He began excavations the next year and uncovered the first of the large T-shaped pillars. Eventually, he found only three tombs on the easternmost hill group, which was a place for religious visits. Yıldız later joined the excavations and became the site’s guard.
Schmidt led excavations at the site for the Şanlıurfa Museum and the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) until his death in 2014. After that, Lee Clare coordinated the DAI’s research. As of 2021, the site is studied jointly by Istanbul University, the Şanlıurfa Museum, and the DAI, with Necmi Karul overseeing the work. Recent excavations have focused on carefully documenting and preserving the already exposed areas, rather than expanding the site further.
Conservation
Göbekli Tepe was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018 because it is considered one of the earliest examples of human-made large structures. As of 2021, about 10% of the site has been uncovered through archaeological work.
In 2018, conservation efforts at the site led to disagreement. Çiğdem Köksal Schmidt, an archaeologist and the wife of Klaus Schmidt, claimed that damage occurred during the construction of a new walkway due to the use of concrete and heavy machinery. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism stated that concrete was not used and that no damage had taken place.