Karahan Tepe is an ancient archaeological site in Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It is located in the same area as Göbekli Tepe, and archaeologists have found T-shaped stelae there. They believe the two sites are connected. Karahan Tepe may be the oldest known human village, older than Göbekli Tepe by several centuries. It dates back to between 10,000 and 9500 BCE.

The site was discovered in 1997 by Bahattin Celik of Harran University. It is near Yağmurlu and about 46 kilometers east of Göbekli Tepe, which is often called its sister site. Karahan Tepe is part of the Göbekli Tepe Culture and Karahan Tepe Excavations project. Local people call the area “Keçilitepe.” It is one of about 12 similar sites being studied, known as "Taş Tepeler." Researchers are working to learn more about how people organized labor and the types of skills used to build these structures.

History

In 1997, researchers discovered ancient structures at Karahan Tepe near the Kargalı neighborhood in the Tek Tek Mountains National Park.

In 2019, Necmi Karul, an archaeologist from Istanbul University, told Anadolu Agency that excavation work at Karahan Tepe (also called Kectepe) had restarted. The site is about 60 kilometers from Göbekli Tepe. During the work, they found traces of special structures, obelisks, animal sculptures, and symbols similar to those at other sites. The site was covered with dirt and rubble at some point, which helped protect T-topped columns carved into bedrock. These structures have been described as "phallic totems."

The main food sources were gazelles and legumes.

Site

The Karahan Tepe archaeological site covers about 10 hectares. This number increases to 15 hectares when the quarries used to make the T-shaped columns are included.

As of 2023, about 5% of the site’s surface area has been excavated.

In September 2023, Turkish and German experts found more sculptures from the Tepeler culture. These included a statue of a vulture and a 2.3-meter-tall human-like statue. The figure, which is likely shown sitting, holds his phallus with both hands. Deep lines were carved into the fingers and ribs, and a V-shaped collar was placed around the neck. This same design has been seen in other discoveries, such as the Urfa Man, a sandstone statue about 1.8 meters tall found in 1993 near Şanlıurfa.

The site includes many T-shaped pillars similar to those at Gobekli Tepe. Over 266 pillars were observed by the year 2000.