ARCG301

Anatolian Cities in History

Göbekli Tepe

Submitted to:
Assoc. Prof. Asım Mustafa AYTEN

Submitted by:
Nasrullah CEYLAN

Date:
May 31, 2017
Scope of the Study

This report aims to provide details of the Göbekli Tepe site area which is the most
important archeological exploration of last decades according to experts. By taking
into consideration that the site area is still excavating I am not able to say lots of
certain inferences but I'll try to make you understand general idea of the Göbekli Tepe
site. The biggest contribution of the Göbekli Tepe to the science of archeology is that
this site make us rethink the relationship between religion and civilization because it
is the world’s oldest known temple.

Introduction

Göbekli Tepe was first discovered in 1963 by the surface surveys conducted in the
context of the Southeast Anatolia Prehistoric Research Mix Project of Istanbul and
Chicago Universities. The real value of this archaeological site, which will found later
by surface surveys, was not understood. This area was thought to be a tomb remnant
made of large limestone blocks. In 1994, the German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt
discovered that it belonged to the Neolithic Period. In 1995, under the leadership of
the German Institute of Archeology and the Şanlıurfa Museum in Istanbul,
excavations began under the joint project of the Prehistoric Institute of the University
of Heidelberg, Germany.

Excavations carried out under the presidency of Klaus Schmidt revealed that this
region was different from the Neolithic settlements previously found in
archaeological excavations and they found ritual findings that were not seen anywhere
coeval with Göbekli Tepe. In particular, the T-shaped stitched stones on which animal
figures and symbols reside and the monumental constructions in the form of circles
made of these stones have attracted attention. In 2003, magnetic and radar scans
performed on this area revealed that at least 20 circular structures were found on the
Göbekli Tepe, and 8 of these circular structures were unearthed during the
excavations made until 2014.

Figure 1: Magnetic survey of the site area of the Göbekli Tepe which shows circles clearly.
 Location of Site Area

Göbekli Tepe, located 15 km north-east of Şanlıurfa city center (south-east of

Turkey) and 2.5 km east of Karaharabe Village, is a center of faith belonging to the
pre-pottery Neolithic Period. Göbekli Tepe, built on a mound of limestone rocks
about 200-300 meters high, is in a dominant position in the Harran Plain. The flat
limestone rises upwards and is called "Göbekli Tepe" because it looks like a belly.

Figure 2: Location of Göbekli Tepe on Turkey map

History of the Göbekli Tepe

The circular structures are named A, B, C, D, E starting from the first uncovered.
Among them, the largest circle is called the letter D. As a result of the carbon and
geological tests applied to this structure, which is named with the letters, it is
understood that these temples belong to different time periods.

Temple Radiocarbon Dating

B BC[8306; 8236]
C BC[9500; 8500]
D BC[9750; 9314]
E BC[9500; 8500]
Table 1: Dating of the circles1

All of the different dating methods (CDC, Collins) show that the Göbekli Tepe
belongs to the Neolithic Period. The absence of any indication that agriculture was
carried out at this time and the encounter with the diversity of a rich wildlife
demonstrate that the builders of this temple are hunter-gatherer communities. Despite
the presence of bone fragments of game animals as a result of excavations made up to
daylight, no human bone fragments were found. This shows that Göbekli Tepe is not
used as a monumental grave.

1
Alessandro De Lorenzis and Vincenzo Orofino, “New Possible Astronomic Alignments at the
Megalithic Site of Göbekli Tepe –Turkey”, Archaeological Discovery, Volume 3, No. 1, 2015
The brief of the time period of the Göbekli Tepe:
o Right after the Ice Age
o Agricultural revolution hasn’t happened yet, humans are hunter-gatherer
therefore there weren’t any settled life on Earth.
o Pre-pottery Neolithic times

Analysis of the Structures

a) Circular Shape of the Temples

The Göbekli Tepe temples are circular structures with diameters ranging from 10 to
30 meters and surrounded by a stone wall. There are stones embedded in these walls
and embedded in the wall.

Figure 3: The plan of the temples2

At the Göbekli Tepe, every temple is surrounded by stone walls. The fact that the
temples, which are places where the sanctity is manifested, are surrounded by stone,
fence or wall is an application that has been seen since the earliest times. In this way,
the sanctuary, both designated and bounded, is preserved, as well as from the unholy
persons and elements.

2 Andrew Collins and Rodney Hale, Göbekli Tepe and the Rebirth of Sirius, 2013,
http://www.andrewcollins.com/page/articles/Gobekli_Sirius.htm

b) Locating T-shaped Stones at the Center and Around Circular Building
The presence of hand and arm depictions on the T-shaped stones and bearing
elements reminiscent of man in many ways prove that they are human-shaped
monuments made of stone. There is no consensus on what exactly these stalactite
stones in human form, whose faces are unspecified, symbolize. To make
interpretations that these stalactites symbolize the gods, ancestors and spirits though,
it is more appropriate to have the idea that these stones symbolize the gods as it is the
temple.

Figure 4: The circular shape of a temple in Göbekli Tepe3

The most striking feature of Göbekli Tepe is the T-shaped stones, made of solid stone
with animal figures, decorated with relief techniques and abstract symbols. As a result
of the geomagnetic surveys, more than 200 stones were found. These stones are also
found in Neolithic settlements around Göbekli Tepe. An average of 3 to 5.5 meters in
length and 10 to 15 tons in weight, these are 7 meters in height and 50 tons in weight.

Figure 5 and 6: T-shaped pillars of the Göbekli Tepe with images of wild animals4

3 Erhan Balıkçı, https://www.behance.net/gallery/18165393/Goebeklitepe-infografik
4 http://www.electrummagazine.com/2011/10/gobekli-tepes-oldest-temple-in-the-world-an-
archaeological-stone-age-site-in-anatolia/
c) Animal Figures

T-shaped stones have animal figures made with relief technique. The most common
are snakes, foxes, boars and birds (such as ducks, pike, vultures). Apart from these,
figures of animals such as bulls, rams, donkeys, sheep or goats, insects and spiders are
also available. In every temple, an animal breed is more dominant. The snake on the
A temple, the fox on the B temple, the wild boar on the C temple, and the bird and
snake figure on the D temple are dominant.

Figure 7: Animal figures on the stones of the temples5

d) Waterproof Terrazzo Floor

The waterproof terrazzo floor is seen in the temples of Göbekli Tepe. The temples
are usually sloped from the west to the east and there are holes in the basin to allow
water to be discharge. The terrazzo, which has a flashy structure, is unique to the base
cult structures. However, liquid remains were found on the grounds of some temples.
This shows that rituals containing liquids are made at the Göbekli Tepe. There is not
enough information about what purpose and how these rituals are done.

Which Came First: Agriculture or Religion?

Archaeologists have long thought that agriculture was an important precursor to

organized religion, sedentism, and social complexity. But Gobekli Tepe, a 11,600
year old site, suggests that organized religion predates agriculture. Gobekli Tepe is
the world’s oldest known temple long times ago from the first settlements.
Archaeologists suggest that Gobekli Tepe was a place that dispersed hunter-gatherer
groups gathered for rituals and feasting and was a basis for the cosmological and
ideological shifts that we recognize as organized religion.

5
Serap Özdöl, “Çanak Çömleksiz Neolitik Çağda Güneydoğu Anadolu’da Din ve Sosyal Yapı”,
Tarihİncelemeleri Dergisi, Cilt XXVI, Sayı 1, 2011,
 Figure 8: Path to civilization: Which one is first Religion or Civilization6

Conclusion

By this paper we have tried to learn, understand and analyze the one of the most
important excavation site of Turkey and the world Göbekli Tepe. Up to now the
excavation and findings has changed our mind significantly. The main perspective
that the excavation provided us is about our religion and civilization thought and their
relationship. I composed table below to understand what Göbekli Tepe changed in our
mind.

Before Göbekli Tepe After Göbekli Tepe

Hunter-gatherer humans were primitive Hunter-gatherer humans were not
and they hadn’t have any organized primitive as we thought. They had have
religion. highly developed imagination, abstraction
and organized religion

All of the complicated and monumental
temples were built after the agricultural
revolution and settled life. According to
that theory some of the scientist have
asserted the idea that religions are created
by civilized human.
Civilization generated the religion.
Excavation of Göbekli Tepe proved that
there were highly organized, complicated
religion thought in 11000 years ago too.
They have built temples which they are
not living at. The idea of civilization
came before the religion has falsified
with Göbekli Tepe.
Religion generated the civilization.

6 http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/06/gobekli-tepe/mann-text
 References

• Anadolu’nun İlk Tapınağı: Göbekli Tepe, Mehmet Emin Göler

• The Birth of the Religion, Charles C. Mann
• http://oahspestandardedition.com/OSAC/First_Agriculture_and_Religion.html
• https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/arqueologia/gobekli_tepe08.htm
• http://turkishstonehenge.com/gobekli-tepe-photos--images.html
• http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/06/gobekli-tepe/mann-text/2
• http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/photos/gobekli-
tepe
• Turan Yalçın, Çanak Çömleksiz Neolitik Dönem’ de Yukarı Mezopotamya’da
Küçük Taş Eserler, (Yüksek Lisans Tezi), Selçuk Üniversitesi Arkeoloji
Anabilim Dalı, Konya, 2011