How it began
Göbekli Tepe stands in the Germuş mountains of southeastern Anatolia, in present-day Turkey. Between about 9600 and 8200 BCE, in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, groups of hunter-gatherers raised monumental round, oval and rectangular structures there out of large stones. The builders lived during the shift from hunting and gathering to the first farming communities in Upper Mesopotamia, about 11,500 years ago. UNESCO describes the site as one of the first manifestations of human-made monumental architecture.
How it works
The enclosures are ringed and centered by limestone pillars shaped like the letter T, some as much as 5.5 meters tall. Each pillar is a single stone carved from the limestone plateau next to the site. The pillars are abstract human figures: some carry low reliefs of belts and loincloths, and many carry high and low reliefs of wild animals. They also did structural work within the buildings. Remains of smaller, non-monumental structures on the site appear to come from domestic buildings.
What changed first
According to UNESCO, the monolithic pillars attest to new levels of architectural and engineering technology. Quarrying, carving and setting them points to specialized craftsmen and possibly to the emergence of more hierarchical forms of society. The buildings were probably used for social events and rituals, most likely of a funerary nature. Imagery shared between the pillars and small finds shows a close social network across the core region where farming first took hold.
What lasted
The site changed the understanding of what people without farming or pottery could build. It was noted in 1963, and excavation has shown that the megalithic structures largely keep the original form and design of their architectural elements, along with many decorative elements. UNESCO inscribed it on the World Heritage List under criteria (i), (ii) and (iv), describing it as an outstanding example of a monumental ensemble of megalithic structures.
Where it stands today
The tell and the limestone plateau have been a first degree archaeological conservation site under Turkish law since 2005, and the buffer zone was registered in 2016. The Şanlıurfa Museum holds the excavation permit and has worked with the German Archaeological Institute since 2014. A management plan was finalized in 2017. UNESCO reports that the fabric is in good condition, but that a planned railway line and growing visitor numbers could affect the setting.
