The first temple in history was constructed by a group of prehistoric people in what is now Turkey eleven thousand years ago, before the wheel, Stonehenge, and hieroglyphics. Known as Göbekli Tepe, it predates other famous Neolithic monuments by thousands of years. And it challenges many preconceived notions about humanity’s development.
Göbekli Tepe means “hill of the navel” or “belly hill” in Turkish. This is because the site is a tell — an artificially built mound used for human settlements. It lies in Turkey’s Urfa Province, close to the Syrian border.
Turkish and American anthropologists found parts of it in the 1960s but mistook it for a medieval cemetery. But in the 1990s, German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt conducted more extensive excavations and used radiocarbon dating to determine that it originated when humanity first started to advance toward civilization.
For this reason, some refer to the site as the Turkish Stonehenge. However, it is 6,000 years older than its English counterpart. It predates the use of metal tools and many of humanity’s earliest inventions.
Situated in the limestone-rich Taurus Mountains, the 10-hectare site contains 15m high circular and rectangular pillars. It might have had a roof at some point. Some columns are also T-shaped — an innovative building technique, according to UNESCO.
These pillars, up to five meters tall, contain carvings of vultures, snakes, foxes, deer, and domestic animals. Historians believe that these reliefs displayed the religious beliefs of these hunter-gatherer groups. It is unclear if these carvings were deities, or totems, or were used to ward off evil. Some suggest that this was a pilgr site; others, that it was a communal gathering place.
There is a Turkish legend that some have linked to the temple’s recurring motif of snakes. The story involves a poor young man named Tahmasp who became trapped in a cave of snakes. Here, he encountered the Queen of Snakes, Shahmaran, who was half-snake, half-woman. The two fell in love.
When it was time to return to the surface, Tahmasp was sworn to secrecy about the underground kingdom. Unfortunately, the surface dwellers discovered his secret and killed Shahmaran. Because of her death, snakes became the nemesis of humanity.
The builders followed a complex design seemingly beyond the capability of the time. The location is “united in an almost perfect equilateral triangle,” according to Gil Haklay and Avi Gopher, Palestinian scholars.
Arthrologists have discovered intriguing artifacts such as human skulls and animal sacrifice remnants, but what was the purpose of this intentional symmetry—to align with the stars or appease their gods?
Gobekli Tepe is located in southeastern Turkey, about 6 miles from the city of Urfa It sits at the northern edge of the Fertile Crescent, a region known for its mild climate and fertile land. This strategic location likely attracted hunter-gatherers from Africa and the Levant, making it an ideal spot for the construction of a monumental site like Gobekli Tepe
What is Gobekli Tepe?
Gobekli Tepe is an archaeological site that dates back to around 9600 BC, making it one of the oldest known human-made religious structures in the world. It predates Stonehenge by a staggering 6,000 years and challenges our understanding of the development of civilization.
What makes Gobekli Tepe so significant?
Gobekli Tepe is significant for several reasons:
- Its age: It is one of the oldest known human-made religious structures in the world, predating Stonehenge by 6,000 years.
- Its size and complexity: The site consists of massive carved stones arranged in circles, some weighing up to 10 tons. The sheer scale and complexity of the construction suggest a high level of organization and cooperation among the people who built it.
- Its lack of evidence of a settlement: There is no evidence that people permanently resided at Gobekli Tepe. This suggests that it was a special place of worship, perhaps a pilgrimage site for hunter-gatherers from the surrounding region.
- Its potential to rewrite history: Gobekli Tepe challenges the traditional view that agriculture and settled life were prerequisites for the development of complex societies. Instead, it suggests that the construction of monumental structures like Gobekli Tepe may have been a driving force behind the development of civilization.
What is the purpose of Gobekli Tepe?
The exact purpose of Gobekli Tepe remains a mystery. However, there are several theories:
- A place of worship: The massive stone circles and elaborate carvings suggest that Gobekli Tepe was a place of religious significance. The lack of evidence of a settlement supports this theory, as it suggests that people traveled to the site specifically for religious purposes.
- A burial ground: Some archaeologists believe that Gobekli Tepe may have been a burial ground for the elite members of hunter-gatherer societies. This theory is supported by the discovery of human bone fragments at the site.
- A center for social gatherings: Gobekli Tepe may have been a place where people from different groups gathered to socialize, trade, and exchange ideas. This theory is supported by the site’s location at the crossroads of several different ecological zones.
What is the future of Gobekli Tepe?
Archaeological excavations at Gobekli Tepe are ongoing, and only a small portion of the site has been uncovered. As more of the site is excavated, we can expect to learn more about the people who built it and the purpose it served. Gobekli Tepe is a truly remarkable site that has the potential to rewrite our understanding of the development of civilization.
Additional Resources:
- Gobekli Tepe on Wikipedia: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%25C3%25B6bekli_Tepe
- Gobekli Tepe: The World’s First Temple? on Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/gobekli-tepe-the-worlds-first-temple-83613665/