What is Göbekli Tepe?
A prehistoric ritual site in southeastern Turkey. Built around 9600 BCE, long before writing or agriculture.
6,000 Years Older Than Stonehenge
Göbekli Tepe pushes human history back by millennia. It shows that organized religion may have come before farming.
Monumental Architecture
The site has giant T-shaped pillars up to 18 feet tall and weighing up to 20 tons. They were carved with simple stone tools.
Animals Everywhere
The pillars show foxes, snakes, boars and vultures. The artwork suggests complex beliefs and symbolic thinking.
No Villages. No Farms.
The people who built Göbekli Tepe were nomadic groups. They gathered here for rituals long before permanent settlements existed.
A Place of Ritual
Most scholars see it as a ceremonial or spiritual center. No signs of daily life have been found.
Why Was It Buried?
Around 8000 BCE, the builders covered the site with tons of earth. The reason is still unknown.