Gobekli Tepe, Megalithic Art Complex

Gobekli Tepe
Oldest known religious site and earliest megalithic art.

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Gobekli Tepe (c.9,500 BCE)
Summary
A rare and important site of early megalithic art, Gobekli Tepe is an

archeological mound, dating back to the Mesolithic Age, which is situated at the
top of a ridge in Southeastern Anatolia, Turkey, not far from the town of
Sanliurfa. The mound (tell) - formed by the accumulated remains of ancient
settlements - is roughly 49 feet in height (15 metres) and about 1000 feet
(300 metres) in diameter. The complex, whose earliest remains have been
carbon-dated to about 9559 BCE, contains the oldest art involving stone
Relief Sculpture of Bull, Fox
structures; this ancient art includes a large quantity of stone sculpture, notably
and Crane (9100-8800 BCE) reliefs of animals such as bulls, wild boars, lions, foxes, gazelles, reptiles and
Pillar 2 from Enclosure A vultures, as well as abstract pictographs and petrograms. (Note: For a guide to
(Layer III) Gobekli Tepe.
For the oldest prehistoric abstract symbols and motifs used in the Stone Age, please see: Prehistoric
works, see: Earliest Art. Abstract Signs 40,000-10,000 BCE.) Interestingly, only a few traces of human
imagery have been found, notably a relief sculpture of a nude woman in a
crouched position, discovered amid debris. Although the original purpose of
Gobekli Tepe remains unclear, according to German archeologist Klaus Schmidt,
who has been in charge of all archeological excavations at the site, since the
mid-1990s, it was first used as a Neolithic holy place, cult centre or sanctuary.
This is indicated by the large number of megaliths used in its construction. For
instance, during the first two phases of construction (c.7500-9500 BCE), more
than two hundred T-shaped pillars, each weighing up to 20 tons, were erected
in a circular pattern, topped with huge limestone slabs. For another important
contemporaneous site of stone carving in the SE Mediterranean, see the
Addaura Cave engravings (11,000 BCE).
Low Relief Sculpture of Crocodile

See also: Oldest Stone Age Art: Top 100 Artworks.
Layer III, Gobekli Tepe. A masterpiece
of Mesolithic art. Discovery
The archeological potential of Gobekli Tepe was first recognized in 1963 by

archeologists from Istanbul University and the University of Chicago. Then, in
1994, the details of their survey were read by Klaus Schmidt - fresh from his
investigations at Nevali Cori, another Neolithic site - who decided to launch a
new dig. It was this second investigation that soon uncovered the enormous T-
shaped pillars which formed the backbone of the original buildings, plus three
even larger unfinished pillars, weighing up to 50 tons. In addition, several
caves were discovered - one of which contained an example of an ox-like
prehistoric sculpture - as well as recent traces of Roman architecture and
Byzantine art.
Archeology
Relief carving of wild boar and One should note that the archeological potential of Gobekli Tepe - including its
other animals. Gobekli Tepe.
status as a source of prehistoric art - has hardly been touched, since only
NEOLITHIC CHRONOLOGY about 5 percent of the site has been investigated to date. Furthermore,
To see how megaliths fit into Schmidt considers it possible that the site may have functioned as a religious
the evolution of Stone Age art, centre some time before its pillars were quarried and erected: possibly from as
see: Prehistoric Art Timeline. early as 11,000 BCE. There may even have been a rock shelter on the site,
with undiscovered parietal art yet to be found.
ANATOLIA
For another example of So far, we know that Gobekli Tepe was built before the so-called Neolithic
Anatolian culture, see: Revolution, by a highly organized society - one more advanced than any
Hittite Art (1600-1180 BCE) hitherto known in the 10th Millennium BCE. It predates ceramic pottery,
metallurgy, as well as the invention of writing and the wheel, and constitutes
the oldest religious site known to archeology. Above all, by demonstrating that
hunter-gatherers were capable of constructing monumental complexes prior to
the emergence of settled agricultural communities, Gobekli Tepe offers new
explanations for the evolution of Neolithic society.
Further Resources
• Ancient Pottery (from 18,000 BCE)

• Cave art of the Ice Age.
• Stonehenge Stone Circle

(3100-1100 BCE)
•
Newgrange Megalithic Passage Tomb (3300-2900 BCE)

• Knowth Megalithic Tomb (2500-2000 BCE)
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Gobekli Tepe

Oldest known religious site and earliest megalithic art.

Gobekli Tepe (c.9,500 BCE)

A rare and important site of early megalithic art, Gobekli Tepe is an

Low Relief Sculpture of Crocodile

The archeological potential of Gobekli Tepe was first recognized in 1963 by

• Ancient Pottery (from 18,000 BCE)

• Stonehenge Stone Circle

Newgrange Megalithic Passage Tomb (3300-2900 BCE)

Programação surpreendente Abrir

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