Gobekli Tepe

E118069

Neolithic sanctuary UNESCO World Heritage Site archaeological site

Göbekli Tepe is an ancient archaeological site in southeastern Turkey, dating to the 10th millennium BCE, renowned for its massive T-shaped stone pillars and status as one of the world’s oldest known monumental religious complexes.

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All labels observed (5)

Label	Occurrences
Göbekli Tepe	7
Gobekli Tepe canonical	1
Göbekli Tepe archaeological project	1
Göbekli Tepe archaeological site	1
UNESCO World Heritage Site Göbekli Tepe	1

Statements (51)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Neolithic sanctuary ⓘ UNESCO World Heritage Site ⓘ archaeological site ⓘ
abandoned	circa 8000 BCE ⓘ
associatedWith	hunter-gatherer communities ⓘ
coordinates	approximately 37.223°N 38.922°E ⓘ
country	Turkey ⓘ
culture	Pre-Pottery Neolithic ⓘ
discoveredBy	Klaus Schmidt ⓘ
discoveryDate	1994 ⓘ
elevation	approximately 760 meters above sea level ⓘ
endTime	8th millennium BCE ⓘ
estimatedConstructionDate	circa 9600 BCE ⓘ
excavatedBy	German Archaeological Institute ⓘ Şanlıurfa Museum ⓘ
excavationStart	mid-1990s ⓘ
feature	anthropomorphic pillars ⓘ carvings of foxes, boars, snakes, birds, and other animals ⓘ intentionally backfilled enclosures ⓘ megalithic T-shaped pillars up to about 5.5 meters high ⓘ no clear evidence of domestic architecture in earliest levels ⓘ pillars decorated with reliefs of animals and abstract symbols ⓘ
firstSurveyDate	1960s ⓘ
firstSurveyedBy	Istanbul University ⓘ surface form: University of Chicago and Istanbul University team
function	ceremonial gathering place ⓘ ritual center ⓘ
hasPart	T-shaped limestone pillars ⓘ central pair of large pillars in main enclosures ⓘ circular enclosures ⓘ rectangular structures ⓘ stone benches ⓘ
heritageDesignation	UNESCO World Heritage Site ⓘ
locatedIn	Şanlıurfa Province ⓘ
locatedInRegion	Southeastern Anatolia Region ⓘ surface form: southeastern Anatolia
locatedNear	Şanlıurfa ⓘ
locatedOn	Germuş mountains ⓘ
materialUsed	limestone ⓘ
nameMeaning	“Potbelly Hill” in Turkish ⓘ
nearbyCityDistance	about 15 km northeast of Şanlıurfa ⓘ
period	Pre-Pottery Neolithic ⓘ surface form: Pre-Pottery Neolithic A Pre-Pottery Neolithic ⓘ surface form: Pre-Pottery Neolithic B
significance	challenges traditional models of Neolithic transition ⓘ evidence for complex ritual behavior before agriculture and pottery ⓘ one of the oldest known monumental religious complexes ⓘ
startTime	10th millennium BCE ⓘ
UNESCOInscriptionYear	2018 ⓘ
UNESCOSiteCriteria	(i) ⓘ (ii) ⓘ (iv) ⓘ
UNESCOSiteId	1572 ⓘ
UNESCOSiteType	Cultural ⓘ