Göbekli Tepe (Gobeki Tepe) is the oldest known group of cult buildings in the world, dating c. 9500 BCE. In central south Turkey near the Syrian border, the site reveals the earliest megaliths and a glimpse into the mysterious Neolithic Skull Cult.
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Buildings in Göbekli Tepe are typically round with a diameter of 30 m (98 ft), moving into oval design. Later designs are rectangular. Various sized buildings are found. A building called Temple D by archaeologists dates to the first phase of Göbekli Tepe (c. 9500 BCE).
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The 15 m (50 ft)-high, 8 ha (20-acre) tell upon which Gobekli Tepe is built is densely covered with ancient domestic structures and other small buildings, quarries, and stone-cut cisterns from the Neolithic,
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Megaliths throughout the site are the oldest known in the world. They share common features, such as the T design and stylized limbs. The stones are sourced at limestone quarries nearby and as bedrock. Limestone is favored for carving and building.
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Earliest habitation of Gobekli Tepe goes back to c. 9600 BCE. The residents are thought to be Pre-Pottery Neolithic Age (PPN) people. The megalithic monuments have been described as stylized human statues, many inscribed with stylized arms and loincloths.
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Gobekli Tepe is seen as a cult center. Some believe the cultish buildings are erected by the last hunter groups, who are connected to agriculture and animal husbandry. Some believe it's a gathering site for a transient population.
Limestone bedrock quarries supply the building material of Göbekli Tepe. Limestone is a soft sedimentary rock popular for construction and carving. In Neolithic times people quarry stone with flint tools and transport the blocks. Various transport methods are possible.
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Stones are most likely sculpted on site to avoid damage while moving them, and raised using the dynamics of leverage. Spaces between standing megaliths are marked with curving stone walls.
At center of the structure, the two tallest stones face each other like mountains. Mountains are an enduring motif in Neolithic and later myth and art.
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It's not known exactly what the standing stones or relief carvings represent. Subjects of the artworks are sometimes carved close together.
Some theorists suggest these represent a story or message rather than ornamental design. The local domestic and wildlife are well represented. Bull, wild boar, fox, snake, wild ducks and vulture are the most common animal motifs.
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Others include wild ox or aurochs, donkeys, gazelles, lions and other felines existing at the time, like tigers and leopards. Wading water birds are represented by cranes, stork and ibis. The early people show a strong connection to the environment.
Some suggest Gobelki Tepe is a cult center for nomadic or semi-nomad groups, who have a complex and shared system of beliefs, and desire to erect monumental structures. Theorists also assert the site is used only for ritual and otherwise uninhabited.
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Again theories differ, especially due to the existence of house-sized structures, and finds such as grinding wheels, tool-making resources, agricultural tools and vessels, Systems such as rainwater collection on the 20-acre site hint at a place of ongoing habitation.
In the later Bronze age, it's common to support a community of workers in the temple complex to keep it operational. Although Neolithic burials are not found at Gobekli Tepe, researchers uncover evidence of Neolithic skull cult rituals.
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Archaeologists hope to find further evidence of the Early Neolithic skull cult at Gobekli Tepe or other sites. Skull cult adherents are thought to exhibit decapitated heads of venerated ancestors or slain enemies at spots so designated.
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