Lomekwi Stone Tools

How do archaeologists look for evidence about early people? They find places where early people may have lived and then dig for artifacts. For example: Written records give direct evidence, while scientists have to draw conclusions from artifacts. However, written records may be untrue or biased.

A team of archaeologists will walk in straight lines back and forth across the study area. As they walk, they look for evidence of past human activity, including walls or foundations, artifacts, or color changes in the soil that may indicate features.

Most of the pillars feature ornate carvings of animals, like snakes, foxes, wild boars, birds, and other critters. Individual rooms also usually have one particular animal as its theme, which is why researchers suggested that the ancient hunter-gatherers were so-called animalists.

One of the world’s biggest mysteries, Gobleki Tepe, is still being explored, and experts have been recently unearthed some intriguing relics. Gobekli Tepe might be one of the most significant discoveries the world has ever known.

Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey has delivered the oldest examples of religious monumental architecture so far known, dated by archaeological methods to 9600-8000 BC. The data obtained from pedogenic carbonates on architectural structures back the relative stratigraphic sequence observed during the excavation.

And what moves me most about these temples are the carvings of animals—foxes and scorpions, gazelle, vultures, and snakes covering many of the pillars. Animals were there at the beginning of human wonder, reverence, and awe.

Early periods of civilization are currently being rewritten with Göbeklitepe – home to the oldest known temple in the world. Göbeklitepe, 22 kilometers north of Şanlıurfa, is 7,000 years older than England’s Stonehenge and 7,500 years older than the Egyptian pyramids.

The stone wall at the entrance of Theopetra Cave in Greece is the oldest ruins in the world – it is believed to be the oldest man made structure ever found. Archaeologists think that the wall may have been built as a barrier to protect the cave’s residents from the cold winds at the height of the last ice age.

Klaus Schmidt

Göbekli Tepe’s earliest period saw the installation of approximately 170 T-shaped monoliths ranging in size from seven to 20 feet in height into the bedrock of the hill and the walls or roofs of the site’s circular, ovoid, or rectangular enclosures.

Located in modern Turkey, Göbekli Tepe is one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. The discovery of this stunning 10,000 year old site in the 1990s CE sent shock waves through the archaeological world and beyond, with some researchers even claiming it was the site of the biblical Garden of Eden.

It is far enough away from the border to be relatively safe but yes,do keep an eye on the news and follow updates much closer to your travel date. Şanlıurfa makes a good base for visiting Göbeklitepe and is a hugely interesting city in it’s own right so do allow a few days there.

Although it requires effort to visit but it is well worth it. Recently declared as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2018, Gobekli Tepe is set to be the next big thing yet it receives hardly any visitors at present.

hieroglyphic Luwian

The construction of Göbekli Tepe was “a deviation from the hunting and gathering way of life.” Göbekli Tepe (which translates to “potbelly hill” in Turkish) was built some 11,000 to 12,000 years ago — hundreds of years before any evidence of farming or animal domestication emerged on the planet.