World Heritage Identification Number: 1572
World Heritage since: 2018
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇹🇷 Türkiye
Continent: Asia
UNESCO World Region: Europe and North America
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Unraveling the Mysteries of Göbekli Tepe: A Prehistoric Sanctuary in South-Eastern Anatolia
In the heart of the Germuş mountains, nestled within the verdant landscape of south-eastern Anatolia, lies the enigmatic archaeological site of Göbekli Tepe. This remarkable Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlement, dating back approximately 11,500 years, has captivated scholars and enthusiasts alike since its discovery in the mid-1990s. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018, Göbekli Tepe offers a unique glimpse into the lives, beliefs, and artistic prowess of our early human ancestors.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
Located in the Germuş mountains of south-eastern Anatolia, this property presents monumental round-oval and rectangular megalithic structures erected by hunter-gatherers in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic age between 9,600 and 8,200 BCE. These monuments were probably used in connection with rituals, most likely of a funerary nature. Distinctive T-shaped pillars are carved with images of wild animals, providing insight into the way of life and beliefs of people living in Upper Mesopotamia about 11,500 years ago.
Encyclopedia Record: Göbekli Tepe
Göbekli Tepe is a Neolithic archaeological site in Upper Mesopotamia (al-Jazira) in modern-day Turkey. The settlement was inhabited from around 9500 BCE to at least 8000 BCE, during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic. It is known for its large circular structures that contain large stone pillars – among the world's oldest known megaliths. Many of these pillars are decorated with anthropomorphic details, clothing, and sculptural reliefs of wild animals, providing archaeologists insights into prehistoric religion and the iconography of the period. The 15 m (50 ft) high, 8 ha (20-acre) tell is covered with ancient domestic structures and other small buildings, quarries, and stone-cut cisterns from the Neolithic, as well as some traces of activity from later periods.Additional Site Details
Area: 126 hectares
(ii) — Significant interchange of human values
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape
Coordinates: 37.2232419444 , 38.9223638889
Image
© Teomancimit, CC BY-SA 3.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
