I had wanted to visit Göbekli Tepe ever since I had learned about it. This year, my dream came true. I got to visit this mysterious megalithic site, and I must admit, I’m no closer to really knowing what Göbekli Tepe is than before. The more I wandered around and marvelled at the surroundings, and especially its famous T-pillars, the more mysterious it felt.
Excavated area of Göbekli Tepe
There are various theories about what Göbekli Tepe, along with other at least nine (or even more) similar sites nearby, actually was. On the site, the information board claims it’s a hilltop ritual centre from around 9500 BC to 7000 BC. It has also been called the “world’s first temple” (Wikipedia) and there are various other opinions, such as that it was an ancient mystery school. Whatever the case may be, it is not exactly determined what the purpose of the structures was.
Only a small fraction of the site of Göbekli Tepe has been excavated
Göbekli Tepe sits on the Upper Mesopotamia, and the climate conditions of the Younger Dryas were getting better by the 10th millennium BC. Generally, people were still living as hunter-gatherers, but there were signs that new permanent settlements were being founded. According to the information board on the site, “human populations began to increase in size and their organisational structures became more complex. In order to feed everyone and to maintain a sense of community, societies were forced to make the division of labour more effective and to interact with other groups on a more regular basis. Communal buildings built in the settlements are a reflection of this new social order. These structures were larger than domestic houses and were generally built to satisfy more than one need.”
T-pillars of Göbekli Tepe have animal carvings
The drive up to the area was very enjoyable. We could see miles and miles in every direction. We took the last leg of the journey by the museum’s minibus. Finally, we were high up and I could hear an interesting whistling sound while standing on the windy hilltop. “It is a tumulus of about 300 m diameter formed by the efforts of people who lived in the environs for centuries in prehistoric times and who lived on hunting and gathering at a place where naturally an earthen mound wouldn’t be present over a plateau normally formed by limestone rocks. Locationwise, it was established on one of the highest points of Şanlıurfa Province.(turkishmuseums.com)”
Apparently, only about 10 per cent of the site has been excavated so far. And even that part was really large. Walking around the site under a canopy, I could see various areas encircled by rock walls and T-pillars. Even though I couldn’t get very close, I could see the beautiful animals and geometric patterns and shapes carved into the huge pillars. What were their meanings? Why T-shapes? What was so special about that shape that such columns have been found in other similar surrounding areas, according to the picture displayed on the site? And how did these people create them and erect them? Why is the site an artificially created mound on a flat limestone plateau? To me, it seemed that some of the T-pillars had been buried on purpose, as the stones were neatly stacked up around them. If so, then why bury them? Oh, how I would have loved to examine them close up.
Snakes carved into the T-pillars of Göbekli Tepe
What’s also fascinating is to learn what the climate and landscape was like at that time. According to Wikipedia, 90% of the charcoal recovered at the site was from pistachio or almond trees, with no evidence of very large woodlands nearby. The site was surrounded by an open steppe grassland, with wild cereals, such as wheat and barley. Wild sheep, wild goat and gazelle herds were grazing in the area. The climate was wetter and warmer. Tools such as grinding stones, mortars, and pestles have been found at the site. The rainwater was collected into underground carved cisterns via channels carved into a rock. This indicates to me that even if the site was used for ritualistic or learning
More animal and bird carvings on the T-pillars of Göbekli Tepe
purposes, people were also living next to it.
As only a small fraction of the site has been explored, I’d be very excited to learn what else we could discover about the mysterious Göbekli Tepe as well as the other similar sites nearby. Was there the same culture of such megalithic structures in the whole area? Perhaps it was both, a ritual centre and a mystery school? Where did these people come from? And where did they go? There are more questions than answers, but I am hopeful that some day, we will unravel the mystery of Göbekli Tepe and its sister sites in ancient Upper Mesopotamia. Before we left, we were lucky to be able to admire the sunset from Göbekli Tepe. Just as the people did at least 10,000 years ago here. I will be back.
Identified sites similar to Göbekli Tepe according to its information board
Sunset at the Göbekli Tepe
