The world's oldest temple complex, Göbekli Tepe, built about 12 thousand years ago and located in the province of Sanliurfa in southeastern Turkey, is now experiencing a rebirth. The Turkish authorities intend to turn it into a world-class archaeological center, and 2019 has been declared the Year of Göbekli Tepe in Turkey. The RIA Novosti correspondent visited the Puzat Hill (as it is translated from Turkish Göbekli Tepe), the structures of which are more massive and older than the British Stonehenge.
Seven millennia older
The complex was discovered relatively recently - in 1963, and before that local peasants complained with irritation about the incomprehensible stone slabs that prevented them from farming. Initially, scientists assumed that these slabs are the remains of a Byzantine cemetery, but in the 90s German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt arrived here, who attributed the finds to the Neolithic period, the last period of the Stone Age. He called their discovery a supernova and devoted the rest of his life to studying them. Geomagnetic studies carried out later confirmed Schmidt's conjecture: the structures on the Puzat Hill were built about 12 thousand years ago.
Ruins of Göbekli Tepe.
When the RIA Novosti correspondent first visited Göbekli Tepe in 2013, there was only a small area of archaeological excavations in the middle of the immense steppes, in which recently excavated huge stone slabs with relief images of people and animals, made with surprising for their ancient age skill. Today Göbekli Tepe is a modern museum center with tourist infrastructure, lighting, a cafe, a souvenir shop and a video salon, where a documentary film about this unique structure is shown. To date, archaeologists have unearthed about a hundred steles and six round stone foundations, on which they were installed by unknown architects. All this can be seen - the municipal authorities have installed special wooden structures for passage through the excavation area,and the most valuable exhibits are housed under two huge awnings.
The first comparison that comes to mind when you see these stone giants is British Stonehenge: the same round base, almost the same slabs around the perimeter. However, compared to the wild, immense Göbekli Tepe, which has not yet fully emerged from the bowels of the earth, the modest Stonehenge seems to be a small building, neatly combed and competently advertised. But at the same time, Göbekli Tepe is older than Stonehenge by as much as seven thousand years.
Exhibit of the archaeological museum of the city of Sanliurfa (Turkey).
Promotional video:
According to him, in 1994, detailed excavations began under the patronage of the Turkish Ministry of Culture in conjunction with the German Archaeological Institute, they were led by a group of German scientists led by Klaus Schmidt. “These excavations continued until 2014, until the death of Schmidt, after which the leadership of the excavations passed to the administration of Sanliurfa province. We are carrying out excavations at the moment,”Uludag said.
The first builders - primitive people
German archaeologists have unearthed the circular base of the Göbekli Tepe complex. It was found that the complex was built as a religious center and consists of circular platforms on which are located vertically installed stone slabs with relief images. The diameter of one round platform is 30 meters, there are 20 stone slabs on it. Only six circular sites have been fully excavated, the remaining 14 are still underground. According to scientists, pilgrims could come to this religious building, having overcome hundreds of kilometers. Religious rites and, possibly, sacrifices were performed here.
According to him, about eight thousand years ago, for some unknown reason, people left these places, completely burying the complex. Why they did this is a mystery that intrigues scientists. Perhaps in order to preserve the building for centuries for posterity, or they expected to return here. For several millennia, the temple complex was hidden under a hill about 15 meters high and about 300 meters in diameter. Thanks to this, the structure has survived to this day in good condition. On the stone slabs, images, sculptures of people and animals, made by fairly skilled craftsmen, are well preserved.
On the relief images of animals, you can see lions, bulls, wild boars, foxes, birds, snakes, insects, spiders. Among the few images of a person is a headless body surrounded by vultures. According to scientists, this is due to the fact that, according to the local cult, the dead were not buried, but left to be eaten by vultures. As Schmidt believed, archaeologists came across here the earliest images of gods that do not have faces. But they have palms: perhaps this is how ancient people portrayed the creators of the universe.
Nowadays, slabs and stones with reliefs that cannot be moved can be seen on the site of Göbekli Tepe itself, and smaller ones - in the city archaeological museum in Sanliurfa. Various events are constantly held on the territory of the complex - music concerts, art exhibitions. Experimental excavations in which children can take part are of great interest.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking at the end of December in the Turkish parliament, declared 2019 the year of Göbekli Tepe, recalling that the past year, which has become very successful for the country's tourism industry, was dedicated to Troy. He expressed hope that the events within the framework of the Year of Göbekli Tepe will contribute to the development of tourism not only in Sanliurfa, but also in the neighboring provinces of Gaziantep, Mardin, Adana.
Last year, Göbekli Tepe was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Scientists believe that the discovery of this complex changed not only the world of archeology, but also views on the history of mankind. However, perhaps the most interesting discoveries lie ahead as further excavations and exploration of this unique structure.
Fedor Smirnov
