8 stops

Göbekli Tepe and the Taş Tepeler

The Neolithic Taş Tepeler, or Stone Mounds, of south-eastern Türkiye, from Göbekli Tepe's pillared enclosures to village sites and a carved relief.

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  1. Stop 1

    Çakmaktepe

    Other / unclassifiedTurkey

    Est. 4000 BCE–600 CEType comparisonTypical for this type

    A locality in Nizip, Gaziantep Province, where very little is recorded about ancient remains; the catalogue places it as an unclassified monument on a typological estimate alone.

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  2. Stop 2

    Sayburç site

    Other / unclassifiedTurkey

    c. 9000–8001 BCEType comparisonTypical for this type

    A Pre-Pottery Neolithic A site in the same region as Göbekli Tepe, best known for a 3.7-metre relief showing five human figures in one narrative scene.

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  3. Stop 3

    Gürcütepe

    Other / unclassifiedTurkey

    Est. 4000 BCE–600 CEType comparisonTypical for this type

    Four shallow tells beside Sirrin Stream, now covered by modern buildings, which German archaeologists under Klaus Schmidt found to have been settled in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B.

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  4. Stop 4

    Göbekli Tepe

    T-pillar enclosureTurkey

    c. 9999–8000 BCERadiocarbon datingMeasured

    A Neolithic site of large circular enclosures holding decorated T-shaped pillars, inhabited from around 9500 BC to at least 8000 BC; its purpose remains undetermined.

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  5. Stop 5

    Sefer Tepe

    Other / unclassifiedSyria

    Est. 4000 BCE–600 CEType comparisonTypical for this type

    A Taş Tepeler site in Şanlıurfa Province known for 16 limestone T-shaped pillars standing at regular intervals, with flint and obsidian tools recovered from excavation.

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  6. Stop 6

    Nevalı Çori

    T-pillar enclosureTurkey

    c. 8400–8100 BCEStated by the sourceEstimated

    An early Neolithic settlement on the middle Euphrates dated from 8400 to 8100 BC, whose cult complex has monolithic pillars built into its dry stone walls.

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  7. Stop 7

    Harbetsuvan Tepesi

    Other / unclassifiedTurkey

    Est. 4000 BCE–600 CEType comparisonTypical for this type

    A site in the Eyyübiye district first identified in surface surveys in 2014, where excavations found T-shaped structures of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and B phases and a standing stone carved with arm and finger reliefs.

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  8. Stop 8

    Karahan Tepe

    T-pillar enclosureTurkey

    c. 10000–8000 BCEStated by the sourceEstimated

    Discovered in 1997 about 46 kilometres east of Göbekli Tepe, this Pre-Pottery Neolithic site holds T-shaped stelae and more than 266 pillars, and belongs to a group of about 12 Taş Tepeler sites under investigation.

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Sources