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Göbekli Tepe

Göbekli Tepe
Image: Kerimove, Wikimedia Commons, CC0. Resized; not otherwise altered. All credits.
LocationNear Şanlıurfa, south-east Türkiye, Türkiye
Conventional datePre-Pottery Neolithic, enclosures from about 9500 BCE.
Alternative date proposals
  • Sweatman & Tsikritsis (2017); Sweatman (2024): Pillar 43 encodes a date near 10,950 BCE and a lunisolar calendar [3][5]
What is measured
  • Enclosure D wall plaster 9745–9314 cal BCE. [1]

Monumental enclosures of carved T-pillars built by hunter-gatherers soon after the Younger Dryas ended. UNESCO World Heritage Site. The image shows a carved pillar relief.

Claims about this site

ClaimStatusVerdict
Göbekli Tepe's megalithic enclosures are about 11,600 years oldMainstreamMeasured: c. 9500 BCE
Göbekli Tepe's Vulture Stone records a comet impact and an ancient calendarLeading EdgeOpen question
An abrupt cold snap, the Younger Dryas, hit about 12,900 years agoMainstreamMeasured: c. 12,900–11,700 years ago
A comet impact or airbursts triggered the Younger Dryas about 12,800 years agoContestedOpen question; several key papers retracted 2025–26
An advanced civilisation existed during the last Ice Age and was lost in a catastropheLeading EdgeOpen question
Earth suffers a recurring catastrophe about every 12,000 yearsLeading EdgeOpen question

Visiting: Göbekli Tepe and Şanlıurfa

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Sources

  1. German Archaeological Institute (DAI) blog: How old is it? Dating Göbekli Tepe. https://www.dainst.org/en/blogs/how-old-is-it-dating-goebekli-tepe/625 data
  2. Dietrich, O. et al. (2013). Establishing a radiocarbon sequence for Göbekli Tepe: state of research and new data. Neo-Lithics 1/13 (PDF). https://jensnotroff.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/ii-13_15_neolithic… data
  3. Sweatman, M. B. & Tsikritsis, D. (2017). Decoding Göbekli Tepe with archaeoastronomy: what does the fox say? Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 17(1). https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/decoding-gobekli-tepe-w… proponent
  4. Notroff, J., Dietrich, O. et al. (2017). More than a vulture: a response to Sweatman and Tsikritsis. Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 17(2). doi:10.5281/zenodo.599855 critique
  5. Sweatman, M. B. (2024). Representations of calendars and time at Göbekli Tepe and Karahan Tepe support an astronomical interpretation of their symbolism. Time and Mind 17. doi:10.1080/1751696X.2024.2373876 proponent

Dates are summarised in our own words from the sources listed. Conventional and alternative dates are both reported; "measured" lists only dated or documented findings. Methodology.