Site

Göbekli Tepe

Timeline
From 9600 BCE to 8200 BCE

A Neolithic site in southeastern Turkey, known for communal buildings and T-shaped pillars; the excavation team describes a settlement with a pronounced ritual component.

Building C at Göbekli Tepe, southeastern Turkey, photographed in 2019. T-shaped pillars and communal architecture in a settlement with a ritual component; any proposed divine identities remain unknown. Some pillars have been restored
Building C at Göbekli Tepe, southeastern Turkey, photographed in 2019. T-shaped pillars and communal architecture in a settlement with a ritual component; any proposed divine identities remain unknown. Some pillars have been restoredDosseman (Dick Osseman) · CC BY-SALicense · Image source

Dates

Dates have distinct roles. The timeline uses creation, composition or historical coverage, rather than publication or discovery dates.

Historical coverage
Approximately From 9600 BCE to 8200 BCE

Text

UNESCO approximately dates the famous monuments to 9600–8200 BCE. Some pillars carry animal imagery and human attributes; their elements also have architectural functions.[5]

Domestic evidence has broadened interpretation towards a settlement with a ritualRitualAn organised or distinguished practice meaningful to a community; it may leave traces, but its form alone does not reveal an associated doctrine.Glossary · Click to read the explanation component, rather than a necessarily isolated sanctuary.[4] The names of any figures represented by pillars are unknown, and size alone does not establish divine identity.

References and notes

  1. Deutsches Archäologisches Institut. Göbekli Tepe, project 5746. Current project overview; domestic evidence, settlement and a ritual component. The team gives an approximate site chronology broader than UNESCO’s range for the monuments. Return to the text ↑
  2. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Göbekli Tepe, property 1572. Description and Outstanding Universal Value; monuments approximately 9600–8200 BCE, communal and architectural functions. Return to the text ↑

Research history

Substantive changes are retained here. Minor copy edits remain in the internal operational log.

  1. Edition 2 · 10 October 2026 · editor:aladmin

    Substantive record update

    Read this revision in its original language (Arabic)

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Cite this record

IL Archive, «Göbekli Tepe», Edition 2, https://ilarchive.com/en/sites/gobekli-tepe