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“Everyone and everything has a story to tell”…
That’s how the “Gobeklitepe – The World’s First Temple” film begins, and appropriately so.
What we have here is a magnificent story that takes history of humanity back another 6,000 years. Consider all the time that has passed from ancient Sumer up to now… then go as much back in time. That is the time period this film is covering… and we are not talking about cave men here either. What we are looking at is a temple complex so impeccably preserved, and with evidence so clear, that it might as well have been carved yesterday. Göbeklitepe, Urfa-Turkey. The world’s first temple, dating 12,000 years back.
The film concentrates on scientific data, and throws in expert opinion on matters such as archeology, astronomy, mysticism, religion, and history. This process is covered by interviews with experts close to the project, as well as those who can look at it from a wider angle, as to the whys and hows. Klaus Schmidt (archeologist and head of the Göbeklitepe excavation) Metin Bobaroğlu (philosoper and mystic), B.G. Sidharth (astronomer and physicist) are some of them.
That’s how the “Gobeklitepe – The World’s First Temple” film begins, and appropriately so.
What we have here is a magnificent story that takes history of humanity back another 6,000 years. Consider all the time that has passed from ancient Sumer up to now… then go as much back in time. That is the time period this film is covering… and we are not talking about cave men here either. What we are looking at is a temple complex so impeccably preserved, and with evidence so clear, that it might as well have been carved yesterday. Göbeklitepe, Urfa-Turkey. The world’s first temple, dating 12,000 years back.
The film concentrates on scientific data, and throws in expert opinion on matters such as archeology, astronomy, mysticism, religion, and history. This process is covered by interviews with experts close to the project, as well as those who can look at it from a wider angle, as to the whys and hows. Klaus Schmidt (archeologist and head of the Göbeklitepe excavation) Metin Bobaroğlu (philosoper and mystic), B.G. Sidharth (astronomer and physicist) are some of them.
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Göbekli Tepe / Pop Belly Hills
Archaeologically categorised as a site of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A Period (c. 9600–7300 BC) Göbeklitepe is a series of mainly circular and oval-shaped structures set on the top of a hill.
Excavations began in 1995 by Prof. Klaus Schmidt with the help of the German Archeological Institute. There is archelological proof that these installations were not used for domestic use, but predominantly for ritual or religious purposes.
Subsequently it became apparent that Gobeklitepe consists of not only one, but many of such stone age temples. Furthermore, both excavations and geo magnetic results revealed that there are at least 20 installations, which in archeological terms can be called a temple. Based on what has been unearthed so far, the pattern principle seems to be that there are two huge monumental pillars in the center of each installation, surrounded by enclosures and walls, featuring more pillars in those set-ups.
All pillars are T-shaped with heights changing from 3 to 6 meters. Archeologists interpret those T-shapes as stylized human beings, mainly because of the depiction of human extremities that appear on some of the pillars. What also appears on these mystical rock statues, are carvings of animals as well as abstract symbols, sometimes picturing a combination of scenes.
Foxes, snakes, wild boars, cranes, wild ducks are most common. Most of these were carved into the flat surfaces of these pillars. Then again, we also come across some three-dimensional sculptures, in shape of a predator depicting a lion, descending on the side of a T-pillar.
The unique method used for the preservation of Gobeklitepe has really been the key to the survival of this amazing site. Whoever built this magnificent monument, made sure of its survival along thousands of years, by simply backfilling the various sites and burying them deep under, by using an incredible amount of material and all these led to an excellent preservation.
Each T-shaped pillar varies between 40 to 60 tonnes, leaving us scratching our heads as to how on earth they accomplished such a monumental feat. In a time when even simple hand tools were hard to come by, how did they get these stone blocks there, and how did they erect them?
With no settlement or society to speak of, with farming still a far cry away, in a world of only roaming hunter-gatherers, the complexity and developed blueprints of these temples represented another enigma for archeologists. Do we have to change our vision of how and when civilized human history began? The plot thickens...
Archaeologically categorised as a site of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A Period (c. 9600–7300 BC) Göbeklitepe is a series of mainly circular and oval-shaped structures set on the top of a hill.
Excavations began in 1995 by Prof. Klaus Schmidt with the help of the German Archeological Institute. There is archelological proof that these installations were not used for domestic use, but predominantly for ritual or religious purposes.
Subsequently it became apparent that Gobeklitepe consists of not only one, but many of such stone age temples. Furthermore, both excavations and geo magnetic results revealed that there are at least 20 installations, which in archeological terms can be called a temple. Based on what has been unearthed so far, the pattern principle seems to be that there are two huge monumental pillars in the center of each installation, surrounded by enclosures and walls, featuring more pillars in those set-ups.
All pillars are T-shaped with heights changing from 3 to 6 meters. Archeologists interpret those T-shapes as stylized human beings, mainly because of the depiction of human extremities that appear on some of the pillars. What also appears on these mystical rock statues, are carvings of animals as well as abstract symbols, sometimes picturing a combination of scenes.
Foxes, snakes, wild boars, cranes, wild ducks are most common. Most of these were carved into the flat surfaces of these pillars. Then again, we also come across some three-dimensional sculptures, in shape of a predator depicting a lion, descending on the side of a T-pillar.
The unique method used for the preservation of Gobeklitepe has really been the key to the survival of this amazing site. Whoever built this magnificent monument, made sure of its survival along thousands of years, by simply backfilling the various sites and burying them deep under, by using an incredible amount of material and all these led to an excellent preservation.
Each T-shaped pillar varies between 40 to 60 tonnes, leaving us scratching our heads as to how on earth they accomplished such a monumental feat. In a time when even simple hand tools were hard to come by, how did they get these stone blocks there, and how did they erect them?
With no settlement or society to speak of, with farming still a far cry away, in a world of only roaming hunter-gatherers, the complexity and developed blueprints of these temples represented another enigma for archeologists. Do we have to change our vision of how and when civilized human history began? The plot thickens...
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The Göbekli Tepe Mystery
http://aetherforce.com/the-gobekli-tepe-mystery/
Prior to Göbekli Tepe it was assumed , that Sumerian society was the first advanced civilisation. 6,000 years before the invention of writing neolithic cultures carved intricate designs, sigils and images in stone, most of which concern themselves with farming and fertility. But Stone tools did not carve these reliefs.
Gobekli Tepe’s pillar carvings however are dominated not by edible prey like deer and cattle but by predators like lions, spiders, snakes and scorpions. Some cultures have long believed that high-flying carrion birds transported the flesh of the dead up to the heavens indicating a concern of an afterlife. But the temples’ true purpose lays beneath the half buried pillars and yet to be excavated by archaeologists and anthropologists.
Unlike the stark plateaus nearby, from Gobekli Tepe, perched 1,000 feet above a valley in Turkey , one can see to the horizon in nearly every direction. This is the temple of Göbekli Tepe. 500 miles away from Istanbul lies a hilltop sanctuary erected on the highest point of an elongated mountain ridge some 15 km northeast of the town of Şanlıurfa, in southeastern Turkey. It is the most astonishing archaeological discovery in modern times and also thought to be the oldest advanced civilization on Earth.
Predating Stonehenge by 6,000 years, the stunning temple upends the conventional view of the rise of civilization. Massive carved stones about Artist Impression of Construction of Göbekli Tepe11,000 years old, crafted and arranged by prehistoric people who had not yet developed metal tools or even pottery. Each ring has a roughly similar layout: in the center are two large stone T-shaped pillars encircled by slightly smaller stones facing inward. The tallest pillars tower 16 feet and weigh between seven and ten tons.
Some are blank, while others are elaborately carved: foxes, lions, scorpions and vultures abound, twisting and crawling on the pillars’ broad sides. Gobekli Tepe sits at the northern edge of the Fertile Crescent—an arc of mild climate and arable land from the Persian Gulf to present-day Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and Egypt—and would have attracted hunter-gatherers from Africa and the Levant. 16 other megalith rings remain buried across 22 acres archaeologists could dig here for another 50 years and barely scratch the surface.
This area is the real origin of complex Neolithic societies. In constructing the temple, once the stone rings were finished, the ancient builders covered them over with dirt. Eventually, they placed another ring nearby or on top of the old one. Over centuries, these layers created the hilltop. examined at the site are more than 100,000 bone fragments from Gobekli Tepe, often found with cut marks and splintered edges on them, indicative of the butchering and cooking of these animals.
Found were Gazelle bones, and other wild game such as boar, sheep and red deer. Also discovered were bones of a dozen different bird species, including vultures, cranes, ducks and geese. The abundance of wild game remains is a clear indication that the people who lived here had not managed farms or domesticated animals. A situation that was about to change.
Inside Gobekli Tepe
Archeologists have found evidence indicating the temple builders were on the verge of a major change in how they lived. this was the discovery that the environment which they had settled held the raw materials for farming. Including wild sheep, wild grains that could be domesticated. Research at other sites in the region has shown that within 1,000 years of Gobekli Tepe’s construction, settlers had corralled sheep, cattle and pigs. And, at a prehistoric village just 20 miles away, geneticists found evidence of the world’s oldest domesticated strains of wheat; radiocarbon dating indicates agriculture developed there around 10,500 years ago, five centuries after Gobekli Tepe’s construction.
To carve, erect and bury rings of seven-ton stone pillars would have required hundreds of
Strange Animist Carvingsworkers, all needing to be fed and housed. Hence the eventual emergence of settled communities in the area around 10,000 years ago. The extensive, coordinated effort to build the temple monoliths literally laid the groundwork for the development of complex societies.
The accepted theory by academia is that it was once farming and domestication of animals was established that social structures and temples of worship were built, but Gobekli Tepe contradicts this assessment. To carve, erect and bury rings of seven-ton stone pillars would have required hundreds of workers, all needing to be fed and housed. Hence the eventual emergence of settled communities in the area around 10,000 years ago.
Prior to the discovery of 20 possible writing symbols on the pillars of the temple, it was believed that the first written language was ascribed to the ancient Sumerians in perhaps 3200 BCE. Göbekli Tepe moves this back to at least 10,000 BCE. signs of a very high level of cooperation spanning almost 3000 years at Göbekli Tepe. It was also believed that the discovery of the wheel did not surface until 3000 BCE in Sumeria, again Tepe contadicts this with evidence of roads that show tracks formed in what was mud and limestone over 100s if not 1000s of years.
Interestingly, 60 miles northeast of Göbekli Tepe at Karaca Dağgrows grows the closest known ancestor of Einkorn Wheat. This strain has been domesticated and dates back to about the time this site was in peak use. there is also the earliest evidence of bread-making and beer making. Prior to this beer-brewing in vats was believed to have started in China about 5000 BCE.
Obscure Glyphs decorate Stone Pillars
The most perplexing anomaly that Göbekli Tepe presents is not only just how sophisticated and organised a culture had to be to build and operate such a complex, that all evidence indicates was free of conflict for 3000 years, but what would convince this culture to bury it.
What is even more fascinating is the fact that the technology had to have already existed and the mechanical aptitude in place well in advance of the temple’s initial construction. this article was made possible by the research of Professor Klaus Schmidt, the chief Researcher and Archeologist on site. Professor Schmidt recognised the significance of the site after it was largely dismissed by University of Chicago and Istanbul University anthropologists in the 1960s.
https://taboodada.wordpress.com/category/architecture/
http://aetherforce.com/the-gobekli-tepe-mystery/
Prior to Göbekli Tepe it was assumed , that Sumerian society was the first advanced civilisation. 6,000 years before the invention of writing neolithic cultures carved intricate designs, sigils and images in stone, most of which concern themselves with farming and fertility. But Stone tools did not carve these reliefs.
Gobekli Tepe’s pillar carvings however are dominated not by edible prey like deer and cattle but by predators like lions, spiders, snakes and scorpions. Some cultures have long believed that high-flying carrion birds transported the flesh of the dead up to the heavens indicating a concern of an afterlife. But the temples’ true purpose lays beneath the half buried pillars and yet to be excavated by archaeologists and anthropologists.
Unlike the stark plateaus nearby, from Gobekli Tepe, perched 1,000 feet above a valley in Turkey , one can see to the horizon in nearly every direction. This is the temple of Göbekli Tepe. 500 miles away from Istanbul lies a hilltop sanctuary erected on the highest point of an elongated mountain ridge some 15 km northeast of the town of Şanlıurfa, in southeastern Turkey. It is the most astonishing archaeological discovery in modern times and also thought to be the oldest advanced civilization on Earth.
Predating Stonehenge by 6,000 years, the stunning temple upends the conventional view of the rise of civilization. Massive carved stones about Artist Impression of Construction of Göbekli Tepe11,000 years old, crafted and arranged by prehistoric people who had not yet developed metal tools or even pottery. Each ring has a roughly similar layout: in the center are two large stone T-shaped pillars encircled by slightly smaller stones facing inward. The tallest pillars tower 16 feet and weigh between seven and ten tons.
Some are blank, while others are elaborately carved: foxes, lions, scorpions and vultures abound, twisting and crawling on the pillars’ broad sides. Gobekli Tepe sits at the northern edge of the Fertile Crescent—an arc of mild climate and arable land from the Persian Gulf to present-day Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and Egypt—and would have attracted hunter-gatherers from Africa and the Levant. 16 other megalith rings remain buried across 22 acres archaeologists could dig here for another 50 years and barely scratch the surface.
This area is the real origin of complex Neolithic societies. In constructing the temple, once the stone rings were finished, the ancient builders covered them over with dirt. Eventually, they placed another ring nearby or on top of the old one. Over centuries, these layers created the hilltop. examined at the site are more than 100,000 bone fragments from Gobekli Tepe, often found with cut marks and splintered edges on them, indicative of the butchering and cooking of these animals.
Found were Gazelle bones, and other wild game such as boar, sheep and red deer. Also discovered were bones of a dozen different bird species, including vultures, cranes, ducks and geese. The abundance of wild game remains is a clear indication that the people who lived here had not managed farms or domesticated animals. A situation that was about to change.
Inside Gobekli Tepe
Archeologists have found evidence indicating the temple builders were on the verge of a major change in how they lived. this was the discovery that the environment which they had settled held the raw materials for farming. Including wild sheep, wild grains that could be domesticated. Research at other sites in the region has shown that within 1,000 years of Gobekli Tepe’s construction, settlers had corralled sheep, cattle and pigs. And, at a prehistoric village just 20 miles away, geneticists found evidence of the world’s oldest domesticated strains of wheat; radiocarbon dating indicates agriculture developed there around 10,500 years ago, five centuries after Gobekli Tepe’s construction.
To carve, erect and bury rings of seven-ton stone pillars would have required hundreds of
Strange Animist Carvingsworkers, all needing to be fed and housed. Hence the eventual emergence of settled communities in the area around 10,000 years ago. The extensive, coordinated effort to build the temple monoliths literally laid the groundwork for the development of complex societies.
The accepted theory by academia is that it was once farming and domestication of animals was established that social structures and temples of worship were built, but Gobekli Tepe contradicts this assessment. To carve, erect and bury rings of seven-ton stone pillars would have required hundreds of workers, all needing to be fed and housed. Hence the eventual emergence of settled communities in the area around 10,000 years ago.
Prior to the discovery of 20 possible writing symbols on the pillars of the temple, it was believed that the first written language was ascribed to the ancient Sumerians in perhaps 3200 BCE. Göbekli Tepe moves this back to at least 10,000 BCE. signs of a very high level of cooperation spanning almost 3000 years at Göbekli Tepe. It was also believed that the discovery of the wheel did not surface until 3000 BCE in Sumeria, again Tepe contadicts this with evidence of roads that show tracks formed in what was mud and limestone over 100s if not 1000s of years.
Interestingly, 60 miles northeast of Göbekli Tepe at Karaca Dağgrows grows the closest known ancestor of Einkorn Wheat. This strain has been domesticated and dates back to about the time this site was in peak use. there is also the earliest evidence of bread-making and beer making. Prior to this beer-brewing in vats was believed to have started in China about 5000 BCE.
Obscure Glyphs decorate Stone Pillars
The most perplexing anomaly that Göbekli Tepe presents is not only just how sophisticated and organised a culture had to be to build and operate such a complex, that all evidence indicates was free of conflict for 3000 years, but what would convince this culture to bury it.
What is even more fascinating is the fact that the technology had to have already existed and the mechanical aptitude in place well in advance of the temple’s initial construction. this article was made possible by the research of Professor Klaus Schmidt, the chief Researcher and Archeologist on site. Professor Schmidt recognised the significance of the site after it was largely dismissed by University of Chicago and Istanbul University anthropologists in the 1960s.
https://taboodada.wordpress.com/category/architecture/
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Göbekli Tepe
is an Early Neolithic site of enormous significance, featuring 5-meter-high monolithic pillars carved in relief and dating to 10,000 or more years ago.
Erected within circular “temple” structures, the latest excavations have revealed that these structures likely covered the entire hillside and could number as many as 20 in total.
Göbekli Tepe has been interpreted as the oldest human-made place of worship yet discovered. Until excavations began, a complex on this scale was not thought possible for a community so ancient.
The massive sequence of stratification layers suggests several millennia of activity, perhaps reaching back to the Mesolithic. The oldest occupation layer (stratum III) contains monolithic pillars linked by coarsely built walls to form circular or oval structures.
So far, four such buildings, with diameters between 10 and 30m have been uncovered. Geophysical surveys indicate the existence of 16 additional structures.
However, the site and its extant remains are threatened by looting, exposure and insufficient management of the site and its resources.
GHF’s goals at Göbekli Tepe are to support the preparation of a comprehensive Site Management and Conservation Plan, construction of a shelter over the exposed archaeological features, training local community members in guiding and conservation and aiding Turkish authorities in securing World Heritage Site inscription.
Click here to explore Göbekli Tepe on GHN.
Click here to download the Göbekli Tepe Project Summary.
is an Early Neolithic site of enormous significance, featuring 5-meter-high monolithic pillars carved in relief and dating to 10,000 or more years ago.
Erected within circular “temple” structures, the latest excavations have revealed that these structures likely covered the entire hillside and could number as many as 20 in total.
Göbekli Tepe has been interpreted as the oldest human-made place of worship yet discovered. Until excavations began, a complex on this scale was not thought possible for a community so ancient.
The massive sequence of stratification layers suggests several millennia of activity, perhaps reaching back to the Mesolithic. The oldest occupation layer (stratum III) contains monolithic pillars linked by coarsely built walls to form circular or oval structures.
So far, four such buildings, with diameters between 10 and 30m have been uncovered. Geophysical surveys indicate the existence of 16 additional structures.
However, the site and its extant remains are threatened by looting, exposure and insufficient management of the site and its resources.
GHF’s goals at Göbekli Tepe are to support the preparation of a comprehensive Site Management and Conservation Plan, construction of a shelter over the exposed archaeological features, training local community members in guiding and conservation and aiding Turkish authorities in securing World Heritage Site inscription.
Click here to explore Göbekli Tepe on GHN.
Click here to download the Göbekli Tepe Project Summary.
- CURRENT PROJECTS
- Banteay Chhmar, Cambodia
- Carpathian Villages, Romania
- Chavín de Huántar, Peru
- Ciudad Perdida, Colombia
- Göbekli Tepe, Turkey
- Guizhou, China
- Mirador, Guatemala
- Pingyao, China
INVESTIGATIONS
Visit Gobekli Tepe, Karahan Tepe, Urfa
http://andrewcollins.com/page/events/....
- Karahan Tepe is the sister site to the enigmatic Göbekli Tepe in Southeast Turkey
(video here: http://youtu.be/E-Q9cviQcn0).
It has many striking similarities to Göbekli. Firstly, it is still buried. All you are seeing in the video is the very tops of the T-Shaped pillars. There are 266 of them that mostly form parallel curved serpent-like rows. Some have animal and serpent relief carvings. Karahan Tepe was first discovered in 1997, and was surveyed in 2000 and again in 2011. It is located on the Tektek mountains and is within the boundaries of Sanliurfa (ancient Edessa - the birthplace of Abraham).
I visited this unexcavated site in June 2014 with author Andrew Collins and a group of Megalithomaniacs on the 'Origins of Civilization' tour. It is not an officially recognized tourist site, so we had to plan the trip there carefully as it is on private land, upon the Tektek mountains. When Andrew visited there in 2004 the person who showed him around was warned he would get a beating if it was found that anyone had visited there. Ten years later, and the owners welcome the occasional visitor with tea and information. No beatings entailed, just tea and conversation after our morning visit. Anyway, enjoy the video, and join us there in May & September if you can: http://www.megalithomania.co.uk/tours...
http://andrewcollins.com/page/events/....
- Karahan Tepe is the sister site to the enigmatic Göbekli Tepe in Southeast Turkey
(video here: http://youtu.be/E-Q9cviQcn0).
It has many striking similarities to Göbekli. Firstly, it is still buried. All you are seeing in the video is the very tops of the T-Shaped pillars. There are 266 of them that mostly form parallel curved serpent-like rows. Some have animal and serpent relief carvings. Karahan Tepe was first discovered in 1997, and was surveyed in 2000 and again in 2011. It is located on the Tektek mountains and is within the boundaries of Sanliurfa (ancient Edessa - the birthplace of Abraham).
I visited this unexcavated site in June 2014 with author Andrew Collins and a group of Megalithomaniacs on the 'Origins of Civilization' tour. It is not an officially recognized tourist site, so we had to plan the trip there carefully as it is on private land, upon the Tektek mountains. When Andrew visited there in 2004 the person who showed him around was warned he would get a beating if it was found that anyone had visited there. Ten years later, and the owners welcome the occasional visitor with tea and information. No beatings entailed, just tea and conversation after our morning visit. Anyway, enjoy the video, and join us there in May & September if you can: http://www.megalithomania.co.uk/tours...
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