Göbekli Tepe, Southeastern Turkey

A Preliminary Report on the 1995-1999 Excavations

The PPN mound of Göbekli Tepe is situated on top of a mountain north of the Harran plain, near the town of Sanliurfa in Southeastern Turkey. No comparable site is known so far in the Near East in terms of the topographical setting, its megalithic architecture, large scale stone sculptures and several other unusual items. The importance of the religious function of this site can hardly be denied. To the common model of Early Village Farming Communities of the Near East, molded by ecological and economical factors, Göbekli Tepe offers a quite different point of view.