The Göbekli Tepe excavations – Frequently Asked Questions

About 15 kilometres to the northeast of the modern metropolis of Şanlıurfa in southeastern Turkey, the tell of Göbekli Tepe is situated on the highest point of the barren Germuş mountain range. This mound with a height of 15 metres and an area of about 9 hectares is completely man-made – covering what has to be considered the earliest yet known monumental architecture constructed by humankind, raised by intentionally burying it about 12,000 years ago. Since 1995 annual excavation work has been conducted under the direction of Prof. Klaus Schmidt from the German Archaeological Institute. After his death in 2014 excavations were continued by his team led by Müslüm Ercan (Şanlıurfa Museum) and Lee Clare (German Archaeological Institute).