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Rectangular structures from Göbekli Tepe’s second settlement phase uncovered
Excavations at Göbekli Tepe in Şanlıurfa have uncovered rectangular structures dating to the settlement’s second phase. The team aims to reassess the archaeological potential of previously identified structures while working across a new 1,500-square-meter area.
Excavations at the Göbekli Tepe archaeological site in Şanlıurfa have uncovered rectangular structures dating to the settlement’s second phase.
Necmi Karul, head of the Göbekli Tepe Excavation Committee and coordinator of the Taş Tepeler Project, announced that work is continuing in the main excavation area as part of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s Heritage for the Future Project. Karul said the new excavation area was prepared after olive trees previously located in the area were moved elsewhere.
The team began working this season across a new area of approximately 1,500 square meters and aims to reassess the archaeological potential of structures uncovered earlier. The excavations use a method based on opening up large areas and gradually deepening them over time.
Göbekli Tepe’s discovery
Located approximately 18 kilometers north of Şanlıurfa city center, Göbekli Tepe first attracted attention in 1963 during fieldwork conducted by researchers from Istanbul and Chicago universities.
The site gained further significance after a statue was found during agricultural activities in 1986. Excavations conducted in cooperation with the Şanlıurfa Museum and the German Archaeological Institute since 1995 have uncovered large T-shaped stone pillars dating to the Neolithic Age.
Stone pillars and monumental structures
The pillars range from 3 to 6 meters in height and weigh between 40 and 60 tons. They feature reliefs depicting wild animals.
The excavations have also revealed circular and rectangular structures ranging from 8 to 30 meters in diameter, as well as a 65-centimeter-tall human statue dating back approximately 12,000 years. The circular and rectangular structures are regarded as some of the oldest religious buildings discovered in the world.
Göbekli Tepe was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List on July 2, 2018. Following the completion of conservation and landscaping work, the site was officially opened on March 8, 2019, with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
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