The mysterious Gobekli stone circle

In 1994, German archaeologist Klaus Schmitt visited the area to investigate prehistoric sites and immediately identified human activity. He found Gobekli Tepe to be a gently clustered hill, about 15 meters higher than the surrounding land, not at all like the steep plateaus further away. He found an unusually large number of flint shavings on the ground and determined that the limestone slab found here was not a Byzantine tombstone but something much older.

The Gobekli Stone Array consists of more than 20 ring structures, each surrounded by a ring of giant T-shaped stone columns, some of which are carved with ferocious animal designs. At the center of each ring, more than two Stonehenge columns are arranged parallel to each other. Weighing between 14 and 16 tons, the columns are carved with bulls, snakes, foxes, lions, and other animals in elaborate and intricate forms.

The T-shaped columns are bladed, up to five times as wide as they are thick, and are held together by low stone walls with an arm-length distance between each of the two columns. In the center of each circle were two tall stone columns, with long narrow bases placed in shallow grooves dug out of the ground. The circle of Gobekli stone circle seems to be gradually decayed. Every few decades, the ancients buried the large circular columns and replaced them with smaller ones made of new stone. After that, all the rings were filled with rubble, and a new one was built nearby. The whole site was built and filled, and filled and rebuilt. Three years of geomagnetic surveys show that at least 20 rings are stacked haphazardly on top of each other and not buried in the earth.

The earliest rings are the largest and the most mature in technology and craft. As time went on, the columns became smaller, simpler, and less neatly placed, and Gobekli's skill seemed to deteriorate. By 820BC, the circle of the Gobekli circle seems to have stagnated completely. The production of the Gobekli circle is decreasing completely. 45. All the production is becoming noisy and close to the 1.5 m mound, which is buried deep in the ground.

It has been speculated that the Gobekli stones were the work of the Natufians, but this has yet to be confirmed. However, new age archaeological research has found that Gobekli is like a capsule, sealing countless new historical discoveries. Through Gobekli's well-preserved window, we will gain insight into a civilization that will not be forgotten. Gobekli reminds us that it is too early to draw any conclusions about who we are, how we live, or where we come from. It also reminds us that it may be modern arrogance to call prehistoric civilizations primitive. Academically, Professor Schmidt is conservative, and he has struggled with recent discoveries that could challenge existing hypotheses. The new data were so controversial that they were double-checked before publication, took years, and the ideas they supported were even more subversive. Historians and archaeologists, who have labored to study only one model of human development, are hardly receptive to the discoveries at Gobekli. Even the most empirical scientists worry about the consequences and possibilities of rewriting human history.

The archaeological findings at Gobekli suggest that organized society dates back at least 13, 000 years, perhaps even earlier. That's almost twice as long as previously thought. Before the discovery of Gobekli, the Sumerians were thought to be the first organized society in human history, but now that view may have to be rewritten. In the Temple of Gobekli, we see a very high level of organization and collaboration, spanning almost 300 years. That figure has been published and so far has not been challenged.

At the temple of Gobekli, we will see the earliest writing ever found in human history. The script, which consists of about 20 symbols, is not yet a complete written language, but the latest archaeological discoveries at the site give us much to hope for. The Sumerian civilization created a writing system around 320 BC, but Gobekli would push that date back to around 100, 200 BC.

The Neolithic Age is still referred to as the "Stone Age," but its defining features, including stone tools and primitive tribes, need to be readjusted in light of Gobekli's discovery. From the Gobekli site, there is no such thing as the Stone Age. Stone tools cannot carve these lifelike works of art, and it is impossible to paint a perfect circle on a stone column.

It might be argued that stone tools were sufficient to produce what we see now, and that would certainly encounter Occam's razor of credibility. As you can imagine, if stone tools were capable of doing so much delicate work, we'd have to make much more complicated assumptions about it.

Farming was previously thought to have begun in 600 BC. Now it turns out that in the foothills of the Karaja mountains, about 100 kilometers from Gobekli, the ancient peoples were already growing wheat.

There is evidence that Gobekli's ancestors used "trailers" (shaped somewhat like sleds), and most likely "wheeled carts". Ruts of mud and limestone can be seen along the "road" of the site. It was previously thought that the Sumerians were the first to use the "trailer" in the year 500s BC and developed the technology of the wheel in the year 3000s BC. Archaeologists have also found bread-making remains at Gobekli. The excavated vats used to make wine suggest that wine was also produced here. Gobekli's massive megalithic structures could not have been built by Neolithic ancestors. Stonehenge, the most famous in England, was built about 600 years after Gobekli's Stonehenge, and its design, engineering, workmanship, and overall complexity are nothing compared to Gobekli's.

So far, the evidence we've found in Gobekli suggests that the first people there lived peacefully for more than 300 years. From the ruins, there are few signs of war. It's not 100% certain, but there are no signs of war, as some might expect, or of celebrations of victory that are often found at sites of other ancient civilizations. By now, it is generally accepted that a long-term organized society cannot exist without war. Before that, most civilizations were at peace for no more than a few hundred years. If Gobekli is confirmed to be free of war, then we must reflect on how a civilization can thrive for so long.

The discovery at Gobekli raises far more questions than it answers. For example, where did the first men live? During the excavation, there was no evidence of human habitation. Professor Schmidt also contradicts his assumption that Gobekli was a purely sacrificial site, but new evidence contradicts this. These are all due to the great discoveries unearthed at Gobekli. At present, archaeological excavations at the site are less than 15 percent complete, and there is no doubt that more great discoveries will be made. And our generation will be privileged to witness these discoveries.