News
A first action by the consortium was a mission to the Carthage Archives undertaken by Sophie Hachou, of the Ecole de Chartes, undertaken in September and October 2017 and financed […]
On the hunt, some 12.000 years ago: An aurochs bone with hunting lesion from Göbekli Tepe.
All archaeological finds of a site add to its history, but some can capture us with the underlying story. This is the case for an aurochs bone with an embedded […]
„What is so special about Neolithic special buildings?“ Session upcoming at EAA´s Annual Meeting in Maastricht
‘Special buildings‘ has become an often-used label in Near Eastern Archaeology for constructions deviating in architecture, elaborate inner fittings, finds and often also treatment after the end of use (intentional […]
A Short Note on a New Figurine Type from Göbekli Tepe
This text has been published originally (and in slightly different form) as a short contribution by Oliver Dietrich and Klaus Schmidt (†) in Neo-Lithics [external link] 1/17, 43-46. The most striking […]
Beginning social complexity during the Early Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia: a view from Göbekli Tepe
This is the English version of a text published by Oliver Dietrich and Jens Notroff in the latest issue of Aktüel Arkeoloji [external link]. Our knowledge of the early Neolithic […]
What is the connection between Göbekli Tepe and…
Göbekli Tepe is often compared with other megalithic architecture. Stonehenge is an example here, others include the temples of Malta, the Taulas of Menorca, or the Moai of the Easter […]
What you get is … what you want to see: For example Göbekli Tepe on a 4th millennium seal print from Susa.
Recently, I stumbled upon a blogpost by Graham Hancock [external link]. I was looking for something completely different, i.e. the “fallout” of the rather unfortunate meteor theory proposed by two […]
Ask an archaeologist (about Göbekli Tepe)
This weblog has been created to make basic information (together with our thoughts and interpretation) on the excavations and research at Göbekli Tepe broadly accessible. After about a year clicks, […]
Cooperative Action of Hunter-Gatherers in the Early Neolithic Near East. A View from Göbekli Tepe
Just back from this year´s Warfare, Environment, Social Inequality and Peace Studies (WESIPS) Conference in Seville, organized by Richard and Yamilette Chacon at the Center for Cross-Cultural Study (Spanish Studies […]
A separated head between animals on a stone slab from Göbekli Tepe
In 2009, the last meter of filling was removed from Enclosure D, the best preserved building of Göbekli Tepe’s older Layer III. We already knew that during the refilling of […]
Buried face-down. A statue from Göbekli Tepe’s southwestern hilltop
Starting from 2007 new excavation areas were opened at Göbekli Tepe´s southwestern hilltop. The aim was to get a better understanding of the architecture of the tell – would the […]
Two foxes and a bucranium: the first in situ porthole stone from Göbekli Tepe
Starting from 2011, work at Göbekli Tepe has focused on the excavation of several deep soundings, meant to contain the struts holding a membrane shelter structure to ensure a durable […]
Guarded by beasts: a porthole stone from Göbekli Tepe
During the 2009 and 2010 excavation seasons at Göbekli Tepe, several new trenches at the northwestern hilltop of the tell were opened. Below the plough horizon, as we already had […]
A decorated bone spatula, what’s in that picture? – Iconology and Archaeology.
In 2011, a special object was discovered at Göbekli Tepe in one of the excavation trenches in the tell’s northwestern depression (Fig. 1). Excavation had just proceeded into layers undisturbed […]
The death of an aurochs: Göbekli Tepe, Pillar 66, Enclosure H
Next in our series about the pillars of Göbekli Tepe (here, and here) is P 66 in Enclosure H, located in the northwestern depression of the tell. The most prominent decoration […]
