The Imagery of the Monumental Pillars of Göbekli Tepe – New Publication

The Fertile Crescent, late hunter-gatherer societies, sedentism, domestication – all of these terms are closely linked to the process commonly referred to as Neolithisation. This process can be observed in a particularly striking manner in southeastern Türkiye, especially in the province of Şanlıurfa, where numerous Neolithic sites can be found, many of which stand out for their monumental stone architecture.

One of these sites is the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Göbekli Tepe, renowned for its extraordinary monumental T-shaped pillars. For more than 30 years, this site, ranked among the most significant archaeological projects in Türkiye, has been a focus of our research at the German Archaeological Institute.

Against this background, we are pleased to present the latest volume in the Archaeologica Euphratica series, dedicated to Göbekli Tepe, its T-shaped pillars, and in particular their imagery. The volume “Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H” offers, for the first time, a comprehensive presentation of the imagery carved on the pillars of Göbekli Tepe’s monumental special buildings.

The publication presents the current state of research on the richly decorated T-shaped limestone monoliths. It is based on a manuscript initiated by the late excavation director Klaus Schmidt and was finalised by Oliver Dietrich.

In particular, the relief depictions open up new perspectives on the symbolic worlds of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, as well as on early belief systems and narrative traditions of Early Holocene late hunter-gatherer communities in Upper Mesopotamia.

The publication is also dedicated to the memory of Klaus Schmidt, who shaped research at Göbekli Tepe for many years and passed away unexpectedly in 2014.