Gebekli Tepe has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2011, and was first discovered in 1963 by archaeologists from Istanbul and Chicago. Later, in 1995, scientists found in these places T-shaped obelisks of the Neolithic era with a height of three to six meters and a weight of 40 to 60 tons, as well as various artifacts, such as figurines in the form of people aged 12 thousand years.
Israeli archaeologists have uncovered one of the main secrets of the oldest temple complex on Earth – in the Turkish Gebekli Tepe. It is proved that it was built 12 thousand years ago with the use of sophisticated technologies for that time. This caused a sharp discussion in the scientific community. Simple silicon tools, cave dwellings and mammoth hunting – these are usually the people of the Stone Age. They knew neither agriculture, nor cattle breeding, nor pottery. But scientists from Israel found out that primitive man did not just erect massive stone objects, but also knew about complex architectural solutions. The complex of huge round stone structures with a diameter of up to 20 meters was built in the Neolithic era. At the edges are monumental t—shaped columns up to five and a half meters high. Each object is based on one idea. Before that, it was believed that people learned to use a single architectural plan only five thousand years ago – Stonehenge is evidence of that.
If you connect the center points of the three largest circles together, you will get an isosceles triangle. In addition, the structures are arranged in a hierarchical order. Previously, scientists believed that the Egyptians were the first to use such techniques when creating the pyramids at Giza.
But now it turns out that this is how representatives of the Natufian culture, common in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel, built their dugouts. However, the Gebekli Tepe complex in southeastern Turkey is a completely different level.
Since 1994, when excavations began, until the current discovery, the complexity of the structure was explained by the fact that it was built gradually, over two millennia. A new version – the complex was created in one era. Images of lions, bulls, birds, snakes, and spiders are clearly visible on the stone slabs. There are almost no people, only a few figures without faces.
The excavations in Gebekli Tepe, whose age is estimated by historians at 12 thousand years, show us that this is not at all true, that there was an earlier episode of a highly developed civilization. And the founders of the proto-civilization, according to the scientist, were worshipped by people of the Neolithic era. It was for these "forefathers" that, in his opinion, the oldest religious complex in the world was built. The gods were honored here in a very peculiar way. A few years ago, during excavations, fragments of human skulls with notches left by silicon knives were found. Analysis of the remains showed that people died a violent death. According to one version, the dead were not buried – their bodies were eaten by vultures. Such a ritual is known only in one religion – Zoroastrianism, whose followers live in Iran and India.