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, […]
DAI news
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 […]
The Göbekli Tepe ‚Totem Pole‘
Every excavation season at Göbekli Tepe reveals new remarkable finds and although the overall spectrum of objects to be exspected is known quite well, there are also surprises. One of […]
New publication: ‘Feasting, social complexity and the emergence of the Early Neolithic of Upper Mesopotamia: a view from Göbekli Tepe’
The new year brings new books, and here is one we would like to point out, because, well, we have a contribution on Göbekli Tepe in there. The book […]
Enclosure B, a short overview
Second in our series of short overviews of the architecture of Göbekli Tepe’s older layer comes Enclosure B – which also was the second structure discovered during excavations. The ground plan […]
Call for Papers: „What is so special about Neolithic special buildings?“
We frequently get questions regarding the interpretation of Göbekli Tepe, and much of our work really centers around that issue. Is it a temple, a sanctuary, something else? How does […]
Enclosure A, a short overview
During the first field season at Göbekli Tepe in 1995 one of the landowners had started to clear his field in the southeastern depression of stones that hindered ploughing. He […]
A tale of snakes and birds: Göbekli Tepe, Pillar 56.
Since we get lots of questions regarding Göbekli Tepe’s pillars and their depictions, we will try to post short descriptions here. This time it’s Pillar 56 in Enclosure H. Pillar 56 […]
Göbekli Tepe in images
Photography certainly is an important tool for documentation in archaeology. For me personally, it is also a hobby (you can find me on Flickr here: external link). Going through the […]
