[MUSIC].

For this place we'll be traveling back in

time over 10,000 years to central
Anatolia or modern day Turkey, and the
prehistoric site Gbekli Tepe.
Although excavation at this large tell
site only began in the mid 1990s, the
site has already captured the imagination
of the public.
Gbekli Tepe has been described as the
world's oldest temple, the Garden of
Eden, and even piles of ancient rubbish.
To put these comments and the wonder of
the site itself into a wider perspective.
The monumental circular structures of
Gbekli Tepe were created over 6,000
years before the construction of the
Great Pyramid.
6,000 years before the erection of the
first stones at Stonehenge.
But why did local peoples, relying only
on basic stone or wooden tools, construct
such a significant site even before the
spread of pottery?
Even before the adoption of farming?
And what is the site for?
The site's name Gbekli Tepe comes from
the Turkish for 'hill with a belly,' or 'fat
hill.'
Local farmers use this hill covered with
stones for years.
Stories say the archaeological potential
of this site was first revealed by a
farmer who found a large sculpture while
working the fields and took it into the
local museum.
The site was first visited by
archeologists in the 1960's.
During a field survey undertaken by the
University of Chicago and the University
of Istanbul.
The surveyors noticed the tops of
limestone slabs pick, sticking out of the
the mound, mistaking them for grave
markers, and decided the site must be a
Byzantine cemetery.

The site wasn't revisited by

archaeologists until 1994, when the
German archaeologist, Klaus Schmidt, came
across an article describing this so
called cemetery.
Schmidt noticed a large number of
prehistoric flint tools across the
surface of the Tell, and realized the
site actually belongs to a much earlier
period.
Excavations at the site under the German
Archaeological Institute began the
following summer.
Since the beginning of field work,
excavation and geophysical survey have
revealed a central site area dominated by
a series of large, circular structures
from ten to 30 meters in diameter.
Embedded in the walls surrounding these
structures and also, often in the middle
of the room itself, are a series of T-shaped pillars in limestone quarried from
the nearby cliffs.
These T-shaped pillars, with heights
ranging from four to seven meters and
each weighing many tons, are carved in a
low relief with a variety of motifs.
Some pillars show anthropomorphic
characteristics. That is, they're covered
with arms, hands, belts, and maybe even
heads, to give them a human appearance.
Other pillars are covered with wild and
dangerous animals, leopards and wild cats
are common, as are vulture like birds,
snakes, wild boar, and scorpions.
Despite the extensive work that must have
been involved in the construction of
these circular structures, especially
given the basic tools available to the
builders, all circular enclosures were
systematically abandoned and buried
around 8200 BCE. This deliberate burial
coincides roughly with the beginning of
farming in the region.
Although other parts of the site remained
in use, it looks as if these earliest
monumental structures were never
reopened.
Given the spectacular archaeology at
Gbekli Tepe it's not surprising that
many theories have focused on a
mysterious explanation for the site's
construction.
The main excavation team, lead by Schmidt,
interpreted the site as a hunter gather
ritual center, or the world's first
temple.
There have few remains relating to
occupation recovered by archeologist in
any of the earliest layers of the site.
No hearths, no domestic remains and
little pottery.
The monumental T-shaped pillars, although
clearly requiring much work to quarry and
install,
also seem to suggest open courtyard
not very appropriate for houses.
Representation of animals in each
circular enclosure seem to focus more
heavily on a single type of animal.
The excavators thus think each structure
can be associated with a different
hunter-gatherer group and these groups
would travel from great distances across
the landscape to meet in the temple of
Gbekli Tepe for seasonal feasts or
ritual events.
More ambitious observers have gone so far
as to connect the site with the biblical
story of the Garden of Eden.
Even though there is no direct
archaeological evidence to support this
claim.
This idea relies on environmental
evidence which suggests the region in
prehistory when more fertile than it is
today.
Those supporting a biblical
interpretation also look at the location
of the site, surrounded by mountains and
close to the rivers Tigris and Euphrates.
Similar to the description of Eden's
location contained in the Book of
Genesis.
The Garden of Eden theory suggests a
change in lifestyle and environment from
hunting to farming as represented in the
allegorical tale of the garden.
Gbekli Tepe as a monumental site at the
heart of this changed landscape perhaps
represents a temple at the heart of the
Garden of Eden.
More recently, a third mundane possibility
has been presented.
Looking at the remains used to fill in
the circular enclosures around 8200 BCE,
much of the backfill material seems to be
of a domestic nature.
Some archaeologists have suggested that
this proof the site was residential, even
in the earliest levels.
Although there has been no obvious
residential material located inside the
temple enclosures, there is residential
evidence from the surround area.
Since much of this area has yet to be
excavated it's possible the stratigraphy
and chronology of the later residential
period from approximately 7500 to 6000
BCE.
Is incorrect and in fact, early people
were always living along side the larger
circular enclosures.
This regular interaction between ritual
and residence, between daily and
religious life is much more like what we
have come to expect in later periods, in
Anatolian prehistory, and other places
across the world.
The first temple, the Garden of Eden, or
just a surprisingly monumental house.
All we can safely say at present is that
we don't yet fully understand the reasons
behind the construction of the complex,
complex at Gbekli Tepe.
However, we are lucky that so much of the
site remains intact, and with on going,
and future research, we are sure to learn
more about this ancient monumental
wonder.
You can debate the three possible
interpretations of the site of Gbekli
Tepe in the discussion forums.
Or if you're interested in learning more
about the site check out some of these
other online resources about this
fascinating archaeological place.