Why is Göbeklitepe more important than the Pyramids?
Before the Greek mythological gods, the Hittites and Sumerians, and even the famous Egyptian gods, the people living in what we now call Anatolia had developed religious beliefs. The center of this religion was a place called Göbeklitepe in the east of Sanliurfa.
The ancient lands of Anatolia hosted many communities and cultures not only today but also thousands of years ago.
In 1995, German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt discovered an ancient temple near Sanliurfa. As a result of the tests, it was understood that the structure was built about 12 thousand years ago. Göbeklitepe was by far the oldest built structure in human history.
This discovery was the most important archaeological discovery of the modern era. Moreover, this discovery had points that contradicted the science of history and archaeology, and scientists had to look at this and scratch their heads and think.
Before moving on to why Göbeklitepe is so important, we need to talk about the interesting story of its discovery. In 1986, Şafak Yıldız, uncle of Mahmut Yıldız, owner of Göbeklitepe land, encountered a large stone while plowing his field.
Thinking that the stone might have historical value, Şafak Yıldız took the stone and took it to Sanliurfa Museum. However, the director of the museum at the time, who was a professor of history, said that the stone was ordinary limestone and had no value.
The stone was then moved to the museum's storage and was ignored by anyone for years. In 1992, German archaeologist Klaus Schmidt, who was excavating the ancient city of Nevali Çori, which is now submerged under the waters of the Atatürk Dam, saw the stone in the museum, thought it might be valuable, and ran tests to find beyond the stone age. Realizing that the stone dates back to about 12 thousand years ago, Klaus Schmidt immediately obtained the necessary permits and began the excavation of Göbeklitepe, one of the most important archaeological discoveries in history.
Mahmut Yıldız, the owner of the field, has been helping with the excavations ever since and guiding the history buffs who come to see the excavation.
Archaeologist Klaus Schmidt, who brought Göbeklitepe to light and conducted the excavation for 20 years, died of a heart attack in 2014.
So what is Göbeklitepe?
We can think of Göbeklitepe as temples and a gathering place built side by side and spanning an area the size of 20 football fields. The chambers that make up the structure are composed of single pieces of stone, built in a circular shape and set between stone-built walls, with heights ranging from 3 to 6 meters.
Many of these stones are carved with human and animal figures. In addition, the weight of the stones that made up the rooms reached 60 tons and these stones also carried a roof over them.
Simple knowledge of engineering and architecture was required to move such heavy stones and place them at the correct angle.
In other words, the people who built Göbeklitepe thousands of years ago were the first architects, sculptors and engineers in history, and they had technical knowledge far beyond their age. Only 4 of the approximately 20 sections that make up Göbeklitepe have been excavated in the last 25 years, and it will take a long time to excavate to remove them all.
So what makes Göbeklitepe so important?
One of the things that makes Göbeklitepe such an important discovery is that its construction dates back to ancient times. The date of construction of the temple dates back to 12 thousand years ago, ie BC. It dates back 10 thousand years. It was built very close to the end of the Stone Age and the Ice Age.
Göbeklitepe is 7000 years older than the oldest known human work, the famous Stonehenge in England, and 7500 years older than the Egyptian pyramids, one of the most important works in human history.
In fact, the historical distance of the Egyptian Pyramids to date is less than the distance to Göbeklitepe. It is also 6000 years older than the Sumerians, who invented writing and were the first civilization in history.
The fact that Göbeklitepe was built so old makes it more important than all other ancient buildings. For example, when the pyramids were built, humanity was in the Bronze Age and could make tools out of metal. Thanks to these metal tools, making something was much easier than in ancient times.
No comments:
Post a Comment