THE WORLD’S OLDEST TEMPLE

In south Turkey, close to the city of Urfa, Professor Klaus Schmidt and his team made one of the most important archaeological discoveries of our century. They found Gobekli Tepe, a temple that was built about 12,000 – 13,000 years ago by the primitive Neolithic men. In this time period, about 9,600 – 7,300 BCE, mankind lacked metal tools.

Gobekli Tepe, which is actually a complex of many temples, may have been the first hand-made temple in the world. Evidence found at the site shows that it was used for religious purposes. Most of the pillars located there look like the letter T, and are up to six metres tall. The most astonishing thing is that each pillar weighs between 40 – 60 tons. Nobody knows how it was possible for prehistoric men to have built such a monument without tools.

The temple was mysteriously abandoned around 8,000 BC and filled in with dirt. One of the many mysteries regarding the site is why it was abandoned and whether it was buried by nature or by humans. It is possible that the site was buried naturally after being abandoned. Another possibility is that it was buried to be preserved for future generations. It may also have been buried because a new religion emerged in the area and they had to destroy the old religion’s temple. Another reason might have been because after a while, it was considered a taboo place.