Was Gobekli Tepe the world's first temple?

Photo: Relief-carved pillar of ancient Gobekli temple, National Geographic, June 2011.

Some older Anatolian civilizations make ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans seem like newcomers. The recently discovered Gobekli Tepe (Belly hill in Turkish) is about 11,000 years old, much older even than Catal Huyuk.

According to Andrew Curry, writing for the Smithsonian, Gobekli Tepe is 6000 years older than Stonehenge.

Near Urfa in Turkey, German archeologist Klaus Schmidt has unearthed massive stones that he and others believe comprised the world's first temple. Some experts associate it with the Garden of Eden. When these carved megaliths were decorated eleven millenia ago, people had not yet developed metal tools; yet as this History.com video shows, the artistry is remarkable. Strangely, no sculpting tools have been found at the site.

The partially excavated "temple" consists of concentric rings of stones that tower up to 16 feet in height and weigh up to ten tons, reports Curry. The site is on a round hill (hence the name) with an excellent view of the surrounding plain.

Though it was given a cursory examination in the 1960s by university archeologists from Chicago and Istanbul, the site was not explored until Schmidt saw it. Convinced that the round hill was man-made, he planned an expedition with five colleagues and it was this team that uncovered the first stone monoliths. More of the remarkable carved stones can be seen here.