The history of mankind is being rewritten. After 25 years of excavations, Göbekli Tepe —the 11,600-year-old "Hill with a Belly"— opened to visitors in 2019. It is 7,000 years older than Stonehenge and 7,500 years older than the Egyptian pyramids.
It was built by hunter-gatherers, not farming communities. Its sculptures and megalithic architecture —perhaps the world's oldest temple— predate pottery, metallurgy, writing, the wheel and even agriculture, challenging everything we thought we knew about the rise of civilization.
Age
11,600 years old
Record
7,000 yrs before Stonehenge
Opened
To visitors since 2019
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