Archaeologists in Türkiye (Turkey) have unearthed several ancient statues, including a life-size statue of a wild boar, at Göbekli Tepe, a Neolithic site known for its megalithic architecture with characteristic T-shaped pillars.
The 11,000-year-old wild boar statue found at Göbekli Tepe, Türkiye. Image credit: Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Göbekli Tepe (‘Potbelly Hill’ in Turkish) is one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in recent decades.
The site is located in Upper Mesopotamia, a region which saw the emergence of the most ancient farming communities in the world.
Göbekli Tepe sits at the summit of a limestone mountain ridge in the Şanlıurfa Province, southeast Türkiye. It is a 15 m high artificial hill (tell) covering an area of about 9 ha.
Its impressive monumental architecture was built by groups of hunter-gatherers in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period, between 9,600 and 8,200 BCE.
It features large monolithic T-shaped pillars carved from limestone, numbers among the earliest known examples of man-made megalithic buildings constructed specifically for the ritual requirements of their prehistoric builders.
Monumental round-oval buildings with their characteristic T-shaped monolithic pillars at Göbekli Tepe, Turkey. Image credit: Nico Becker, Göbekli Tepe Archive, German Archaeological Institute.
Two centrally positioned monolithic limestone pillars (up to 5.5 m high) are common to all monumental buildings at Göbekli Tepe.
Three of the megalithic buildings were erected directly upon the natural limestone plateau, which had been carefully smoothed, and the two central monolithic T-shaped pillars were found at the site, that is, slotted into platforms painstakingly carved from the natural plateau.
The two central pillars are surrounded by one or multiple stone walls. The enclosing walls, which can be attributed to different phases of the buildings, were interrupted at regular intervals by inserted T-shaped limestone pillars, although these did not reach the same heights as the two central monoliths.
In addition, Göbekli Tepe is unique because of its rich and distinct collection of artistic representations, primarily images of animals.
The T-shaped pillars themselves are anthropomorphic, as testified in some cases by carvings of low reliefs showing arms, hands, and clothing.
The artistic repertoire also includes numerous stone statues and figurines of animals and humans, as well as small finds adorned with manifold depictions and symbols.
The 11,000-year-old wild boar statue was unearthed in the D structure of Göbekli Tepe. Image credit: Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Earlier this year, archaeologists from the Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism were surprised to discover a painted statue during excavations at Göbekli Tepe.
The Neolithic statue is made of limestone, and depicts a wild boar.
“The life-size wild boar statue was found in the ‘D structure’ of Göbekli Tepe,” the archaeologists explained in a statement.
“Red, white and black pigment residues can be seen on its surface, making it the first-known painted statue from the Neolithic period.”
“The statue was found on a bench with decorations that are thought to be an H-shaped symbol, a crescent, two snakes and three human faces or masks.”
