GGöbekli Tepe Visit

MOTIF RECORD · 1 OBJECT RECORD · CHECKED 2026-10-22

Belts and loincloths on Göbekli Tepe pillars

Belts and fox-pelt loincloths are described on Göbekli Tepe’s paired central pillars, treated by excavators as stylised human figures.

Interpretive note: Descriptions retain the wording and uncertainty of the cited sources; a motif tag records a described depiction, not an agreed meaning. Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025

Filter the catalogue for belt or loincloth · All motifs · All object records

Göbekli Tepe · pillar · CHECKED 2026-10-22

Pillars 18 and 31

Enclosure D · PPNA, Layer III

Record sources: Göbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of ResearchGöbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of Research

Pillars 18 and 31
No licensed photograph of this object is in the image register.

Depiction in cited source: Belts and fox-pelt loincloths are represented on the central pillars. Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and H 2025

Interpretations recorded for this object

Open the complete object record

Related glossary term

Anthropomorphic pillar — A pillar shaped or carved to evoke a human body. Arms, hands, belts and clothing details can make the human reference explicit, but a pillar’s symbolic role is not known from its form alone.

Sources: Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and HRelationality, Immanence, Hierarchy: The Nature and Culture of Being(s) at Göbekli Tepe

Sites in these records

Sources

Source wording is attached to individual records above. The register includes sources used for depiction evidence and attributed interpretations.

  1. Göbekli Tepe: The Imagery of the Pillars in the Monumental Buildings A–D, F and HGerman Archaeological Institute / Reichert Verlag · 2025 · scholarly-monograph · retrieved 2026-10-22
  2. Göbekli Tepe – The first 20 Years of ResearchGerman Archaeological Institute · 2016 · excavator · retrieved 2026-10-22
  3. Relationality, Immanence, Hierarchy: The Nature and Culture of Being(s) at Göbekli TepeE. D. Yurttaş, Cambridge Archaeological Journal · 2025 · peer-reviewed · retrieved 2026-10-22

Continue reading: Pillars and finds · Chronology · Taş Tepeler map · Plan a visit

CONTINUE READING

Related